All Things Considered from NPR News will take an unprecedented, first-person glimpse into life inside penitentiary walls through the intense, new radio series 'Prison Diaries.' This past year, five inmates, four correctional officers and a judge were given tape recorders. For six months, the diarists kept audio journals and recorded the sounds and scenes of everyday life behind bars: shakedowns, new inmate arrivals, roll call, monthly family visits, meals at the chow hall, and quiet moments late at night inside a cell. The series is an intimate and surprising portrait of prison life, recorded in a way that has never been done before.
The series will air every Tuesday afternoon in January 2001, and occasionally throughout the year with new stories and follow-up diaries. American RadioWorks(sm) will also present an hour-long special, airing on NPR member stations. Check local listings or
http://www.npr.org for broadcast details.
'Prison Diaries' takes place inside two correctional facilities: Polk Youth Institution in Butner, NC and the Rhode Island Training School (for juveniles) in Cranston, R.I. Over 200 hours of raw tape have been edited into five half-hour documentaries.
'The one thing you never hear from prison are the sounds of everyday life. Each week, as the inmates and officers grew more comfortable with the tape recorders, their stories became more intimate, revealing and amazing,' said Joe Richman, Producer of 'Prison Diaries.