The soaring crime rate in the city of Chicago has become national news, but are local news stations helping or hurting the problem with nonstop coverage of the violence? Students from Free Spirit Media , an after-school program that provides education in media production to underserved youth in Chicago, took to the streets of their community to ask whether people thought local news coverage was too negative. http://vimeo.com/66749550 Then, one FSM student  reflects on how violence has affected his life, after both his father and his childhood friend were killed in gang-related shootings. http://vimeo.com/66745257

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Free Spirit Media is a member of the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs program. The Labs are classrooms, after-school programs and clubs around the country producing original, inspiring reports about how national and global issues affect local communities.