Veteran journalist Harvey Parson is returning home to Mississippi as managing editor of Mississippi Today.
Parson is a 1983 graduate of Mississippi State University and has nearly 30 years of newspaper experience, including leadership roles in Arizona, Georgia and Ohio.
“We are delighted to add a journalist with Harvey’s experience to help bolster our operations at Mississippi Today,” said Fred Anklam Jr., the news site’s co-editor. “Harvey brings added value to our operation being a Mississippi native.”
“I am really happy to make Mississippi my home again for the first time in more than 30 years,” Parson said. “And I know that I’m really fortunate to have this opportunity at Mississippi Today to try and give back to the state where I was born and raised. I’ve had an incredible journey since leaving in 1984, but somehow I’ve always known that I would return home.”
At the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Ariz., where he worked for 17 years, Parson wore many hats including that of News Editor and City Editor for the East Valley.
Parson moved to Atlanta in 2004 and served as Senior Editor for nights for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution until 2012 when he moved to Dayton, Ohio.
In Dayton, he was the Copy Desk Operations Manager for Cox Media Group, a division of Cox Enterprises whose properties include the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Parson was born in Northeast Mississippi and graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1979.
“One of the keys to growth in Mississippi is bringing talented Mississippians back to the state,” said Mississippi Today co-editor Dennis Moore. “Their accomplishments and contributions enrich the state’s economy and culture.”
Parson can be reached at hparson@mississippitoday.org