A part of the community
I WENT to Moss Side today to do an update on the Jessie Jones murder case.
Jessie was 15 and shot dead at 2.40am on Saturday.
It's fair to say that the Channel M jeep and I were not welcomed by everyone there with open arms.
Indeed, we were told to f*** off and spat at.
However, most people to whom I spoke were glad of an opportunity to talk about what had happened. There was a real sense of shock and grief.
Miranda Maynard, whose son Justin was killed in August 2003, came up to us to give her condolences to the family and to say how they must be feeling.
Cllr Mary Murphy also talked to us. Her son was killed 14 years ago after three people set fire to a house in Hulme.
A lot of people moan at the media. Most of the time I think that's unfair.
I know it sounds as though I'm saying "I'm just doing my job" - an excuse many in the Third Reich used after 1945.
But it's more than that. We're an opportunity for people to talk, for the community to talk to itself.
Of course, Jessie's death is unbelievably tragic. Nobody's been laying any blame at his family.
We have a role in helping the community come to terms with it and to debate where we go from here.