NCJ Number
210112
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 67 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 72-73,77
Date Published
June 2005
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Given the fiscal crises facing most State governments, the media are finally ready to give some serious attention to corrections policies that have made the United States the nation with the world's highest incarceration rate; corrections professionals can help make sure the media gets the story right.
Abstract
The author, who has regularly included corrections in stories over his 20-year career as a journalist, offers reasons why the media's coverage of corrections has been weak, including the priority given by the media to controversy and conflict. This means that although prison riots or homicides will gain the attention of media editors, complex stories about the impact of prison education or vocational training programs on recidivism or efforts to keep families of inmates together may not carry the drama demanded of lead stories. In an effort to address this media bias, the author attempts to frame his columns and editorials on corrections in terms likely to attract the average reader. Corrections could well do the same when framing and choosing issues for media attention. For the most part, this means focusing on those corrections policies and practices that impact public spending and public safety. Reentry programs, for example, can be covered in terms of their importance for public safety and the costliness of a "revolving door" out of and back into prison. Human interest stories from inside prisons are also appealing to the public. The author favors letting media cameras into prisons. After covering prison life in Wisconsin for 10 years, the author knows of no case in which security was compromised because cameras were allowed into the prison. In the long term, allowing the media access in every way reasonably possible is the best way to make sure the story is told right, albeit not always favorably.