The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications SELF-GOVERNANCE, NORMALCY AND CONTROL: INMATE-PRODUCED MEDIA AT THE LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY AT ANGOLA A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Kalen Mary Ann Churcher 2008 Kalen M.A. Churcher Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2008 The dissertation of Kalen Mary Ann Churcher was reviewed and approved* by the following: Jeremy S. Packer Associate Professor of Communication Dissertation Adviser Co-Chair of Committee Ford Risley Associate Professor of Communications Head of Department of Journalism Co-Chair of Committee C. Michael Elavsky Assistant Professor of Communications Russell Frank Associate Professor of Communications Meredith Doran Assistant Professor of French and Applied Linguistics John Nichols Professor of Communications Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT This project explores the uses of inmate-produced media at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, an all-male maximum-security prison with an inmate population of 5,108 men, the majority of whom are serving life or life-equivalent sentences. The triad of media – a magazine, radio station and television station – I contend, serve simultaneously as technologies of (self)governance for the inmates, and control by the state. Based on information gathered through a variety of ethnographic research methods, particularly observations and interviews, I apply Michel Foucault's concept of governmentality as a neo-liberal means of governing the penitentiary through culture. The first seven chapters of the project use thick description and inmate narratives to describe the scene that is Angola. Chapters eight through ten are more historical and theoretically grounded and incorporate the research of past scholars with the new information obtained by this researcher. The media, in addition to being a necessity for distributing information throughout the eighteen-thousand acre penitentiary, serve as cultural vessels for establishing community and normalcy and promoting and reinforcing Warden Burl Cain's philosophy of moral rehabilitation. They may also act as tools of resistance, advocating for inmate rights and judicial reform. Those men who engage in self-reflection and accept the tenets of moral rehabilitation may be afforded greater autonomy, and may achieve a sense of normalcy and become subjectified, ultimately being able to govern not only themselves, but also others. This project also identifies the benefits, intrinsic and extrinsic, of working with the inmate-produced media. Those men involved with said media are afforded privileges and iii freedoms beyond those given to the average inmate, including the opportunity to leave the penitentiary for specific events. As producers of mass media, these select groups of men wield considerable influence in the control and maintenance of Angola, not unlike media producers in the 'free world.' Thus, the prison serves as a microcosm of the world in which we live, making the impact of the inmate-produced media and the implementation of governmentality all the more important to consider. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................ 23 THE RESEARCH PROCESS....................................................................................... 23 Defining the Population and Site .............................................................................. 24 Preparing to Enter the Field ...................................................................................... 30 Gaining Access ......................................................................................................... 33 Methodology and Methods ....................................................................................... 36 Achieving trust and credibility.............................................................................. 41 Observations ......................................................................................................... 44 Interviews .............................................................................................................. 46 Focus groups ......................................................................................................... 49 Inmate journaling .................................................................................................. 51 Analyzing Information .............................................................................................. 52 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................ 61 THE SPACE THAT IS ANGOLA ............................................................................... 61 Inside Angola ............................................................................................................ 64 An Average Day ....................................................................................................... 69 Cain's 'Moral Rehabilitation' ..................................................................................... 73 The Media and Moral Rehabilitation ........................................................................ 82 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 89 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................... 93 THE ANGOLITE ........................................................................................................... 93 Achieving Normalcy ................................................................................................. 95 A Sense of Agency.................................................................................................. 109 Surveillance and Policing the Inmate ..................................................................... 112 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 121 CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................... 123 CREATING CULTURE ............................................................................................. 123 Graduation............................................................................................................... 125 The Rodeo ............................................................................................................... 130 Why Angola? .......................................................................................................... 141 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 144 v CHAPTER SIX ............................................................................................................. 147 KLSP 91.7 FM: THE INCARCERATION STATION .............................................. 147 Religion and Radio ................................................................................................. 154 Institutional Pride/Fostering Community ............................................................... 162 Responsibilities and Expectations ........................................................................... 168 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 171 CHAPTER SEVEN ....................................................................................................... 175 LSP-TV ....................................................................................................................... 175 The Staff.................................................................................................................. 179 Televising Rehabilitation ........................................................................................ 184 Freedom and scrutiny .............................................................................................. 192 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 199 CHAPTER EIGHT ....................................................................................................... 203 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................. 203 Foucault's Triangle of Societal Governance ........................................................... 210 A Brief History ....................................................................................................... 218 Technologies of Governance/Dispositifs of Security ............................................. 226 Inmate-produced Media beyond Angola ................................................................ 243 Instilling Forms of Subjectification and Ethical/Moral Reflection......................... 249 "Telos of Governmental