Inside/Out… and beyond
CAL Grad school journalist reflects
on her experience covering life
at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
By Wendy Medina ❡ Bay City News
The same questions always loom. Would asking be respectful or acceptable? “How is it in there? Is it scary? How does it work? What does it look like inside?” ❡ Admittedly I was a bit hesitant when filling out my clearance form — to willingly go into a place associated with violence and suffering, home to some of the most notorious criminals in California. ❡ Despite my fears, I was eager to learn about the men who ran the San Quentin News inside California’s oldest prison, now renamed the “San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.”
ABOUT THIS STORY
Journalist Wendy Medina created the Inside/Out: Voices Behind Bars section for Local News Matters as part of her master’s thesis at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 2023-24. The section, supported by the nonprofit Bay City News Foundation, launched in February 2024 and continues to be updated with news about criminal justice reform, the work of California Local News Fellow Steve Brooks and others incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, and work from our partners. Wendy, who was given a commendation from prison journalists at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center for their work on this project, reflects on the experience of building this section.
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