ABSTRACT
During 1993, each time a child was murdered in Chicago's metropolitan area, the Chicago Tribune ran a front-page story. The series, entitled "Killing Our Children", graphically illustrated the warlike conditions in which Chicago's inner-city youth lived. The "Killing Our Children" series exemplified flaws inherent in paternal journalism as it was practiced by adults covering children, particularly inner-city children. The "Killing Our Children" series was received as a gritty, streetwise piece of reporting despite the fact that it was laundered through the filters of race, socioeconomic status and age. One justification for paternal journalism may be that children are not developmentally capable of informing adults about the complex realities that shape the war zone of America's inner cities. Adding children's voices to mainstream media need not be difficult. It can be accomplished by creating partnerships with the many youth journalism programs throughout the country that are preparing urban youth for careers in newsrooms.
