10 years later

Columbine is a cultural buzzword now.  But it's also a place.

Ten years after two students killed 12 people at Columbine High School in Colorado, the gun control debate seems little changed.  But the city where the crimes took place is forever changed.

I went searching for place-based journalism on public radio stations, because I know there's a LOT of good work being done.  I came across the popular Colorado Matters program and discovered that last month, they aired a massive series of reports pegged to the 10 year anniversary of the shootings.  

The interviews and stories cover such universal topics as faith, family, recovery and public policy.  But at their core is one event in one place.  I especially like the interview with the funeral home director who had to arrange services for seven of the 12 people killed.

I wish Colorado Maters had a better Web page to organize this impressive body of work.  There is a sentence, maybe two, about each story and after that you're left to click on the audio link and listen for an unknown period of time (translating radio to Web is hard...but essential...and that's a different topic for a different blog).  Still, it's worth taking a listen to some of these pieces.