The origins of prison journalism hearken back to the earliest days of the nineteenth century. In 1800, Forlorn Hope was the first newspaper to be published inside a prison. Since the creation of this New York prison publication, over four hundred fifty have emerged, such as the Angolite, out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary — the first prison publication to be nominated for a National Magazine Award.

Between 1930 and 1950, prison journalism reached its highest point, with over two hundred fifty prisoner-run publications. Shortly thereafter, in the 1970s and ’80s, due to punitive policies and Reagan-era penal privatization, it experienced an all-time low. In the last ten years, alongside a surge in bipartisan interest in criminal justice reform, prison journalism has reemerged and garnered the attention and support of funders, politicians, and the public.

Research and testimony from incarcerated writers confirm the social benefits of prison newspapers. Most obviously, prison journalism is a medium through which incarcerated writers are able to express themselves. Equally valuable, however, is prison journalism’s ability to provide the public with a window into an otherwise extremely opaque place and population. Academic Walter Lunden calls this exchange of experiences from the inside to the outside, “a priceless media of communication.”