Read a piece by our new friend, Scott Jordan, of the The Independent Weekly, the Lafayette, La., alternative newspaper and a new member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. And as you read this piece, please recall that this is one of the small, locally owned publications that the Gannett Corp. (owns Clarion-Ledger here) is targeting with its new Goliath distribution scheme. Read about Lafayette’s Gannett battle here (and the story talks about our response here in Jackson). So, in effect, in two states where the economy has been so rocked by hurricanes and with people needing their livelihoods, the Gannett Corp.’s response within months is to go after the distribution channels of local businesses and make us pay them for the privilege of putting our papers out. Great timing, Goliath.
Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.
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