So much violence, so few answers

So much violence, so few answers 1 Comment

I am frustrated and maybe you can help. I hope you can. When I first read the news accounts of six-year-old Aliyah Shell’s death, it sadly seemed like so many other news stories. A child killed by a random bullet. Police say it may be gang-related. Family, neighbors, and many others are heart-broken and outraged. [...]

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Written by on March 27, 2012

Bridging communities, standing up together

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When We work alone, we suffer alone. When we work together, we all benefit. Cuando vivimos solos, sufrimos solos. Trabajamos juntos, todos nos beneficiamos. That’s the message of this meeting and this video produce by Free Spirit Media’s talented young videographers. It’s from a meeting our our We Are Not Alone/ No Estamos Solos campaign [...]

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Written by on September 21, 2011

How is crime different today?

How is crime different today? No Comments

At a showing the other night of the Interrupters, the documentary about CeaseFire and its work to stop  killings in Chicago, the audience broke into loud applause when Cobe Williams came up to talk. He is an Interrupter, and apparently a person of unusual humanity who faces the heart-breaking mayhem on some Chicago streets with [...]

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Written by on August 26, 2011

The Slaughter of Innocents: How many so far?

The Slaughter of Innocents: How many so far? No Comments

What more do we need to say about the 17-year-old girl randomly shot down in her sixth month of pregnancy Tuesday? Or about the middle-aged Mexican immigrant working in a butcher shop who was killed by bullets aimed at someone in front of his store. Or the young newlywed, a dedicated worker with troubled youths, [...]

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Written by on August 18, 2011

Another tragic killing. Now what else do you say?

Another tragic killing. Now what else do you say? No Comments

When a six-year-old is shot dead in her home, we see the grief, and read of another young life lost. When a 13-year-old is murdered on a basketball court, we see the blood, hear the rage and fury and sense another tragic loss. Is that all there is to report? It’s not and let me [...]

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Written by on August 9, 2011

How We Report on Youth Violence, a guide ¿Cómo nos informe sobre la violencia juvenil

How We Report on Youth Violence, a guide ¿Cómo nos informe sobre la violencia juvenil No Comments

What happens when we blow off a killing with a few graphs in the paper? Does that cheapen life here? And what does it say about the news media’s commitment to telling us about our lives and what’s happening? An excellent series running now on WBEZ raises these question. Questions we journalists have been living [...]

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Written by on August 2, 2011

What else can you say about youth violence? Here’s a workshop for you

What else can you say about youth violence? Here's a workshop for you No Comments

Nine-year-old Ivan Burns Jr. goes out with his dad to walk their dog. It is early morning. Warm night. Bullets fly. They hit the youngster seemingly protected in his fenced-in backyard. He is admitted in critical condition at the hospital. Gun violence in not rare on the streets where the nine-year-old lives, according to a [...]

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Written by on July 7, 2011

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