With the end of the year drawing near, those on the Mississippi Free Press’ editorial team are preparing for our second-annual 12 Days of MFP roundup, which shines a spotlight on a dozen standout articles that have notably circulated among our readership. Our publication has been blessed enough to have many stories go viral this year, thanks both to the responsive and thorough reporting of our growing news team and to those of you who share our stories with family, friends and colleagues.
As a result, narrowing down our list of “impactful” stories is more of a challenge than one may think. Nevertheless, like last year’s 12 Days roundup, this list will drop before the end of the year, so keep your eyes peeled for that curated selection of 2025’s MFP must-reads.
Numbers are important. Page views, shares and other quantifiable metrics help us as an organization understand how much we have grown and how much farther we still have to grow—and our traffic up over 100% over last year! These numbers help those over on the business side of things when speaking with potential donors and when applying for grants. To toot our own horn for a moment, our numbers have impressed enough that we have had journalists join the team through a partnership with Report For America three years in a row: Systemic Education and Equity Editor Torsheta Jackson in 2023, Environmental Reporter Illan Ireland in 2024 and Delta Reporter Jaylin R. Smith in 2025. And it means our readership is growing across the 82 counties of our state.
However, whenever I attend our monthly traffic calls and review each month’s top stories, I notice that our most-read articles are typically news stories, not features or opinion columns. To me, this makes sense. Still, as the Mississippi Free Press’ features editor, I recently had the thought, “Why are feature stories important if they aren’t the ones that contribute most to page views?”
Here’s my take: Features matter because of their qualitative impact. Sure, a spotlight on a local ma-and-pa shop in a rural town may not attract as many clicks as, say, a group of lab monkeys escaping from a transport vehicle near Heidelberg, but I know that the owner of that small business appreciates that we took the time to raise their visibility among Mississippians far and wide.
Earlier this year, Web Editor Dustin Cardon wrote a Person of the Day article on Chris Allen Baker, a Scott County father who founded a chess club so that he and his son could build and engage with a community of people who shared their hobby. During my fact-checking call with Baker to ensure the details of his article were accurate, he expressed how grateful he was that we let his chess club have its moment in the sun in our paper. He was a kind man who returned the favor by sharing the story in his club’s newsletter and including it on the club’s website.
We made his week. That’s why I’m proud to focus my journalistic career on feature stories. That’s why this genre of journalism is important. Yes, the Mississippi Free Press wants to deliver news that affects residents across the state, but in addition to information-sharing, one of our goals is to help everyday Mississippians feel important—because they are. And I get to help realize that goal. That makes me happy to work here.
Opinion columns matter for similar reasons. We give Mississippians a pathway to have their voices heard. Anyone who sends a draft to voices@mississippifreepress.org, whether they already have many writing credits under their belt or are submitting their work to be published for the first time, has the opportunity to work with Assistant Editor Kevin Edwards, who will provide feedback during the editorial process until their opinions are ready for publication. That’s an important service the MFP provides. We don’t gatekeep who can send us columns; we welcome all sorts of voices—not just those of the usual “experts” and the powerful—that help represent the diverse viewpoints Mississippians possess about various topics.
Raising visibility. Lending the proverbial megaphone. Features and columns foster goodwill, and that goodwill is our bread and butter. Why is our list of readers regularly growing? Because you guys are talking positively about us. Word of mouth is a vital ingredient to our nonprofit’s success, and we appreciate the many generous sentiments we have heard you all say—both in person and through digital means.
Quantitative impact is a great measure of success, but I feel most satisfied with the work we’ve done when I get that text, email or voicemail from a source letting us know how special we made them feel. That qualitative impact will continue to motivate me as we edge into the new year. Happy Holidays, all.
This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.