Can Alternative Media Redefine Public Service Broadcasting? Prison Radio & the BBC

Theorising the many faces of prisoner radio: developing a holistic framework through process and product

“…Content is then scheduled through the central NPR station based at Her Majesty’s Prison Brixton and broadcast via satellite to more than 100 prisons across England and Wales. The model represents innovation within a prison service in crisis, prioritising prisoner involvement in the process (Bedford, 2014).…”

“…The authors have, independently, worked, researched and published in the area of prisoner radio for more than 10 years (see Anderson, 2012, 2013; Bedford, 2014, 2016). This article marks the first stage of a collaboration between the authors to develop a model of prisoner radio that utilises the strengths of the community radio sector alongside the demonstrated benefits of a permanent prison radio station, drawing on international and local examples and engaging in action research projects that involve the production of radio content for community radio and the establishment of radio broadcasting within prison.…”

“…Prison radio (as distinct from prisoners’ radio) is also beginning to attract academic interest. For example, the Prison Radio Association (PRA) in the United Kingdom has been examined by Bedford (2014). Through an intensive focus on an early PRA partnership project with the BBC, the author argues that alternative media have a role to play in redefining and reimagining public service broadcasting values and practice within an increasingly commercialised and fragmented mediascape.…”

“…The limited research that examines prisoner radio also treats these two models, public and internal stations, in isolation. It does, however, highlight a range of positive outcomes for prisoners and their communities of interest (see, for example, Anderson, 2012, 2013; Bedford, 2014, 2016; Doliwa, 2013; Grimes and Stevenson, 2012; McDermott, 2004; Minc et al, 2007), supported by anecdotal evidence from those working in the field. This article consolidates these two separate bodies of knowledge on ‘prisoners’ radio’ (community-based radio initiatives catering to prisoners) and ‘prison radio’ (prison-based radio initiatives) and draws on seminal alternative media theory to propose a dual lens of product and process through which prisoner radio 2 can be theorised.…”

On what it means to be free: Radio as a tool of desistance for formerly incarcerated women in Adelaide, Australia

“…Much of the international literature in this area (see e.g. Anderson 2013aAnderson , 2013bAnderson , 2012Anderson , 2008Bedford 2016Bedford , 2014Doliwa 2013;Fisher 2009;Gosztonyi 2018;Grimes and Stevenson 2012;McDermott 2004;Minc et al 2007) concentrates on specific case studies. In addition, previous research by the authors (Anderson and Bedford 2017b) aims to theorize prisoner/prison radio as a genre and demonstrates its potential to maintain community links, engage prisoners in education, improve access to services and information, and act as a powerful force for social change.…”