Many of us are focused on gratitude and gatherings with friends or family this week. Some of us use this time to reset as the holiday season pulls us in a million different directions. I want you to know how incredibly grateful I am for your support. From reading our newsletters to donating what you can when you can to sharing our stories, it means a great deal. I’d like to take this time to say thank you and let you know a few things we’ve accomplished this year because you’re on our team.
We brought home 13 journalism awards from the Local Independent Online News Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Journalism Online Awards and the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College. Award-winning stories and projects include everything from Torsheta Jackson’s look at the legacy of the Black cowboy in Tunica, which covered one of Mississippi’s overlooked communities and their history, to the Trusted Elections series, which helps Mississippians find accurate polling places and looks at the systemic inequities in Mississippi elections.
Our work was reprinted and sourced in dozens of national and local publications, including the Mississippi Northeast Daily Journal, The Guardian and BET, showing that our journalism isn’t just for Mississippi; it’s for the nation.
Rockstar Education Reporter Torsheta Jackson joined us this summer thanks to an amazing partnership with Report for America that your gifts helped support. Shaunicy Muhammad joined us shortly afterward and has been working hard to cover the Jackson area.
I could go on and on and if you’ve ever met me at a cocktail party, you know I can because the work we’re doing with this team is remarkable.
Finally, Ashton and I are doing a special virtual member event on GivingNewsDay, Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 6 p.m. This is an opportunity to sit down with one of the nation’s leading journalists and editors, and me! If you’re an MFP VIP member, you’ve received your invitation, so be sure to register. If you’d like an invite, you can join our MFP VIP Club for just $10 a month, and you’ll have access to our previous talks, including conversations with New York Times bestselling author Angie Thomas and Oscar-nominated actor Aunjanue Ellis. When you join right now, your 12-month commitment is matched!
