I started with the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, specifically the Mississippi Free Press, during my senior year at Jackson State University. I learned about the Poynter and Google News Initiative only a couple days before the application was due and decided to apply at a whim. I didn’t know much about MJEG, but I figured it would be good to get ahead by finding a solid internship to fulfill my internship credits.
I didn’t know that the extent of my fall internship would bring forth the opportunity to create and share raw and distinct stories like MFP does.
While serving as the team’s misinformation fellow, I spent time focused on election-based fact-checking, particularly while the governor’s race was ongoing. I gained my fair share of experience learning the dangers of horse-race reporting and how to go about handling false information.
Following graduation, I became the editorial programming coordinator with the Youth Media Project, which left me with many gems that I figured is good information any journalist should know.
Knowledge is power. And real journalism tells real stories.
The Youth Media Projects allows high-school students to learn about journalism and to create compelling and engaging stories that relate to their communities. Photo of 2024 YMP student journalist Haley Bradford by Imani Khayyam ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”A closeup of a teen writing notes down on a yellow legal pad at a desk with other students also working” class=”wp-image-46128″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YMP-students-working-closeup_cred-Imani-Khayyam-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>The Youth Media Projects allows high-school students to learn about journalism and to create compelling and engaging stories that relate to their communities. Photo of 2024 YMP student journalist Haley Bradford by Imani Khayyam
Spending my summer mentoring 14-to-17-year-olds on the world of objectivity (and coming to the conclusion that it sometimes does more harm than good) and how to write meaningful and engaging stories re-ignited why I fell in love with writing and journalism.
Now, as MFP’s editorial assistant, editing
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