By Betsy Model, President
One of the biggest advantages of belonging to the Rio Grande Chapter and to SPJ as a whole is your access to timely, critical information to complete a story, advance your career skills or nab a source you might not have been otherwise able to. One of the newest tools available to SPJ members is a state-by-state tutorial on how to cover prisons…who’s in them, how to approach, who to approach, advance notice requirements and everything else pertinent to covering a story on prison ground.
Each state has its own rules about interviewing inmates, witnessing executions, what reporting tools you can bring on site, what forms or ID you need to arrive with, disclosure laws and similar. If you’d like a one-stop resource for prison (or prisoner) reporting in New Mexico, click here. Texas prisons? Click here. If you’re one of our chapter members who joined us from yet another state – and we’ve got a couple of you! – you can find out the state policies governing your state here. Best of all, if you follow the guidelines and resources offered and still get the run-round from authorities with regard to access, each state’s resource page offers up the name of the Sunshine Project Chair for that area…
Remember that when you’re fighting for access and you’re following the guidelines, you’ve got not only your state’s applicable laws but the power of 10,000 of your fellow SPJ-ers behind you.