Prison radio exists as an internal function, however, the most prominent role the radio plays is one involving the image it portrays of the prisoners to the outside world (Anderson, 2013). In order to truly understand how prison radio is expressed, one may need to delve into how “active community” and “free radio” interlink with it. Active community, as described by Fanon (1965), is how communities, in our case prisoners, would come together and utilize the radio and other media outlets instead of shying away from it and allowing it to oppress them. On that note, “free radio” is only achieved when it is stripped away from corporate and governmental censoring and reclaimed by the people who wish to make their voices heard (Dunifer, 2010). Realistically, prisoners are a long way from achieving this autonomy of broadcasting and ability to express themselves freely. In most cases, prisoners’ are rarely humanized, and their voices are channeled through the mouths of broadcasters or family members due to the censorship imposed by correctional facilities and governments (Abu-Jamal, 2013). Such censorship, may it be due to political pressure, corporate gains, and keeping a broken system alive etc., ultimately results in the marginalization of inmates. To combat this reality, as Anderson (2013) points out, some shows have taken the initiative of spreading truths regarding the prison systems. These shows include “Sunday Night Request show”, “Green Bush Request show”, and “Jailbreak”, etc. Going a step further are programs that focus on the inclusion of inmates in activities revolving around community interaction, thus combatting isolation and ultimately reducing chances of reoffending Anderson (2013).
References
Anderson, H. (2013). Facilitating active citizenship: Participating in prisoners’ radio. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 30(4), 292-306.
Abu-Jamal, M. (2013). Media matters: Radio in prisons.
Dunifer, S. (2010). Islands of resistance: pirate radio in Canada. Vancouver: New Star Books.
Fanon, F. (1965). This Is the Voice of Algeria. Campus in Camps. Retrieved from http://www.campusincamps.ps/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/fanon-this-is-the-voice-of-algeria.pdf
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