Last year, Mississippi Today published an investigation that found that Mississippi spent less than one percent of the tens of millions of dollars the state received through opioid settlements on measures that would prevent more overdose deaths.
In 2024, a joint Mississippi Free Press/ProPublica investigation found that state regulators failed to identify and act on problems with Jackson’s water system for years, contributing to a crisis that left roughly 160,000 residents without water for weeks.
And that same year, residents of economically disadvantaged communities in parts of South Jackson learned from the Clarion Ledger that a proposed dam development in the Pearl River would push water away from wealthier areas and potentially increase flooding in poorer neighborhoods.
These stories, and many others like them, promote good government, hold public officials accountable, and connect communities with information that shapes people’s daily lives. But producing these stories isn’t easy. In Mississippi, powerful people have grown increasingly hostile to the journalists documenting what they say and, more importantly, what they do.
Earlier this year, the Mississippi House Speaker’s office blocked Mississippi Today from attending a Capitol press event, preventing the outlet’s reporters from asking questions of one of the state’s top lawmakers. Journalists report that both state and local officials regularly refuse to turn over public records even though access is guaranteed under the state’s open records law. And former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant sued Mississippi Today over its Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of his involvement in a welfare scandal, forcing the outlet to spend precious resources to defend its reporting in the public interest.
Why does that matter? For one, Mississippians have a right to know how public officials are spending public money. When journalists face legal obstacles to their reporting, it makes it harder for them to provide our communities with reliable, independent information about everything from local schools to public safety to statewide elections.
In February, I joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press as its local attorney for Mississippi to ease that burden. The Reporters Committee is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to journalists and news outlets across the country.
The Reporters Committee’s free legal support has previously made a difference in Mississippi: In 2023, our attorneys helped a journalist challenge an unlawful Pontotoc ordinance that required records requesters to pay a $75 non-refundable fee to search for public records. Our attorneys also filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Mississippi Today’s effort to fend off the former governor’s defamation lawsuit.
Now, as the organization’s dedicated Mississippi-based attorney, I’m here to help journalists access public records and meetings, push back on legal challenges, and clear the path for deeply reported stories.
Before I joined the Reporters Committee, I worked at the law firm Phelps Dunbar, LLP, where I litigated cases related to defamation, intellectual property infringement, and more. I’m passionate about promoting transparency and accountability in local and state government, and I’m excited to help journalists push for that.
Over the last few months, I have been organizing and getting my practice fully off the ground. I hope to provide helpful updates and hints here regularly. I also look forward to meeting with you, doing newsroom trainings, helping you all with access public records and court hearings, and with other needs. Please reach out at acoffman@rcfp.org with any questions you might have.
I know how hard journalists here work to shine a light on important issues that touch people’s everyday lives. And I know that with a fierce line of legal defense to fight against attacks on the public’s right to know, journalists will be empowered to continue pursuing that mission — bringing you more stories that matter.
Andrew Coffman is the staff attorney in Mississippi for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. His email address is acoffman@rcfp.org.
