From the basics of journalism to starting a prison publication, PJP Learning supports writers through resources crafted specifically for prison journalists. Here’s a sampling of our handouts and newsletters created to support incarcerated writers.
We grant permission to reprint and use them under the Creative Commons license, Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), as long as you credit Prison Journalism Project and do not use them for commercial purposes. For permission to incorporate an excerpt in a book, textbook or other publication, email [email protected].
PJP’s Quick Guide to Journalism
This handout is a guide to the nuts and bolts of journalism. It outlines the basic rules and principles for how to pull together an article.
PJP’s Quick Guide to Starting a Prison Publication
This handout is based on advice from current and former staff of prison newspapers across the U.S. It offers guidance on prison newspaper style and content, necessary resources and partnerships, timelines and much more.
PJP’s Style Guide
Here are basic style rules for Prison Journalism Project which also incorporate the most applicable AP style rules.
The P.I.T.
This four-issue newsletter is full of journalism explainers by veteran journalist and editor Jim Marshall. This name comes from The Pit, the seat on the editing desk where an editor wrote news flashes on breaking stories. It is also short for “The Point is This.”
- Issue 1: Writing. Reporting. What’s the Difference?
- Issue 2: Story Organization
- Issue 3: Story Ideas
- Issue 4: The Power of Journalism
The Mighty Pen
Modeled after the P.I.T., The Mighty Pen was created by Razvan Sibii (Raz), a longtime PJP faculty member as a tool to help incarcerated writers develop their journalistic skills and get published in PJP and elsewhere.
