Colorado Prison Radio WEB
Metadata
- Colorado Prison Radio WEB
- June 14, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: COLORADO PRISON RADIO HEADLINE: Colorado Launches Prison Radio TEASER: Inmates find inspiration and healing in broadcasts PUBLISHED: 6/14/2022 at 12:40pm BYLINE: Shelley Schlender CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: DENVER, Colorado VIDEOGRAPHER: Scott Stearns PRODUCER: Shelley Schlender SCRIPT EDITORS: SKS, Bowman VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA original PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT: 2:48 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: )) [[((INTRO:)) Many people consider prisons to be places to “lock criminals away” until their “time is up.” A growing understanding about healing and the skills needed for people to successfully rejoin their communities has led one state to provide a novel option for inmates. It’s a radio station. From Denver, Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports. ((NARRATOR)) Barbed wire surrounds this Colorado women’s prison. Inside it’s more friendly. Down this hallway is even a radio studio. ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “Welcome to Hotlines on Inside Wire. I’m Cynthia Gonzales.” ((Amber Pierce, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “I’m Amber Pierce.” ((Sarah Berry, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “And I’m Sarah Berry.” ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “At Denver Women’s Correctional Facility.” ((NARRATOR)) Inside Wire - Colorado Prison Radio - is the first statewide prison radio station in the United States. Inmates can listen in their cells. People outside of prison can tune in through a smart phone app. Cynthia Gonzalez works on shows 50 hours a week. ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “I can’t wait to go to sleep at night so I can wake up in the morning and go to work.” ((NARRATOR)) The team produces news and music. They also interview other people in the prison, for a daily program called, “Behind the Mic.” ((SOUND OF PROGRAM)) “Behind the Mic on Inside Wire.” ((NARRATOR)) On this show, Cynthia Gonzales is talking with a mother whose addictions have landed her back in prison, away from her kids. ((PROGRAM AUDIO)) “What do you think you want them to know about you most, and forgive you for the most?” ((PROGRAM AUDIO)) “That I chose my addiction over my kids. That’s hard to say, but it’s the truth. I chose drugs over my kids, and it cost them, and I pray that they can forgive me.” ((NARRATOR)) Gonzalez says that being honest about regrets is often healing for the speaker, and for listeners who have their own regrets . . . including Gonzalez. ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Boadcaster)) “I had a victim, you know, and I left behind a victim’s family.” ((NARRATOR)) Her colleague Sarah Berry says crimes often happen when people are feeling broken. So, she says she’s working on healing from her past, mentoring other inmates and reaching out through radio. ((Sarah Berry, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “We are trying to create a space that actually gives, like a positive way to actually become a part of your community.” ((NARRATOR)) Helping the radio hosts is University of Denver creative media consultant Ryan Conarro. ((Ryan Conarro, University of Denver)) “Mmm - there’s just one edit at four minutes, nine seconds to check.” ((NARRATOR)) Conarro views radio as part of rebuilding connections for inmates, inside prison and out. ((Ryan Conarro, University of Denver)) “Over 90 percent of Colorado residents at facilities who are incarcerated will return to their community. And so, what are we doing in the system to make that a successful experience?” ((NARRATOR)) That’s a personal question for producer Amber Pierce. After over a decade in prison, her release date is just two years away. ((Amber Pierce, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) What is it going to be like for me, out there?” ((NARRATOR)) Pierce says she’s gaining confidence about her future, by helping other inmates share what went wrong for them, what’s going right, and how they are striving. Shelley Schlender, for VOA News, Denver
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: COLORADO PRISON RADIO HEADLINE: Colorado Launches Prison Radio TEASER: Inmates find inspiration and healing in broadcasts PUBLISHED: 6/14/2022 at 12:40pm BYLINE: Shelley Schlender CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: DENVER, Colorado VIDEOGRAPHER: Scott Stearns PRODUCER: Shelley Schlender SCRIPT EDITORS: SKS, Bowman VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA original PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT: 2:48 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: )) [[((INTRO:)) Many people consider prisons to be places to “lock criminals away” until their “time is up.” A growing understanding about healing and the skills needed for people to successfully rejoin their communities has led one state to provide a novel option for inmates. It’s a radio station. From Denver, Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports. ((NARRATOR)) Barbed wire surrounds this Colorado women’s prison. Inside it’s more friendly. Down this hallway is even a radio studio. ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “Welcome to Hotlines on Inside Wire. I’m Cynthia Gonzales.” ((Amber Pierce, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “I’m Amber Pierce.” ((Sarah Berry, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “And I’m Sarah Berry.” ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “At Denver Women’s Correctional Facility.” ((NARRATOR)) Inside Wire - Colorado Prison Radio - is the first statewide prison radio station in the United States. Inmates can listen in their cells. People outside of prison can tune in through a smart phone app. Cynthia Gonzalez works on shows 50 hours a week. ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “I can’t wait to go to sleep at night so I can wake up in the morning and go to work.” ((NARRATOR)) The team produces news and music. They also interview other people in the prison, for a daily program called, “Behind the Mic.” ((SOUND OF PROGRAM)) “Behind the Mic on Inside Wire.” ((NARRATOR)) On this show, Cynthia Gonzales is talking with a mother whose addictions have landed her back in prison, away from her kids. ((PROGRAM AUDIO)) “What do you think you want them to know about you most, and forgive you for the most?” ((PROGRAM AUDIO)) “That I chose my addiction over my kids. That’s hard to say, but it’s the truth. I chose drugs over my kids, and it cost them, and I pray that they can forgive me.” ((NARRATOR)) Gonzalez says that being honest about regrets is often healing for the speaker, and for listeners who have their own regrets . . . including Gonzalez. ((Cynthia Gonzalez, Inside Wire Boadcaster)) “I had a victim, you know, and I left behind a victim’s family.” ((NARRATOR)) Her colleague Sarah Berry says crimes often happen when people are feeling broken. So, she says she’s working on healing from her past, mentoring other inmates and reaching out through radio. ((Sarah Berry, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) “We are trying to create a space that actually gives, like a positive way to actually become a part of your community.” ((NARRATOR)) Helping the radio hosts is University of Denver creative media consultant Ryan Conarro. ((Ryan Conarro, University of Denver)) “Mmm - there’s just one edit at four minutes, nine seconds to check.” ((NARRATOR)) Conarro views radio as part of rebuilding connections for inmates, inside prison and out. ((Ryan Conarro, University of Denver)) “Over 90 percent of Colorado residents at facilities who are incarcerated will return to their community. And so, what are we doing in the system to make that a successful experience?” ((NARRATOR)) That’s a personal question for producer Amber Pierce. After over a decade in prison, her release date is just two years away. ((Amber Pierce, Inside Wire Broadcaster)) What is it going to be like for me, out there?” ((NARRATOR)) Pierce says she’s gaining confidence about her future, by helping other inmates share what went wrong for them, what’s going right, and how they are striving. Shelley Schlender, for VOA News, Denver
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date June 14, 2022 12:54 EDT
- Byline Shelly Schlender
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America