JACKSON, Miss.—Last year I wrote a publisher’s note about the latest in a series of water crises dating back to my childhood in the capital city. Freezing temperatures in February 2021 resulted in many Jackson residents being without water for a month. Our team covered the deep causes of the first round of the Jackson water crisis, and are covering this one, like both professional journalists and Mississippians who love their home state and its capital city.
Learning rapidly on the job working with Editor Donna Ladd—who sure knows how to train journalists—first at the Jackson Free Press and now the Mississippi Free Press, Nick Judin is now one of the best reporters in the country. His work on Jackson’s water infrastructure demonstrates what the MFP does best—and is viral in the current water crisis, giving people across Mississippi and the world the context they need to understand how this came about after decades of neglect and race politics.
In layman’s terms, at the Mississippi Free Press, we report fully on what’s going on now and how we got here, including the quiet parts. Jackson’s water crisis is a systemic issue that, as Ashton Pittman points out all the time on Twitter, and that Donna explained to the state and nation for NBC News Think last year, is more complex than one mayoral or gubernatorial administration.
Connect the Historic Dots, Don’t Ignore Them
Good reporting connects the historic dots, not ignores them.
There are many people of various parties and administrations to blame on this front (yes including Ronald Reagan), as Nick’s deep background reporting on Jackson’s failing water system explains.
So here I sit again, concerned about Jackson’s people and proud as punch that so many national media teams are sourcing and interviewing our team members to understand the
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