Mississippi Today is a nonprofitonline newsroom headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Launched in 2016, it was founded by former Netscape president Jim Barksdale and his wife Donna, alongside former NBC chairman Andrew Lack, to address the decline in local news coverage in Mississippi. Initially focused on state government and investigative journalism, the publication has since expanded its coverage to include topics such as criminal justice, health policy, higher education, the environment, and sports. Known for its commitment to watchdog journalism, Mississippi Today brands itself as a nonpartisan organization and adheres to the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
The organization gained national recognition in 2022 for its investigative reporting on the Mississippi welfare funds scandal, a series of stories that earned reporter Anna Wolfe the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting in 2023. Mississippi Today has also been a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes and received numerous other accolades for its work. Supported by grants from major foundations and individual donors, the newsroom collaborates with national and regional outlets such as ProPublica, the Associated Press, and the New York Times to contribute to its reporting. In 2023, Mississippi Today merged with the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.
History
In 2014, Mississippi Today's parent company Deep South Today, formerly Mississippi News and Information Corporation, incorporated.[1][2] It received 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in 2015.[2]Jim Barksdale, his wife Donna, and former NBC chairman Andrew Lack formed Deep South Today to compensate for dwindling local news coverage.[1][3] Mississippi Today started publishing in May 2016 as a state watchdog.[4][5] Deep South Today formed a sister newsroom, New Orleans–based Verite, in 2022.[1][6]
In February 2023, Jerry Mitchell's Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting merged with Mississippi Today.[7]
Content
Mississippi Today was initially founded as an online newsroom to cover state government and politics, focusing on watchdog and investigative journalism.[5][8][9] The organization now covers criminal justice, higher education, health policy, the environment, and sports.[10] The editor-at-large, Marshall Ramsey, produces cartoons.[10]
Mississippi Today brands itself as a nonpartisan news organization.[2] The organization has been accused of being left-leaning or liberal by conservative journalists and Republican politicians, with individuals like Phil Bryant refusing to answer phone calls from Mississippi Today.[8][23][24][25] The organization, and journalists within it, have rebutted this characterization as conflating watchdog journalism with left-leaning stances.[26][24][27]
^ abc"About Us". Mississippi Today. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
^"Advertising". Mississippi Today. Retrieved January 11, 2025. The brainchild of Andrew R. Lack, former chairman of NBC News Universal, and Donna and Jim Barksdale, Netscape CEO and philanthropist, Mississippi Today...
^Ganucheau, Adam (March 27, 2021). "Gov. Tate Reeves revisits an old strategy: Question data, challenge experts, blame press". Mississippi Today. Retrieved January 11, 2025. Readers on the right have sometimes criticized us for being too left-leaning. Readers on the left have sometimes criticized us for not doing more to directly bring about political change...But there's common ground I know we can all stand on: Unchecked power is harmful to every Mississippian. That's why we launched this newsroom five years ago. We tell stories and share perspectives we believe to be true, and we work to hold elected officials — Republicans and Democrats — accountable.
