Here is the transcript from Sunday night’s NBC News special fronted by Tom Brokaw on the plight of black youth and neighborhoods in Jackson. The piece features interviews with Clarion-Ledger executive editor Ronnie Agnew and Jackson Mayor Frank Melton.
For his efforts leading to the convictions of criminals from the Civil Rights era, including the murderer of NAACP worker Medgar Evers, as documented in the film Ghosts of Mississippi, investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell will receive the 2007 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award from Colby College. Mitchell is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Clarion-Ledger.
Shirley Wallace and her family ended up in Corbin, Ky. last year after Hurricane Katrina forced them to flee Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. The fact that Wallace “loves her new hometown” is a source of fascination to The Lexington Herald-Leader since the Wallaces are black and Corbin is nearly all-white, with a “fearsome reputation” and history.
And, of course, there’s the obligatory racism reference at Mississippi’s expense.
The Delta Democrat Times editorializes that rumors and/or efforts toward relocating the Federal Courthouse in Greenville to another Delta town — namely Clarksdale — are detrimental to the entire region. It also admonishes an opinion column in “another Delta newspaper” on the subject.
John L. Pitts has been named sports editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo. He succeeds Gene Phelps, who led the sports desk for two decades and becomes a senior writer at the Journal.
Pitts, 49, was most recently on staff at the Times Daily in Florence, AL. He is a former assistant sports editor at the Tupelo paper.
Turns out there’s more fruitbasket turnover in Tupelo. Longtime sports writer Mark Beason is leaving the paper to take a job with Mississippi Outdoors.
An NBC News special will feature Jackson’s Lanier High School and delve into the oft-debated issue of race relations in the Capital City. NBC stalwart Tom Brokaw hosts the program, airing Sunday night at 6. The special will feature an interview with Clarion-Ledger executive editor Ronnie Agnew, the first African-American to hold the post at the paper.
Here’s a review that takes an erroneous turn after the New York Times correspondent proclaims Mississippi’s Secretary of State is a black woman.
Sun Herald publisher Rickey Mathews figures prominently in a recent Chicago Tribune feature on the coast recovery and the annual Fouth of July deep sea fishing tournament.
According to the story: Mathews’ house suffered $150,000 of uninsured damage and nine of 11 of his family members lost homes, but his newspaper never missed a day of publication and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service.
“There was no champagne cracked,” Mathews said. “Personally, it felt very empty to me. Professionally, it was great.”
From clarionledger.com: Jackson Council members approved on Thursday offering The Clarion-Ledger a settlement in its lawsuit against the city regarding public records.
On May 30, the paper sued the city, including the City Council and mayor, citing overdue requests for public records. The mayor and paper reached a settlement on June 20.
Council members and the city clerk are the remaining defendants. Their settlement states they will “make a good faith effort” to follow the state’s Public Records Law.
“We are not ready to sign off on the settlement offer, but we are going to look at it,” said Clarion-Ledger Executive Editor Ronnie Agnew.
Items about little ole Picayune turned up from coast to coast yesterday. First, the community was featured in a continuing post-Katrina series on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Then, perusing the July edition of The Washington Newspaper, a newsletter for the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, we found an item about The Issaquah (Wash.) Press‘ four-part series on disaster preparedness, for which a reporter was dispatched to Picayune. Turns out the town is Issaquah’s adopted city.
Cosby Woodruff has been named the sports editor at the Delta Democrat Times. Woodruff, a University of Georgia graduate, was formerly the sports editor of The Newton (Ga.) Citizen. Woodruff begins at the DDT Aug. 7. He replaces Dave Vowell…
Terri Ferguson has been named the business editor of the Delta Democrat Times. Ferguson, a Delta State University graduate, was formerly the managing editor for the Grenada Daily Star for 12 years. Ferguson, who begins July 31, will also cover education and agriculture for the DDT…
Lynn LaFoe has returned to the Delta Democrat Times as the features editor. LaFoe, who spent 25 years at the DDT previously, left four years ago to pursue other opportunities. She returned in April, replacing Keri Holt. Holt left to take a position with the Destin (Fla.) Log.
Fredie Carmichael has been named editor of The Meridian Star. He is a former reporter for the morning daily, and comes home to the Star after a stint at the Pensacola News-Journal. He succeeds Steve Stewart, who left to become publisher of The Tidewater News in Franklin, Va.
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