In the current era of rampant incarceration and an ever-expanding prison-industrial complex, this crucial book breaks down the distorted and sensationalistic version of imprisonment found on U.S. television. Examining local and national television news, broadcast network crime dramas, and the cable television prison drama Oz, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the stories and images of incarceration most widely seen by viewers in the U.S. and around the world. The textual analysis is augmented by interviews with individuals who have spent time in U.S. prisons and jails; their insights provide important context while encouraging readers to critically reflect on their own responses to television images of imprisonment. Appropriate for both undergraduates and postgraduates, Prime Time Prisons on U.S. TV is useful for courses in media criticism, media literacy, popular culture, television studies, and criminology.

The Author: Bill Yousman received his Ph.D. from the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He has published essays in several media studies anthologies as well as in the journals Communication Research Reports; Communication Quarterly; Communication Theory; Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies; The Journal of Communication; The Journal of Popular Film and Television; and Race, Class and Gender. Yousman has taught media studies at the University of Hartford, Suffolk University, Central Connecticut State University, and UMASS-Amherst.

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