The Nash News, the CCWF Paper Trail, and The Echo (with its sister publication 1664) emerged triumphant in the American Penal Press Contest, whose award ceremony took place September 19 at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s Chapel B.
Of 36 awards in 14 categories, The Nash News won six. The CCWF Paper Trail and The Echo/1664 each won five. The Mule Creek Post won four. The North Carolina Prison News Today and The Angolite each won three, rounding out the top six winners. The Mabel Basset Balance, the Cajun Press, the Prison Mirror, and San Quentin News all won two awards of 12 recipients, but San Quentin’s newspaper won the highly coveted first place in the Best Newspaper category. It also won a second prize in the Best Local Coverage category.
“Progress comes from the mind,” philosophized Ron Broomfield, retired San Quentin warden, about prison journalism. Broomfield, an established supporter of prison journalism, later worked as Director of Adult Institutions of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation until his retirement.
San Quentin News Editor-in-Chief Kevin D. Sawyer and Pollen Initiative Editorial Director Kate McQueen hosted the event, which was live-streamed via Microsoft Teams to several of the other facilities around the nation that had publications in the competition. In this unprecedented feat, winners appeared on the chapel’s projected screen just long enough to show their appreciation.
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