The ''San Quentin News'' is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, monthly

prison newspaper Prison newspapers are newspapers created within a prison, typically by the inmates. History The first prison newspaper is believed to have appeared in the 19th century in a debtors' prison.Amy E. Lerman & Vesla M. Weaver (2014). ''Arresting Citiz ...

written and edited by inmates at

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and published by the Pollen Initiative.

History

The ''San Quentin News'' was founded in 1940 by Clinton Duffy, the then warden of San Quentin State Prison, as an inmate-edited newspaper. The newspaper had a spotty publication record until completely closing in the 1990s. It was reestablished in 2008 by warden Robert Ayers, Jr. and, as of 2014, had a print circulation of 11,500. By 2022 this had grown to a circulation of 35,000, with copies of the newspaper distributed to inmates at 36 California state prisons and some jails. San_Quentin_State_Prison

The ''San Quentin News'' is published by the Pollen Initiative.

Content

The ''San Quentin News'' covers local sports, prison entertainment, and correctional policies. All content published by the newspaper is subject to pre-publication review by the

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacra ...

and, in 2014, the publication was suspended for more than a month after newspaper staff substituted an approved photograph with an unapproved photograph. The ''San Quentin News'' is a member outlet of the

Institute for Nonprofit News The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a non-profit consortium of nonprofit journalism organizations. The organization promotes nonprofit investigative and public service journalism. INN facilitates collaborations between member organizatio ...

References

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External links

Interview with Steve McNamara on the San Quentin News for the "Ralph Nader Story Hour"

"Prison Truth: The Story of the San Quentin News" by William J. Drummond
Nonprofit newspapers San Quentin State Prison Newspapers established in 1940 1940 establishments in California Prison newspapers Mass media in Marin County, California