Last week, the Mississippi Free Press was proud to welcome Kevin Edwards to the team as our new assistant editor. He has spent most of his life in the Mississippi Delta and brings to our newsroom years of experience from his time working at newspapers in Greenwood, Cleveland and Columbus. We’re excited about what this addition means for the future of MFP and our mission.
In particular, I know he’ll be a great asset for our new Delta bureau, working with our newest reporter: Jaylin Smith. She joined our team over the summer as our Delta reporter, and she’s already flourishing in her new role. I love not only watching our team grow, but our team members improve as professionals. The wonderful thing about this team is that it’s made up of people who love to learn and want to help one another grow—and who want one another to thrive in their jobs.
On that note, as a news editor who misses having time to do my own reporting, I’m excited that having another editor on the team will allow me to have more opportunities to get out in the field, investigate important questions, interview people, shoot photos and write stories. Sure, I’ll still be an editor most days, but getting to exercise my reporting muscle is important for me as a journalist. It’s been too long, as I realized while on a reporting trip to the Gulf Coast for Hurricane Katrina’s 20th anniversary recently—my first in a long time.
When our team grows, we’re able to provide you with more high-quality, people-focused, truth-telling journalism—something we need more than ever in these tumultuous times.
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