‘The devil’s bargain’

Abstract

A free press is necessary for a healthy democracy but how can imprisoned journalists speak the truth to power? To answer that question, this article maps the development of an inmate newspaper over two and a half years. In 2001, the author began teaching journalism classes at a state prison for women in the northeastern United States. Following the objectives of social justice research, the classes offered inmates literacy skills, vocational training and social benefits through regular independent publication of a prison newspaper. Such a publication proved to be a paradoxical ‘devil’s bargain’ - on one hand, a control mechanism employed by prison administrators and, on the other, a potentially empowering aspect of prison culture for inmates. Yet the intrinsic value of news-making demonstrates itself even in repressive circumstances. Because prison journalism helps incarcerated people enhance their self-efficacy in pro-social ways, it should be supported as a rehabilitative approach by prison administrators.

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