I came to the United States in 2019 after a 10-year-plus journalism career back in Nigeria. I worked at CVS and briefly flirted with pursuing nursing training because people say that is where the money is.
My eventual full-time employment in 2020 with the Jackson Free Press as a city/county reporter on the back of my reportorial and feature-writing experience gave me a measure of rest as a newbie in the country. By 2022, I had joined the Mississippi Free Press as its fourth reporter.
I enjoy asking probing questions, delving into issues and recording the voices of those telling their own stories, especially those who aren’t approached very often.
Because the Mississippi Free Press prioritizes solutions and contextual journalism, subscribers like you get to see what has shaped society and how to shape it for the better, as well as how you can be a part of that change.
You get and keep the wheel of this kind of journalism rolling by pitching in whatever amount you can afford as a monthly or generous one-time gift. With that, you are enabling gifted and passionate people to devote our creativity, energy and time to serve you by covering neglected stories of the community, sharing long-ignored perspectives and rectifying the wrongs of the past.
I cover the criminal justice and incarceration beat for the organization, and hardly anything riles me more than seeing people who might be in jail unjustly. Every colleague at the Mississippi Free Press, without exception, brings that kind of passion to our job.
For us, it is more than a job. We have grown, won awards and had a considerable impact in the first two years of the nonprofit organization and want to continue hiring more talent and telling more stories that you care about. We are counting on you because we cannot do any of this without your help as a nonprofit media organization providing our content for free distribution to different outlets.
We love Mississippi’s people, and our supporters elsewhere, and appreciate your continued support.
This MFP Voices essay does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an essay for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and factcheck information to azia@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
