We opened the current issue of the Casey Journalism Center's magazine, Children's Beat, to a spirited, 'right on' message from CJC Executive Director Patrice Pascual about the impact of journalism in the area of children's rights. Here are key excerpts:

• Stories that connect readers, viewers, and listeners to people who don't look, sound or worship in familiar ways, are increasingly important.
• Whether in narrative or hard news, infusing a story with the perspectives of people who are typically unseen or unheard can engage , outrage, and surprise audiences like little else---and make it hard to turn away.
• We support that kind of journalism, with a focus on vulnerable children and families, and we want to do more. Everyone wants to know about "impact."
• What difference do these stories make? Impact is palpable in high-profile reporting projects that expose people who harm children....
• But we talk about other forms of impact too. Quieter stories that invite the audience into an unfamiliar life or place and suspend the obvious borders of economic class and race, education, and culture.
• You might remember such (quieter) stories for years. And because you do, , you get a deeper sense of why, without resorting to labels or stereotypes, other people's lives look the way they do. You might even wonder what, if anything, society should do to help or stop them.