Tuesday, March 28 is Mississippi Today’s seventh anniversary. That marks seven years of digging deeper for the stories that matter most. Our founding mission was to create a trustworthy news source that is free for all — no paywalls, no paid subscriptions. Through the years, we have helped readers navigate yearly legislative sessions, voting seasons, a pandemic, a water crisis, the biggest welfare fraud in the state, and more.

Thanks to our talented reporters and dedicated readers, we have grown in every way over the last seven years. We revere the honor of being the state’s flagship nonprofit newsroom, and one of the state’s first online-only publications. I’m proud of the accountability reporting you’ve come to expect from Mississippi Today, and the way we’ve grown beyond “words on a screen” to cut through the noise.

Today, we have a committed team that brings you trustworthy news not only through our website, but through our app, texting line, social media and community events. We encourage two-way communication with our readers through our MT Asks series and Reddit AMAs. Your information needs are our top priority as we develop reader guides to break down complex issues and FAQs to answer your top questions.

Our mission has always been to shape our journalism around our readers’ information needs and expand our coverage to give you the most thorough reporting. Our reporters go out each day and dig deep into the issues and stories that affect Mississippians across the state. The investigative coverage that develops from these efforts puts a critical lens on state leaders and the decisions they make on behalf of Mississippi residents.

Being a nonprofit is central to who we are as a newsroom. It means we are driven by values, not by dividends, and it means that we rely on donations from readers to power the work we do: paying for records requests, keeping the lights on, providing our team with healthcare and much more.

To our current members: thank you, truly, for your generous support. Our work is not possible without you.

To our readers who are not yet members: thank you for your readership and engagement. I hope you’ll consider joining our community of members by making a donation. Our journalists may be the ones writing the stories, but without you, those stories go untold.

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Mary Margaret joined the Mississippi Today team in 2017, one year after its launch, and was named CEO in 2020. She has presented the Mississippi Today story and the power of nonprofit news to audiences ranging from local civic groups to the American Journalism Project and the Knight Media Forum.

She is a 2021 graduate of the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University and a 2020 Fellow of the Online News Association’s Women’s Leadership Accelerator.

Mary Margaret holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in Southern Studies from the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, where she serves as an advisor. She is also an advisory board member for Press Forward Mississippi.