The journalists of the Mississippi Free Press continue to receive honors for their outstanding work reporting the stories that are important to Mississippians, now up to 93 national and regional awards and honors since the newsroom’s March 2024. The Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists bestowed the most recent of these accolades on July 24 at its annual Diamond Journalism Awards ceremony in Little Rock, Ark. The regional competition rewards outstanding digital, print and broadcast journalism from news outlets in Arkansas and the six states that border it.
This year members of the MFP’s team walked away with five first-place awards and six finalist honors. Editor and CEO Donna Ladd took home first place in two categories: Environmental/Science Writing, for her explanatory piece “‘One Lake’ or ‘No Lake’? Debate Over Pearl River Flooding Options Means Unlikely Allies, Opponents” and Profiles, for her tribute to her late friend and adviser “Hodding Carter III: Hellraiser, Journalist, Mentor, 1935-2023.”
Freelance data reporter William Pittman won first place in the Graphics/Illustrations category for his graphic depicting voting precinct address errors in counties across the state; reporter Heather Harrison won first place in the Business Reporting category with her series “Medical Cannabis Industry Faces Growing Pains in Mississippi”; and capital city reporter Shaunicy Muhammad took first place in General News Photography with her photo of voting-rights advocates meeting in the wake of Election Day ballot shortages.
Culture writer Aliyah Veal was named a finalist in both the Features and Arts & Entertainment categories for reporting on the tragic murders that finally led to a historic marker for two lynching victims in Montgomery County and for a series of stories about the Jackson music scene, respectively.
Multiple stories on the state of reproductive health care in Mississippi after the Dobbs decision by Ashton Pittman and Heather Harrison earned them a finalist position in the Health Reporting category, and freelance reporter Christian Middleton placed in Enterprise/In-Depth Reporting for his deep-dive reporting into a cold case in Lafayette County and the victim’s family’s fight for justice.
MFP reporters also
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