Connecting Mississippians for Local News
A STATEWIDE INITIATIVE
Progress begins by bringing people together.
To best pursue a shared purpose, Press Forward Mississippi has focused first on building relationships across the state’s regions, media platforms and business models.
The Mississippi Press Association, Mississippi Association of Broadcasters and Mississippi Scholastic Press Association already host regular conferences and workshops for their members. Press Forward Mississippi works to complement these efforts by working with these associations and participating universities to host convenings that bring together diverse media voices and center the shared goal of strengthening communities through quality local news.
Statewide Convenings
Local News Summit 2024
The seeds of Press Forward Mississippi were planted on June 6-7, 2024, when the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media hosted the state’s first Local News Summit in Oxford.
Local News Summit 2025
Our follow-up convening on May 15-16, 2025, brought together diverse perspectives, to explore the needs and gaps around Press Forward Mississippi’s three specific areas of interest.
Community journalism workshop 2025
Our first event in partnership with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center at Southern Miss delivered street-level trainings for professionals — alongside a high-school journalism convention.