INITIATIVES
STATEWIDE OR COLLABORATIVE
This endeavor is new and evolving.
To get started, we are focusing on initiatives that can benefit the state as a whole while helping to inform our strategy for investment and demonstrating what’s possible. Here are the first three initiatives from the Press Forward Mississippi pooled fund.
INITIATIVE 1
Connecting Mississippians for Local News
Pursuing a shared purpose starts with building relationships across 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 will 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 journalism.
Reporter Maya Miller and Mississippi Press Association Executive Director Layne Bruce at the 2025 Mississippi Local News Summit, sponsored by Press Forward Mississippi.
Press Forward Mississippi’s fall 2025 convening will be held in Hattiesburg in collaboration with the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association’s fall convention at the University of Southern Mississippi. Learn more: 2025 Mississippi Community Journalism Workshop
Initiative 2
Local Reporting for Statewide Impact
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 has 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.
INITIATIVE 3
Expanding Journalism in Mississippi High Schools
Students in high-school newsrooms gain vital skills in communication, civic awareness, media literacy and real-world storytelling. These programs are not available to students at most of Mississippi’s public high schools.
The Mississippi Scholastic Press Association (MSPA) supports a statewide network of journalism programs through conferences, awards and teacher training. But only about 15 percent of Mississippi’s public high schools are part of MSPA, and most do not offer journalism programs at all.
What’s missing is a clear onramp for schools that don’t yet offer journalism, but would like to. Press Forward Mississippi will identify a cohort of interested schools, help them launch new journalism programs, and connect them to the existing MSPA network for mentorship and long-term support.
Photo by Imani Khayyam
Press Forward Mississippi has partnered with nonprofit The Bell, which recently launched the Jackson Youth Newsroom, to replicate a New York City-based program that is training and equipping new journalism programs in the city’s public schools.
The Mississippi effort seeks to identify 15 schools across the state that are ready to start journalism programs. It will provide teacher training, equipment, mentorship and partnerships with local newsrooms and universities.
Local or Issue-Focused Investments
Separate from the statewide pooled fund, individual foundations within Press Forward Mississippi’s coalition are making focused investments within their local regions or fields of interest.
We want to see more local funders and local outlets partnering on local initiatives to strengthen their communities. Press Forward Mississippi can help local funders forge and define those partnerships.
Learn more: Local or Issue-Focused Grants and Initiatives
“As an education foundation, we saw the void in education reporting as detrimental to public knowledge and understanding of issues facing Mississippi education.”