Abstract
Although the penal press consists of over two hundred publi cations and has an estimated audience exceeding three hundred thousand readers, surprisingly little research attention has been devoted to it. This paper attempts to focus attention on the penal press through a merger of interests in corrections, com munication, theory and content analysis.
After providing a brief background of the penal press, two particular publications are compared through content analysis. Further examination is attempted through the incorporation of the concept of neutralization from the work of Gresham Sykes and David Matza.
Since the intention of this paper is primarily suggestive rather than conclusive, demonstrative rather than comprehensive, emphasis is placed upon the potential of the penal press. Ac cordingly, the conclusion suggests a number of ways in which this research vehicle might be utilized to further correctional knowledge.
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