Last Friday night, we had one of our signature MFP lounges filled with donors, old friends and long-time supporters at Hal and Mal’s in Jackson. Hal and Mal’s has long been a favorite watering hole since our time at the Jackson Free Press when we’d host JFP Lounges, karaoke nights or form a pub-quiz team. I was a bit nervous about it all; getting out and doing bigger events is a muscle I haven’t practiced since 2019.
It was a good night full of dedicated readers and supporters, hugs, laughter and yummy food. Donna and I gave an update on Equity Summer and our reporting plans for the coming months. It was bittersweet because the two of us knew something that most of the room didn’t, yet. Kayode Crown, the 2022 Diamond Journalist of the Year, is headed off to Huntsville, Ala., where both he and his wife have new positions. He’ll be an investigative reporter for AL.com. Kayode is the only person on our editorial staff who didn’t grow up in Mississippi. I tweeted that he’s Mississippian now and can always come home again. I was only half joking. Kayode will flourish wherever he is, but we will miss him terribly, bringing me to my next point.
We’ve got some hiring to do for our editorial and business side. On the business side, we are hiring a Development Director to grow and steward our major donors and fundraising strategy. This person will work closely with our entire business staff, including me, Donna, Business Manager Jared Norton, Director of Giving Cristen Hemmins and our board of directors. We need an experienced fundraiser who understands why our mission and our work are so critical.
On the editorial side, we have two positions open. We’re looking for a statewide reporter who’ll work with the news editor to pitch, identify and pursue story assignments. The reporter should live in or be willing to relocate to the Jackson metro area and work in the Jackson office at least part-time. Finally, we are looking for a college student to fill the Poynter and Google News Initiative Misinformation Student Fellowship. (I think this person has the best title in the newsroom.) We’re one of 10 newsrooms selected to work on projects that curb misinformation. This fellowship is open to applicants who are at least 18 years of age as of Jan. 1, 2023. You must be enrolled in an accredited college or university as of Jan. 1, 2023, and are eligible to work in the United States. The fellowship includes a $10,000 stipend for the course of the fellowship program.
I’m excited that our newsroom is expanding, and I can’t wait to see who the universe sends us to join this incredible team.
Please forward, apply and share on your social media. And remember every dollar you give helps us increase our radically inclusive, systems- and solutions-focused journalism across the 82 counties of Mississippi.
