“I do not want to enter news.” During high school, I had this precise thought when considering my options for a future career. I knew I wanted to work with the written word in some way, either as a writer or editor or as both, but to me, news was the thing my dad watched while sitting on the living-room couch at 11 p.m. every night. His eyes steadily drooped until he nodded off to sleep, even though he would claim otherwise if you tried to turn off the TV. I did not understand how current events could directly affect me or the levels of society I lived within.
As a 20-something college student at the University of Southern Mississippi, I took on a second major called journalism-public relations. Public relations felt like a field that suited many of my natural proclivities, but because PR was attached to USM’s School of Mass Communication and Journalism, I had to take a reporting class.
Here’s the thing: I liked it.
Learning the rules of a new system of writing felt like a game of sorts, so I studied my 2016 edition of The Associated Press Stylebook with regularity. Before the semester had ended, I joined The Student Printz, USM’s student-led newspaper. I remained on staff until graduation as features editor, news editor and then copy editor. Searching for an editorial job in Mississippi, I discovered the Jackson Free Press, and Donna Ladd hired me as an editorial assistant in January 2019. Primarily, I managed JFP’s events calendar, but I became deputy editor by September of that year.
In December 2019, Donna and Kimberly held a staff retreat, where they announced plans for a new nonprofit they were planning that would ultimately become the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group and the new incarnation of the Mississippi Free Press they would be leading. Upon learning of the MFP’s scope and mission, I recall having another distinctive thought: “This is important. I get to be a part of this,” and I found myself tearing up on the spot. (I promise that isn’t an exaggeration for effect).
Over the years that followed, I have learned so much as an editor and journalist, and I have contributed to the JFP’s and now the MFP’s success in my own small ways. Not everyone can say this, but I have a job that helps me grow as I help it grow, and that sort of job symbiosis is a blessing.
The person I am now is more invested in his community and the world we live in, and those changes are because I have been surrounded by teammates who lead by example, demonstrating how much they care and why news is so important. Shining light on issues that don’t always get attention, uplifting the Mississippians who make up our state—these things we do through the MFP matter. And I am happy to be here.
I owe a lot to this job, which means that I owe a lot to you, dear readers. Every donation you all generously give has equipped the MFP with the resources needed to expand and develop our team of reporters, editors, accountants and more. The work we do is as meaningful to us as many of you have said it is to you. So I appreciate you for supporting us through your dedicated readership, through sharing our stories with your friends and family, and through your many kind words.
