Beyond the Bars: Prisoners’ radio strengthening community

Abstract

This article examines the connections between prisoners' radio and community, drawing on a case study of an annual Indigenous prisoners' radio project from Melbourne, Australia called Beyond the Bars, coordinated by community radio station 3CR. It demonstrates that an important aspect of prisoners' radio is its ability, as a media form, to sustain relationships between those inside and outside of incarceration, and as a result maintain community connections. The success of Beyond the Bars as a whole can be attributed in part to the special relationship forged between the local Indigenous community and the radio station itself, which has featured over 30 years of Indigenous broadcasting.