Building a Nonprofit News Powerhouse with Mississippi Today’s Mary Margaret White

Local News Matters

Mary Margaret White, CEO and executive director of Mississippi Today, discusses her journey in helping readers and philanthropy understand the value of journalism as a civic good. She shares insights on the history and growth of Mississippi Today, which launched in 2016 to fill a need for Capitol reporting and has since expanded to cover a wide range of issues, including health, justice, education and climate. Under her leadership, Mississippi Today won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting and was a finalist in 2024 for an investigative collaboration with the New York Times.

White delves into the lessons learned in raising philanthropic dollars, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in fundraising and the necessity of maintaining editorial independence despite donor influences. She also highlights the need for diverse funding streams, including memberships and earned revenue, to ensure the sustainability of nonprofit newsrooms.

She also discusses the operational and legal challenges of investigative journalism and the need to balance deep dives with daily reporting. White reflects on her career in public service and how her previous roles have shaped her approach to journalism at Mississippi Today.

Episode chapters:(00:02:57) - History and growth of Mississippi Today(00:07:30) - Lessons in raising philanthropic dollars(00:12:48) - Maintaining editorial independence(00:16:21) - Diversity of funding and revenue strategies(00:19:35) - Audience engagement and growth(00:24:30) - Balancing investigative and daily reporting(00:27:04) - Legal and operational challenges in investigative journalism(00:30:30) - Insights from the American Journalism Project(00:36:05) - From public service in government to public service in journalism(00:39:26) - Rapid-fire questions(00:47:29) - Media recommendations and local Mississippi highlights

Links:

• Mary Margaret White: Linkedln, Twitter/X
• Mississippi Today

• Mentioned
  • Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University
  • Center for the Study of Southern Culture
  • Online News Association’s Women’s Leadership Accelerator
  • Deep South Today
  • Knight Media Forum
  • American Journalism Project
  • Press Forward
  • Frank Mungeam episode
  • Sarabeth Berman episode
  • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • Larry Ryckman episode
  • Central Mississippi Blues Society
  • Scripps Howard Foundation
  • The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center at USM
  • University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media
  • Mississippi Press Association

• Media recommendations:
  • Kurt Vile
  • Gulf States Newsroom
  • Thank You, Please Come Again by Kate Medley
• Local recommendations:
  • Hal and Mal's
  • Walter Anderson Museum of Art
  • Quapaw Canoe Company
• Local News Matters: web, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Colorado Press Association: web, Twitter, Facebook
• Tim Regan-Porter: bio, Twitter

For show notes, transcripts, newsletter sign-up and past guests on the Local News Matters podcast, please visit localnewsmatterspodcast.com or lnmpod.com.

Past guests on the Local News Matters podcast include: Amy Kovac-Ashley (Tiny News Collective), Michael Shaprio (TAPinto), Kenny Katzgrau (redbankgreen and Broadstreet), John Garrett (Community Impact), Shannon Kinney (Dream Local Digital), Larry Ryckman (The Colorado Sun), Frank Mungeam (Local Media Association), Kelly Ann Scott (Alabama Media Group), Sara Lomax and S. Mitra Kalita (URL Media), Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro (National Trust for Local News), Mike Rispoli and Richard Young (via When the People Decide), Sarabeth Berman (American Journalism Project), Rabbi Hillel Goldberg and Shana Goldberg (Intermountain Jewish News), Lyndsay C. Green (via The Journalism Salute), Rashad Mahmood and Mark Glaser (New Mexico Local News Fund), Christian Vanek and Barbara Hardt (The Mountain-Ear), Dan Grech (BizHack), Zack Richner (Easy Tax Credits), Tracie Powell (Pivot Fund), Dan Oshinsky (Inbox Collective), Linda Shapley (via What Works), Yehong Zhu and Jake Seaton (Zette, Column), Charity Huff (January Spring), Joaquin Alvarado and Dave Perry (Aurora Sentinel), Steve Waldman (Rebuild Local News), Maritza Félix (Conecta Arizona), Michael Bolden (American Press Institute), Jeff Roberts and Corey Hutchins (CFOIC, Colorado College), Eve Pearlman and Erica Anderson (Spaceship Media), Jennifer Brandel (Hearken, Democracy SOS), Corey Hutchins with Bay Edwards, Todd Chamberlain and Raleigh Burleigh (Sopris Sun).