I’m happy to let you know that we’re kicking off our spring fundraising campaign and the theme is … A Free Press for ALL Mississippians. Over the last few months, our team has pondered themes and ideas for this campaign, which is vital to expanding our work. This might not sound like a big deal considering the work and impact we already accomplish, but it is.
We wanted a campaign name that focused on what your contribution means to our newsroom. We wanted a theme that showed how our fellow Mississippians, far from the halls of power, are the center of our work. Your monetary contributions are essential to what we do, your kind words are essential to how we stay motivated, our social-media followers are essential to building our readership, and your input is essential to every single story we tell. Centering all Mississippians is the heart of our journalism. It’s what makes us different from all other media in the state.
Donna likes to say that we’re journalism by the people of Mississippi for the people of Mississippi.
You’ve heard me say a dozen times our newsroom looks like our state. We come from all walks of life. We are Black and Choctaw and white and rural and urban. We are gay and straight and aunties, parents and pet parents. We come from the Gulf Coast and North Mississippi, East Central Mississippi and South Mississippi and everywhere in between.
While it’s not easy creating a newsroom like ours, it’s not as hard as some would suggest because despite our state’s consistent brain drain, Mississippi is rich with talented people who understand that good journalism has impact beyond sensational headlines that drive social media threads. We’ve found that if we do the work, the journalists, the admin staff and the development teams will come—mission-driven, talented and eager to grow their skills and solutions for the state. When you center the people, the people will come.
This summer, we’re expanding our team and hiring two new reporters, at least, who love Mississippi. That costs money, coins, duckies, benjamins and cashola. When you give today, Tom and Ellen Prewitt, two folks who also love Mississippi, will match your donation dollar for dollar. Every gift is vital to telling the stories that are critical to our state and our nation. Give today and support journalism about the people and not be obsessed with political games.
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 sources fact-checking the included information to azia@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
