Hilde Lysiak has been something of a hero of mine since I read about her unique story a few weeks back.

A nine-year-old Pennsylvania native, Lysiak caused quite a stir last month when she reported on a local crime via her online news blog, the Orange Street News.

In short, Lysiak and her sister, Isabel Rose, have been interested in journalism ever since their father, a former reporter for the New York Daily News, started letting them tag along while he was covering stories.

But Lysiak and her sister took their interest in journalism one step further than most youngsters would. Lysiak went on to create a web page dedicated to her hometown’s news, which can be found at orangestreetnews.com. While Lysiak conducts the interviews, gathers the facts and writes the stories, Isabel Rose handles photography and recording video.

The real reason this dynamic duo found national attention, however, is the fact that they broke the story of a local murder that occurred right down the street.

Keep in mind that I’m not applauding a couple of kids for hearing a rumor and rushing onto the computer to spread potentially inaccurate details. Pretty much anyone with a Facebook or Twitter account can do that in this modern age of social media.

Instead, these young ladies understand the importance of getting the facts straight, and so they went out and actually did some investigating. They spoke to police officers at the scene of the crime and questioned neighbors. They didn’t get all of the facts, but they made it clear when the information they were providing had not yet been confirmed.

I was most shocked by the final line of the story, stating that “The Orange Street News is withholding the name of the victim to make sure friends and family are told first.” It’s impressive to see someone so young understand the importance of accuracy and, just as importantly, their responsibility in relation to when, where and how they report those facts.

If enough people take to social media to spread misinformation, it doesn’t matter what the facts end up being. Sadly, the world will have already made up its mind on the matter based on speculation and gossip.

In other words, I think these young ladies did a fine job and should be commended for their work.

Color me surprised, then, to see that several of their readers stated that “cute” girls their age should be playing with dolls or having a tea party. No, really, that’s what was suggested.

I’m sure many youngsters happened by the scene of this unfortunate crime, but I doubt any of those other kids (or the adults, for that matter), bothered to get legitimate information before spreading the word.

I’ll close with Lysiak’s response to her critics, as it makes me want to give her the world’s biggest high five.

“I know this makes some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m nine,” she said. “But if you want me to stop covering [the] news, then you get off your computer and do something about the news. There, is that ‘cute’ enough for you?”