“The Shawshank Redemption”: an analysis of prisoner and prison radio

ABSTRACT

Israeli prisons have recently initiated a rehabilitation program known as Prison Radio. This article suggests that since prison radio shares similar characteristics with educational radio, inmates may operate the radio stations with high motivation and self-fulfilment since they determine the content of the programs. Inmates may also acquire work-related tools and habits and strengthen their self-confidence, which allows adopting constructive behavioural patterns. Therefore, empowering prisoners through radio station activities may encourage their normative reintegration into society.

KEYWORDS:

• Theory of differential opportunity
• Prison radio
• Educational radio
• Empower prisoner
• Radio

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Goffman, Characteristics of Total Institutions, 43–84.

2. Timor, “To Restore the Rehabilitate.”

3. Hackman, “Correctional Education.”

4. Berkowitz, “Prisoners Studying.”

5. Blumstein, “Bringing down U. S. Prison Population,” 3.

6. Gordon and Weldon, “Impact of Education Programs on Adult Offenders”; and Ubah and Robinson, “Debate Over Prison based Education.”

7. Foucault, Discipline and Punish.

8. Sutherland, Sutherland on Analyzing Crime, 13–29.

9. Wilson and Kelling, “The Police and Neighborhood Safety.”

10. Hirschi, Causes of Delinquency.

11. Halsey, “Perspective of Security and Imprisonment.”

12. See note 5 above.

13. Gordon and Weldon, “Impact of Education Programs on Adult Offenders.”

14. Ubah and Robinson, “Debate Over Prison based Education.”

15. MacKenzie, “Components of Successful Educational Programs.”

16. Orpinas et al., “Comprehensive Violence Prevention Program.”

17. Warner, “The ‘Prisoners are People’ Perspective.”

18. Bartoli, Criminal Behavior; and Irwin, Managing the Underclass.

19. Arbuthnot, “High-Risk Behavior-Disordered Adolescents,” 208; and Lockwood, “Prison Higher Education and Recidivism.”

20. See note 3 above.

21. See note 4 above.

22. Adams et al., “Effect of Prison Education.”

23. Chignell, “Key Concepts in Radio Studies.”

24. Neiger et al., “Songs to Remember.”

25. Crisell, “More than a Music Box.”

26. Namurios, “Problems of Structure and Organization of Broadcasting.”

27. McLuhan, “Understanding Media.”

28. McQuail, “Mass Communication Theory.”

29. Wall, “Policy, Pop, and the Public”; Poindexter, “Can Community Stations”; and Sauls and Greer, “Radio and Localism.”‏

30. Laor, “Development of Educational Radio in Israel.”

31. Laor, “Radio Programs and Facebook Posts”; Laor, Galily, and Tamir, “Radio Presence in Online Platforms”; Laor and Steinfeld, “Radio Stations on Facebook”; Moshe, Laor, and Friedkin, “Digital Soap Opera”; Laor, “Radio on demand: new habit of consuming radio content”; and Laor, Lissitsa & Galily, “Online digital radio apps usages in Israel, consuming and meaning.”

32. Laor, “Social Pluralism on the Air”; Samuel-Azran et al., “Who Listens to Podcasts, and Why?”; and Lissitsa and Laor “ Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y: Identifying generational differences in effects of personality traits in on-demand radio use.”

33. Laor, “Alternative Broadcasting”; Laor, “How does it ‘Sound’?”; and Laor and Steinfeld, “Radio Stations on Facebook.”

34. Anderson, “Facilitating Active Citizenship”; ‏and Anderson and Bedford, “Theorising the Many Faces of Prisoner Radio.”‏

35. Anderson, “Facilitating Active Citizenship.”

36. Anderson and Bedford, “Theorising the Many Faces of Prisoner Radio.”

37. See note 35 above.

38. See note 36 above.

39. See note 35 above.

40. Anderson, “Prisoners’ Radio Strengthening Community.”‏

41. See note 36 above.

42. Bedford, “Prison Radio and the BBC.”‏

43. See note 36 above.

44. Anderson and Bedford, “Theorising the Many Faces of Prisoner Radio”; Anderson, “Participating in Prisoners’ Radio”; and Bonini and Perrotta, “On and off the Air.”

45. Laor, “Student Self Development, Fulfillment, and Confidence,” 339–354; and Laor, “Educational Radio in Israel,” 890–907.

46. Anderson, “Prisoners’ Radio Strengthening Community,” 112–127.

47. Doliwa, “Radio Behind Bars.”

48. Bedford, “Prison Radio and the BBC,” 22–23.‏

49. See note 47 above.

50. Bedford, “Making Waves Behind Bars”; and Anderson, “Radio Strengthening Community.”

51. Anderson, “Participating in Prisoners’ Radio.”

52. Bonini and Perrotta, “On and off the Air”; and Doliwa, “Radio Behind Bars.”

53. Cloward and Ohlin, Delinquency and Opportunity.

54. Galily, Lidor, and Ben Porat, “On The playing Ground.”

55. Laor, “Development of Educational Radio”; and Laor, “Student Self-Development.”

56. See note 8 above.

57. Cohen and Felson, “Social Change and Crime Rate Trends.”

58. See note 9 above.

59. Goldwell, “The Turning Point.”

60. See note 7 above.

61. Bedford, “Making Waves Behind Bars”; and Anderson, “Radio Strengthening Community.”

62. See note 51 above.

63. Cohen-Almagor, “Mass Communication Freedom of Speech.”

64. See note 52 above.

65. Laor, “Social Pluralism on the Air.”

66. Goffman, Characteristics of Total Institutions, 43–84.

67. Ibid.

68. Bedford, “Making Waves Behind Bars.”

69. Einat, Life and Word between Bars.

70. Hepburn, “Role Conflict in Correctional Institutions.”

71. See note 55 above.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tal Laor

Tal Laor is a Senior Lecturer and Founding Head of Radio & Broadcasting track, School of Communications, Ariel University.

Ofer Muchtar

Ofer Muchtar is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Criminology, Ashkelon Academic College.