Series: The Ten O'Clock News
Date: 1984-12-07
Duration: 00:03:57

Subject: Drug abuse - Prevention and treatment; Drug traffic
People: Flynn, Raymond; Sanderson, Derek; Thompson, Ben; Vaillancourt, Meg; Wall, Bruce; Watson, Georgette; Weld, William;
Geography: Roxbury (Boston, Mass.)|

Clip Description
Meg Vaillancourt reports on the Drop-a-Dime Program started by Roxbury residents Georgette Watson and Bruce Wall. Vaillancourt interviews Watson about the drug problem in the city and the effectiveness of the Drop-a-Dime Program. Watson talks about the role of neighborhood youth in the drug trade. Vaillancourt notes that representatives from the Drop-a-Dime Program were not included in the mayor's newly formed council on drug abuse. The report features footage from a press conference at which Flynn announces the formation of the council. Ben Thompson (Chairman of the council) says that the council intends to work with anti-crime and drug prevention groups across the city. William Weld (US Attorney for Massachusetts) and Derek Sanderson (former player for the Boston Bruins) stand with the other members of the council at the press conference. The report also includes footage from an interview with Wall. Wall says that community groups have not been included on the council. Wall adds that members of community groups understand how the drug trade functions in their neighborhoods. Vaillancourt notes that Flynn will go to the Boston City Council to obtain funding to combat drug abuse in the city. This report includes footage of the people on the streets of Roxbury and footage of the Roxbury neighborhood in the evening. Watson points out a drug dealer and a building out of which the drug trade operates.

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/3944_01