Prisoners’ radio: connecting communities through alternative discourse

Abstract

Welcome to the world of prisoners' radio, where prisoners, ex.-prisoners, and their friends and families. as well as activists and community broadcasters, discuss public and private elements of life behind bars. his chapter explores how prisoners' radio engages prisoners' voices and fosters their connections to community while producing alternative discourses that enrich the wider public sphere. While there are many different aspects of prisoners' radio worthy of research and discussion, there are two aspects of particular significance. First, as isolated institutions, prisons; do not appear conducive to fostering connections between prisoners and the wider community to which the majority of them will return. Prisoners' radio provides such a conduit. Second, again due to the private and insulated nature of correctional services, very little is known about this stage of the justice system. Prisoners' radio provides one way to generate alternative discourses and understandings about the incarcerated. But first we need to paint a picture of the genre itself.