Equipping and empowering prison media centers nationwide.

Pollen Initiative is a nonprofit organization that provides journalism and multimedia training, resources, and distribution support to build a sustainable prison press.

About Us

We train incarcerated people to document their world and inform their communities.

The Pollen Initiative is dedicated to cultivating media centers inside prisons to shed light on the justice system. Through hands-on multimedia training and leadership programs that foster professional and transferable skills, our team contributes to more balanced narratives about incarceration.

Our Vision

To build a sustainable prison press nationwide that reveals the nuances of incarceration.

Since prison newspapers emerged in the mid-19th century, most operated with few resources and were rarely read beyond prison walls.

Pollen Initiative aims to change that by providing prison newsrooms nationwide with the training, resources, and distribution support they need to serve their communities and contribute to the public’s understanding of the criminal justice system.

We envision a world in which the prison press serves as an integral part of the fourth estate.

Programs

San Quentin News

San Quentin News reports on rehabilitative efforts to increase public safety and achieve social justice. SQNews is the world’s premier incarcerated-run journalistic news platform and helped establish San Quentin State Prison’s reputation and influence as a leading light within the criminal justice system on rehabilitative programs.

CCWF Media Center

The CCWF media center is the first media hub in a women's prison in the country. The residents produce the CCWF Paper Trail to engage the community, promote hope, create positive solutions and amplify voices rarely heard.

Film Training Program

The film training program teaches participants the fundamentals of filmmaking as well as the ethics and duty of authentically recording the world around them. It provides career pathway opportunities for impacted communities by teaching film industry skills and allowing the incarcerated to share their stories through film and digital video.

Pollen Playbook

Pollen Initiative is expanding the journalistic training and platforms beyond the walls of San Quentin, the Pollen Playbook documents best practices and policies for creating incarcerated-run media centers in prisons.

Our Sponsors

Thank you for your support

Pollen Initiative is spreading the hope and opportunities that San Quentin media programs cultivate to other incarcerated communities, including the largest women’s prison in the world, the Central California Women’s Facility.