By D. Razor Babb
Monday, January 9, representatives from the Prison Journalism Project (PJP) visited Mule Creek State Prison. PJP cofounder and Director Yukari Kane , Chief Operations Officer Teresa Tauchi, Managing Editor Kate McQueen, and Senior Editor Mason Bryan addressed a gathering of Incarcerated Journalist Training Program students and members of the prison newspaper.
Kane explained how the nonprofit news organization that features stories from inside 
prison walls works with outside media to get those stories broader coverage. Providing journalism training to the incarcerated, as well as publishing stories online, PJP also works with organizations that support prison reform and social justice issues.
Kane, a journalism lifer with credits such as The Wall Street Journal and has taught journalism at San Quentin and Northwestern Univ., said, “We want to tell stories that are important … and feel so lucky to find stories that leave a mark.”
Sr. Editor Mason Bryan points out how PJP helps prisoner writers get published in outside publications and says that a major part of their mission is to facilitate quality reporting and writing.
Managing Editor Kate McQueen teaches at UC-Santa Cruz, and instructs incarcerated writers. She adds, “We believe in opening doors so others can walk through.”
COO Tauchi says, “We believe in the mission. We’re here as a vehicle to get the writing out there.”
“We’re looking for stories that depict life in prison that outside readers wouldn’t know about, from a perspective only those inside would know,” Yukari says. “The world is a more inclusive place now, there’s room for these stories. We want to develop writers and show you where you can go. We want to tell stories that matter to the world.”
