Between 2004 and 2019, Mississippi saw a 7% decline in news outlets and a 35% decrease in circulation. Mississippi is also one of 16 states where the number of full-time statehouse reporters has suffered a 23.5% decrease since 2014.
As newspapers around the state reduce their staff, decrease their reporting frequency, and close their doors, Mississippi residents are left without credible local news sources to report on critical issues that acutely impact their lives.
Mississippi Today fills that gap by continuing to meet the information needs of communities across the state. As Mississippi’s largest newsroom, we have the unique opportunity to report from all corners of the state, often with multiple reporters covering a particular story.
Sources: The Expanding News Desert, a project of the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media and U.S. Statehouse Reporters by State, a study by the Pew Research Center.