- Playing
- Blue: A Mother's Grief
- From
- Justin Levy
Juan McMahan, aka 'Blue,' was killed on a Baltimore street corner July 14th, 2004 at the age of 18. In this piece, his mother Sharon remembers her son and describes the circumstances of his murder, as well as the effect it has had on her.
This story also considers what needs to be done to reduce violence in Baltimore. It features Dr. Phil Leaf, director of the Center for Youth Violence Prevention at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Walker Gladden, youth coordinator for the Rose Street Community Center.
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Piece Description
Juan McMahan, aka 'Blue,' was killed on a Baltimore street corner July 14th, 2004 at the age of 18. In this piece, his mother Sharon remembers her son and describes the circumstances of his murder, as well as the effect it has had on her. This story also considers what needs to be done to reduce violence in Baltimore. It features Dr. Phil Leaf, director of the Center for Youth Violence Prevention at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Walker Gladden, youth coordinator for the Rose Street Community Center.
Broadcast History
WYPR news broadcast 11/27/06
Transcript
INTRO:
Murder in Baltimore is often called an epidemic. Someone is killed here more days than not. How can we stop this crisis from continuing year after year? WYPR?s Justin Levy takes a look at one program that has successfully been reducing violence, as well as the personal toll this violence takes. _
BODY:
{ambi ? living room}
SHARON MCMAHAN SAT ON THE PLUSH WHITE COUCH IN HER NORTHEAST BALTIMORE LIVING ROOM. THE ONLY SOUND WAS THE QUIET GURGLE OF THE FISHTANK ACROSS THE ROOM. SHE PULLED OUT A LETTER THAT HER SON JUAN WROTE TO HER FROM JAIL AND READ HIS WORDS.
TAPE: (8 seconds) he said my goal, 17:17
IC: ?He said my goal is to live longer than most young people my age. I don?t want my m...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
total running time:
4:30 w/ deadroll
4:00 w/o deadroll
Related Website
John Biewen
Posted on February 04, 2007 at 06:17 AM | Permalink
Review of Blue: A Mother's Grief
Too often the murders of kids in urban neighborhoods aren't seen as news at all, so I appreciate the impulse behind this piece. Baltimore had 278 homicides in 2004, the year "Blue" died. I've long wondered how things might change if newspapers and stations like WYPR did prominent reports on each murder victim. The piece has some pretty good tape with the grieving mother and a neighborhood activist.
On the other hand...the producer describes himself as being relatively new to radio, and it shows--in the cliches ("...every mother's worst nightmare....), the wooden delivery, and the compulsion to open with sound in the first scene even though the fish tank is irrelevant and barely makes any sound at all. In short, the piece sounds just like stuff I did as a young reporter! If only we'd had PRX back then. If I'd had the guts to post my work and get it critiqued, I might have stopped doing such stuff sooner. Keep at it, Justin.