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Carrie's Letters

Mark is the News Director at KJZZ in Phoenix. In his job this is not an everyday sort of piece. He said:

"Carrie is a friend of a friend here, and I had seen the letters when Carrie was still in jail and I asked my friend if Carrie would be willing to share her story, to read the letters to tape when she got out. I didn't really know Carrie at all prior to that, but got to know her fairly well during the process of making this radio piece and I think that happens to many journalists when they dig deeply into a rather personal story. You know going beyond the hard news, talking head stories of the daily news grind. You sort of start to seek out interesting and moving stories to tell. And then, whether this is good or not I don't know, you start to root for the people you've come to know."

Mark produced this piece a couple of months ago for local air on KJZZ. We liked the material, but had some questions about the use of music in production. You can read our email exchange on the subject, and you can also listen to the original piece to note the differences, if you are a true zealot.

"It was interesting because not knowing her really at all, she was very open and willing to share these letters. I mean there was always a little bit of hesitancy, but by and large she was very forthcoming and kept our recording appointments to a 'T', and I started to wonder, I mean, whether going through this process, which was obviously uncomfortable, was somehow cathartic for her. If in letting other people, even if it was a radio audience full of anonymous people, know about her problem, that she would somehow have more people pulling for her. It almost felt to me like this was like a trip to the dentists for her. She didn't really want to do it, knew it would be uncomfortable, but felt like she needed to share these letters, that she would be better for it in the end."

We've posted copies of Carrie's actual letters and her lexicon of prison terminology.

If you listen to this piece, we urge you to keep listening to the end. Also, please note that there are a few references that are adult in nature and not particularly appetizing. We look forward to your comments on our discussion boards.

Prior to this job, I spent 7 years in the Midwest, during which time various NPR editors counted on me as the sole reporter to cover a host of issues, on deadline and off. In addition to scores of other stories, I reported on the historic Floods of 1993, the birth of the McCaughey septuplets and key political issues during the Iowa Caucuses political process. I ran a one person news bureau. Prior to my time in the Midwest, I reported on the oil and timber industries in Alaska. a decade ago.

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