Local Reporting for Statewide Impact

A statewide initiative

Local news can help shape our state’s future.

Since decisions made in Jackson affect the lives of Mississippians in every corner of the state, we need stories from those communities to inform policy-making.

Press Forward Mississippi is supporting a collaborative editorial effort to produce locally sourced stories from around the state, within a coordinated topic and timeline. The goal is to demonstrate the importance and impact of local news, contribute to stronger public understanding, and support informed policymaking in Mississippi.

Press Forward Mississippi tapped respected publisher Tim Kalich, who recently retired from The Greenwood Commonwealth, to lead a pilot news collaborative reporting project. The Mississippi Press Association has been a key partner in this effort.

COLLABORATIVE 2: January 2026

Health Care & the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

For their second topic, the collaborative chose to focus on the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on health care delivery and health conditions in Mississippi.

A total of 27 outlets participated in the collaborative reporting project, exploring what the potential effects in their local areas could be — after the federal government slashed Medicaid spending by $1.1 trillion and eliminated enhanced subsidies for health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. 

The outlets’ challenge was to depict how these cuts were expected to trickle down to their communities. This includes rural Mississippi hospitals that are already struggling financially, as well as existing crisis-level concerns like the state’s infant mortality rate. Outlets sought to find out:

  • What kind of impact were local health care providers expecting?

  • How were they making adjustments?

  • What were lawmakers working on to deal with the changes?

The project showed that even small local outlets valued a chance to help connect the dots between complex policy and the well-being of their communities.

Participating Outlets

COLLABORATIVE 1: OCTOBER 2025

School Choice in Mississippi

For their first topic, the collaborative choose to focus on school choice, also called education freedom by proponents, anticipating that it would be a major issue in Mississippi’s 2026 legislative session.

The collaborative of more than 20 news outlets in Mississippi produced a comprehensive series of stories to explain how school choice might impact their communities, and how school choice has worked so far in other Southern states that have adopted the kinds of reforms the Mississippi Legislature is expected to consider. It marked one of the largest coordinated reporting effort among news outlets in state history.

Participating Outlets