We just report the news

Since writing the story on the recent surge in gang violence in Monrovia, I’ve received a myriad of calls, e-mails and letters from residents, students and even former home-grown Monrovians.

I’ve also received a call from Lionel Chambers, who professes himself as the, “the only black civil rights leader that’s willing to stand up and make a stand out there in Monrovia.”

I commend his passion — my problem is he insists that I set up a meeting with other television news stations, gang leaders, city officials and residents to discuss the problem.
He’s left several messages for me, asking that I “Get back with (him)” on that meeting, and the phone numbers to Channel 4, Channel 5, Channel 7 and Channel 11.

OK, if someone else facilitated such a forum, I’d be there in a heartbeat. But when did I literally become a newsmaker? People often think that because we report on a problem, that automatically means we need to facilitate the solution. No, we just report the news.

This is where people like Chambers should be taking the lead. He can start with the yellow pages.