Welcome to Mississippi Today.
Founded in 2016 as a statehouse watchdog, Mississippi Today’s roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. Mississippi Today is now one of the largest newsrooms in Mississippi, proving that free, nonpartisan news is the antidote to apathy and an essential key to government accountability.
Led by the state’s top journalists, marketers and business minds, Mississippi Today is recognized nationally by the likes of the Institute for Nonprofit News, American Journalism Project, Knight Media Fund and the Online News Association as a leader in public service journalism and newsroom innovation.
Mississippi Today is the only fully staffed, member-supported, digital-first, nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom serving Mississippi and meeting the information needs of communities across the state.
News
Mississippi Today aims to be the authoritative voice on politics and policy in Mississippi, producing robust coverage of elected officials, government offices and legislative action. Our team produces a mix of daily and enterprise reporting, with award-winning investigations on justice, race and equity. Education coverage is essential to our newsroom and includes K-12, as well as a higher education beat. We continue to expand coverage on issues facing women and girls, our many neighbors living in poverty and the ongoing environmental challenges in our region.
Audience
Mississippi Today centers reader experience at the heart of everything we do. Our audience is essential to the stories we report, and we aim to reach them in ways that make accessing the news a regular way of life. We do this through our dynamic website, text messaging, web alerts, podcasts, social media and mobile app.
Events
Each year, we host 30-plus live events throughout the state, showcasing the talent of our team and engaging in conversation with the state’s brightest minds, big thinkers and local leaders. Our programming ranges from in-person public newsroom events that shape and inform our reporting, to large-scale journalism summits that explore timely topics with depth and nuance. Our signature annual event, People, Politics and the Press, attracts hundreds of informed Mississippians to downtown Jackson for a day-long civic engagement forum featuring national newsmakers, elected officials and the most prolific journalists from throughout the region.
Our Business Model
Deep South Today (formerly Mississippi News and Information Corporation), operating as Mississippi Today, was incorporated in Mississippi as a nonprofit organization on Oct. 3, 2014, and was granted its exemption from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code on March 6, 2015. EIN #47-2158741
MississippiToday.org is supported by grants from foundations, by contributions from donors and sponsors and by advertising. All donations are tax deductible. A complete list of the Mississippi Today donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
Mississippi Today® and its logos are registered trademarks of Mississippi Today.
Code of Ethics
Mississippi Today adheres to the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
Share Our Stories
News organizations can republish Mississippi Today’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license by following these guidelines.
Policy on Editorial Independence
Mississippi Today, as a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), subscribes to INN’s standards of editorial independence as follows:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We will maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses.
Our news judgments are made independently — not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
Our organization also may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $1,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.