WKSU News Feature: Remembering Kent State, 1970

"Remembering Kent State, 1970," Reporter/Producer Mark Urycki's hour-long documentary, was originally aired in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the tragic events at Kent State University that are considered by many as a landmark moment in American social history. On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsman fired on a group of protestors on campus, killing 4 students and wounding 9 others. The documentary has won numerous awards from local, statewide, and national organizations including a national Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, a Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications, and Program of the Year from the Ohio Educational Telecommunications Commission.

"Remembering Kent State, 1970" focuses on the sounds of May 4th. Eyewitness accounts combined with historic audio take the listener directly to the scene where students protesting the American invasion of Cambodia were met with live rounds of ammunition that left four dead and nine wounded. Urycki places the historical sounds of the events leading up to the shootings-and those that followed-in chronological order to allow the listener to experience the fear, tension, and tragedy that took place at Kent State and the surrounding communities. The program has no narration. Eyewitnesses tell the story--a story that each sees from his or her own unique perspective.

Urycki's original 30-minute special was produced in connection with the 20th anniversary of the May 4th events. Nearly a year's worth of research and interviews went into the project, which was broadcast in 1990 and again in 1995. The documentary won numerous awards, including a National Headliner Award and the prestigious "National Journalism Award" from the Scripps Howard Foundation. Judges said, "WKSU's dramatic return to the Kent State occurrence brings back its living characters after twenty years. We hear the original sounds of the police radio, the National Guard, and the students. ...Kent State revisited on WKSU-FM allows the perspective of 20 years to enlighten an event that became a national tragedy."

For this expanded version of "Remembering Kent State, 1970" the WKSU newsroom was able to locate and obtain audio recordings that were not available a decade ago when the program was first presented. Hours of decaying reel-to-reel tape, some originally aired on WKSU (then a college station), were edited for the additional moments of sound that help to create a fuller picture of the events as they happened on that day. Some of the new tape hasn't been heard in 30 years and much of it has never been broadcast.

Listen to the May 4th Documentary on-line. (RealPlayer required) Get your free Realplayer by visiting real.com.

May 4th web site A place to begin an on-line journey to Inquire, Learn and Reflect about the events of May 4, 1970.