The Mississippi Free Press is excited to announce that it has received a $150,000 unrestricted grant from the Ford Foundation. This investment will help expand the MFP’s 82-county approach to reporting systemic issues across Mississippi informed by community solutions circles. Since March 2020, the MFP has delivered systemic reporting on causes and solutions for Mississippians and the nation alongside cultural stories about overlooked people helping left up our state and too-often-hidden history.
“This is such a vote of confidence for our young statewide nonprofit newsroom,” CEO, executive editor and co-founder Donna Ladd said. “We launched to create a new kind of deeply researched, ground-up journalism focused on solutions in our home state, and this kind of national affirmation means we’re on the right coverage and growth track. Cheers to our entire team, most of whom came with us to start the nonprofit from the long-time Jackson Free Press that laid the groundwork for this systemic work across Mississippi.”
The core of MFP’s innovative reporting and engagement strategy is a three-pronged strategy: (1) systems reporting, (2) community-based solutions circles, and (3) network mapping for sources, key community connectors and existing assets.
“We’re thrilled to have this new partnership with the Ford Foundation. This gift will help us expand and grow. As the state’s most inclusive newsroom, we listen deeply to our fellow Mississippians,” Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer Kimberly Griffin said. “This grant helps us connect with more Mississippi communities and cover them in a way I don’t think any other outlet does. People on the ground are the experts on systematic issues in their communities.”
The MFP has identified 17 focus areas of systemic inequities across 82 counties, which provides a map for reporters to zoom into counties around issues that matter to readers to inform our reporting, comparing and contrasting how other states and other counties and states handle the issues after reporting honestly on why those challenges exist, a critical step that much journalism has historically bypassed. Our editorial team curated these reporting focuses based on institutional knowledge, data and their deep network of sources across Mississippi, as well as fun and innovative exercises such as team systems analyses using pipe cleaners and our newsroom floor.
“The Mississippi Free Press has consistently exceeded expectations by winning some of journalism’s most prestigious awards since its inception. They look at systemic issues in a way that few media outlets do. As a native Mississippian, I joined the board because the newsroom seeks out and amplifies local voices,” MFP Board of Directors Executive Vice Chairman Jeanne McCarthy, CEO of a national education nonprofit, said.
“They are exactly the kind of newsroom we need right now: accurate, fair and nonpartisan. I am incredibly excited about this Ford Foundation investment. The Mississippi Free Press is not only improving the lives of Mississippians but also raising the bar for newsrooms across the country.”
Individual donors can give to the nonprofit Mississippi Journalism and Education Group at mfp.ms/donate. Story tips go to tips@mississippifreepress.org. Media outlets or community organizations interested in observing or partnering in solutions circles can write solutions@mississippifreepress.org.
