"In the winter of 1989, Boston was beset with a series of apparently random acts of violence in some already troubled neighborhoods. But, what appeared to be isolated incidents, were in fact, intertwined.

"Our police sources whispered the truth only when their superiors weren't looking: Boston was ensnarled in a full-fledged gang war.

"What was surprising is no one had ever mentioned the 'G-word' to us before, either on or off-the-record. But, the further we investigated, the more obvious the facts became. Teenagers in Boston had armed themselves, staked out turf, aligned in color-coded gangs, and were feuding.

"While the fights centered on the usual 'Kid Stuff', (girlfriends, portable radios, sneakers), the level of violence was escalating. Crack cocaine was at the root of it. Crack brought money, and, thus, high powered weapons into the age-old battle over manhood and turf. As the stakes increased, so did the violence.

"Our documentary blew the lid off this problem and put it on the front burner of this city's agenda. A desire by city officials to ignore the problem became a contest to see who was doing more. The Police Commissioner heralded our work and made [it] required watching for his command staff. The District Attorney established an Anti-Gang Task Force whose sole purpose is to prosecute gang members. The Mayor announced a jobs program for inner-city teenagers.

"Our documentary also looked at some long-term solutions and the problems faced in implementing them (lack of funds).

"We flew to south central Los Angeles, where, sadly, the real gang experts live. Our aim was to show how explosive a situation could get, if ignored.

"Gangs, and gang violence are still a problem in Boston, but our efforts helped make this city come to terms with the problem sooner and begin to take action."--1989 Peabody Awards entry form.