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For the moment, I am withholding comment on the Clarion-Ledger’s new series about Jackson (that took two years, more than a year or nine months depending on where you were reading on the section’s front page). Meantime, though, I’d love to hear any comments about their effort to win a Pulitzer Prize from you readers and Jacksonians. What’s good about it? What’s not? Reactions? Gripes? Compliments?

Previous Comments

As I said, I am trying very hard to withhold comment on the Big-Ass series until our next print pub (and I do see some positive signs in it) … but I had to share this bit from today’s lead C-L editorial. The editorial board over there likes to swoop in and take credit for a lot of stuff (even questionable exposes like their “jackpot justice” series), but this one is pretty amusing. You’ll recall that the Big-Ass series just started Sunday. To read the following self-satisfied editorial, you might think that the leaders at St. Andrews grabbed a copy that morning and quickly worked out a plan in response to it by the time their congregation met. You know, maybe all the people who have been working long and hard in the community, like those at St. Andrews deserve credit themselves for all the effort they’ve been putting into helping Jackson, even as the C-L has been telling the state how uninhabitable our city is. That is, DESPITE all the C-L’s (and other media’s) naysaying. OK, I’ll shut up now. More soon. Today’s editorial reads: “As revealed in The Clarion-Ledger’s series ‘The Changing Face of Jackson,’ groups, individuals, businesses and churches have a vital role to play in the city’s future. An aging city with a crime problem and cracking infrastructure, and middle-class residents migrating to suburbs forces decisions on everyone. … The ‘Cathedral in the City’ campaign the church launched Sunday directly addresses issues outlined in the series, by expanding services such as downtown day care, hosting concerts and sponsoring forums on city issues.” [emphasis added] http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0310/07/leditorial.html

#167981 | Author: ladd | Date: Oct 7 2003

comment! comment!

#167982 | Author: Jason Pollan | Date: Oct 22 2003

I’ve been holding out and watching, Jason. ;-D And I definitely have some comments. But I might wait until the next print issue. It’s a mixed bag: there are some good things there, but it sure doesn’t feel like it took nine months, or a year, or two years to do. More soon, I promise.

#167983 | Author: ladd | Date: Oct 22 2003

MFP Solutions Lab logo

The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

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.