The Prison Journalism Project is a left-of-center nonprofit media organization that trains people in prison to write for its publication. ¹ It trains incarcerated individuals to write stories that will be used to support criminal justice advocacy. ²

The Prison Journalism Project encourages its writers to submit articles that discuss how they are affected by climate change, socio-economic issues they face in prison, and articles that align with the Black Lives Matter movement and critical race theory. ³

Background

Founded in 2020, the Prison Journalism Project is a nonprofit organization that offers writing training to individuals in prison and publishes their work. It encourages its writers to write about their experiences in prison and uses them to support policies that reduce prison sentences and incarceration rates. ^{4 5}

The Prison Journalism Project has several different online publications where it publishes the writings of its trainees and attempts to get them published in local and national publications. As of October 2023, Prison Journalism Project has published over 2,100 articles from 700 inmates who are incarcerated across 221 prisons. Its writers have been published in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, the Marshall Project, and Sports Illustrated. ⁷

Prison Journalism Project provides writing prompts and topics that it encourages writers to use and asks writers to label their submissions if it uses the preferred topic. Topics include socio-economic issues faced by incarcerated individuals who receive varying pay, the alleged impacts of climate change on them in prison, access to cosmetics, and their view on criminal justice policies. Prison Journalism Project also has a separate category of writing prompts that align with critical race theory and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, encouraging individuals to write about their racial identity and if they feel like people hold racist views against them. ⁸

Trainings

In 2021, Prison Journalism Project launched its first “correspondence-based” journalism course. It reports that it taught basics in journalism writing, reporting, and Associated Press (AP) style. ⁹

In 2023, it began offering an “advanced nonfiction” course led by former New York Times executive editor and Marshall Project founding editor-in-chief Bill Keller. The course was offered to those who completed its basic course so trainees could produce different style writings at quicker production rates. ¹⁰

In 2024, Prison Journalism Project published its handbook titled A Prison Writer’s Guide to Media Writing written by Yukari Kane and Shaheen Pasha. ¹¹ Prisoners are able to apply to a Prison Journalism Project cohort through which they will be issued its handbook, which includes 14 modules that are self-paced, and engage in correspondence with coaches who provide feedback on their work. ¹²

The Prison Journalism Project provides digital resources for readers of prison-based publications, incarcerated writers, and publications seeking to publish writings from current or former prisoners. It provides recommendations for preventing safety issues when publishing work from prisoners, what language to use to avoid offending prisoners, resources for how to contact prisoners, relevant laws, and terminology. ¹³

The Prison Journalism Project also provides prisoners with information on how to begin their own publication. It publishes a handbook that provides an overview of what publications can entail, provides information on how to improve the quality of a publication, and how to publish writings while keeping the reaction of the audience in mind. ¹⁴

Funding

In 2022, the MacArthur Foundation gave the Prison Journalism Project a $10,000 grant to fund professional development and training programs and then gave it a $200,000 grant in 2023. ¹⁵

Leadership

Yukari Kane is the co-founder and CEO of the Prison Journalism Project. She has previously worked as a staff writer for the Wall Street Journal and Thomson Reuters. ¹⁶

Financials

In 2023, Prison Journalism Project reported $1.9 million in total revenue, including $1.0 million in program service revenue from the sale of its publications and related activities. ^{17 18} It also reported incurring $1.1 million in total expenses, including $818,556 in salary and compensation of employees. ¹⁹

1. “About Prison Journalism Project.” Prison Journalism Project, May 10, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/about-pjp/.
2. Kane, Yukari, and Shaheen Pasha. “A PRISON WRITER’S GUIDE TO MEDIA WRITING.” Chicago: Prison Journalism Project, n.d. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KOWKcOTyMR-XVLxVMygRTy9jbbCuH1VW/view.
3. “Writing Prompts.” Prison Journalism Project, January 25, 2023. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/prompts/.
4. Kane, Yukari, and Shaheen Pasha. “A PRISON WRITER’S GUIDE TO MEDIA WRITING.” Chicago: Prison Journalism Project, n.d. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KOWKcOTyMR-XVLxVMygRTy9jbbCuH1VW/view.
5. “About Prison Journalism Project.” Prison Journalism Project, May 10, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/about-pjp/.

7. Publications

   PJP Inside is a print publication of Prison Journalism Project that includes quarterly publications of Prison Journalism Project trainees’ writings. The newspaper includes activities aimed at improving writing and literacy skills. ⁶ “PJP Inside.” Prison Journalism Project, June 14, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/pjp-inside/.

8. “Writing Prompts.” Prison Journalism Project, January 25, 2023. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/prompts/.
9. “About PJP Learning.” Prison Journalism Project, June 15, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/about-pjp-learning/.
10. About PJP Learning.” Prison Journalism Project, June 15, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/about-pjp-learning/.
11. “About PJP Learning.” Prison Journalism Project, June 15, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/about-pjp-learning/.
12. “PJP’s Handbook.” Prison Journalism Project, July 16, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/pjp-handbook/.
13. “Prison Journalism Navigator.” Prison Journalism Project, May 28, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/prison-journalism-navigator/.
14. “Quick Guide to Starting a Prison Newspaper.” Prison Journalism Project. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OjlCq_Jnon4vEcGNHugcJFxb_40gEMeX/view.
15. “Prison Journalism Project.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/prison-journalism-project-10115821/.
16. Kane, Yukari. “Yukari Kane.” Prison Journalism Project, July 15, 2022. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/author/yukarikane/.
17.  ^[1] Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prison Journalism Project Inc. 2023. Part III, Line 4a.
18. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prison Journalism Project Inc. 2023. Part I, 9-12.
19. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prison Journalism Project Inc. 2023. Part I, 15-18.