Most public radio segments are around four minutes long. Commercial news stations feel generous giving a reporter two minutes. But some stories are so compelling, they demand more time.
This story on Rene Enriquez, a former leader in the Mexican mafia, was so compelling, All Things Considered aired the story in two, 14-minute segments.
So many elements make this story work. It reveals secrets on how Mafia leaders earn thousands of dollars while locked up in windowless isolation cells and Enriquez's diary-like audio tape places us in the inmates' Security Housing Unit:
"What impacts me immediately as soon as I walk in, is the smell. I just
stepped outside from the bus and you smell the pines, the redwoods, the
forest … these earthy, loamy smells. But as soon as you step into the
SHU, it hits you like a wave. It's the smell of despair, depression,
desperation. This is a place where people come to die."
These segments are part of a documentary produced by American Radio Works. I'm going to have a listen this week.
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