Series: The Ten O'Clock News
Date: 1983-10-13
Duration: 00:11:01

Subject: School management and organization; Busing for school integration - General; English High School
People: Flynn, Raymond; King, Mel;

Clip Description
Mayoral candidates Ray Flynn and Mel King participate in a forum on education sponsored by the Citywide Education Coalition (CWEC) at English High School. Flynn says that students graduating from Boston public schools must be prepared to compete in the workplace. He adds that there must be a working relationship between parents, teachers, administrators, and the community. King speaks about the workings of the school administration and advocates the inclusion of parents in the process. King and Flynn respond to questions about how they would have handled school desegregation if they had been mayor at the time. King says that he would have acted to bring people together in support of the desegregation order; that he had suggested a community-based approach to integrated schools at the time. Flynn says that he would have protected the rights and safety of all schoolchildren even though he disagreed with the court order. Both candidates answer questions about the role of the mayor upon the court's withdrawal from its supervisory role over the school system and about the school budget. Audience members include John O'Bryant (Boston School Committee). Tape 2 of 2.

Series Description
A local program aimed at the Boston audience, The Ten O'Clock News debuted on January 15, 1976. Its two immediate predecessors were The Reporters and Evening Compass. A news and public affairs show focusing on neighborhood, local and state issues, The Reporters was produced and broadcast on WGBH from 1970 to 1973. The Reporters was then replaced by Evening Compass, which expanded into a twice-nightly news broadcast during the tense moments of Boston's busing crisis. On the air from 1973 to 1975, Evening Compass found an audience through its in-depth coverage of school desegregation in Boston, which began in 1974. The Ten O'Clock News stood out as an in-depth news program. It strove for a balance between local and national stories, between politics and the Arts. The last The Ten O'Clock News program was broadcast on May 30, 1991.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/3763_01