Kids Gunning Down Kids p.22

By: Editorial Staff And the reporters that write about them
Children gunning DOWN children and the press coverage generated by such events was the subject of a spirited April seminar at Columbia University in New York City.
Asking if media reporting on violence among children has itself been delinquent, a gathering of journalists, judges, authors, clerics and academics agreed to disagree for a day in the Lecture Hall of Columbia's Journalism Building. In repartee often laced with as much eloquence as pathos, they wrestled over who is responsible for what when it comes to chronicling the violent behavior of America's beaten, abused and neglected children.
Some participants called for editors and reporters to abandon their focus on the sensational aspects of child-on-child crime stories in favor of writing "more gracefully about the root causes of these timeless tragedies."
The event was sponsored by the Scripps Howard Program in Religion, Journalism and Spiritual Life and the Prudential Fellowship for Children.
Tom Goldstein, dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, opened the conference, "Roots of Violence: The Stories We Miss."
New York Daily News reporter David L. Lewis is one of dozens who were both participants and the subject of the event that explored how press coverage may feed the street violence it documents.
Part of a panel that addressed the spirited topic of "Media Made Monsters" was Nora McCarthy, associate editor of New Youth Connections, and David Gonzalez, a New York Times columnist.
"How can I convince a 14-year-old that he can get respect without violence?" asks New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Corriero. Telling reporters the "prevailing political climate" calls for him to "be hard on children" who appear before him to be tried as adults, Corriero said his job is made more difficult by news stories which portray child criminals as "monsters."
?( How can I convince a 14-year-old that he can get respect without violence?" asks New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Corriero. Telling reporters the "prevailing political climate" calls for him to "be hard on children" who appear before him to be tried as adults, Corriero said his job is made more difficult by news stories which portray child criminals as "monsters.") [Photo & Caption]
?(New York Daily News reporter David L. Lewis is one of dozens who were both participants and the subject of the event that explored how press coverage may feed the street violence it documents) [Photo & Caption]
?(Tom Goldstein, dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, opened the conference, "Roots of Violence: The Stories We Miss.") [Photo & Caption]
?(Part of a panel that addressed the spirited topic of "Media Made Monsters" was Nora McCarthy, associate editor of New York Connections, and David Gonzalez,"a New York Times Columnist) [Photo & Caption]
?(Photography by Robert J. Salgado) [Caption]
?(E&P Web Site: http://www.mediainfo. com) [Caption]
?(copyright: Editor & Publisher April 25, 1998) [Caption]