Even as more than 2,000 U.S. newspapers have closed in the past 15 years, the top editor of Mississippi’s largest all-online news organization says its mission is not to supplant newspapers but to help them survive.
Nave
“Our philosophy is one of collaboration, not competition,” Ryan Nave, editor-in-chief of Mississippi Today, told the Greenwood Rotary Club Tuesday. “We actually want to create an ecosystem where we can give something of value to our audience but also create space so that people still have a reason to read the Clarion Ledger, still have a reason to read some of the weekly newspapers in our state, still have a reason to tune into local television.”
According to research by industry observers, about 2,100 U.S. newspapers have closed since 2004, the vast majority of them weekly newspapers. Many of the remaining 7,000 papers, in response to declines in advertising and circulation for their print publications, have reduced frequency and cut staff, particularly in their newsrooms. The Pew Research Center has estimated that the number of newsroom employees at U.S. newspapers dropped by almost half from 2008 to 2018.
As traditional news-gathering organizations were scaling back their coverage of state government as a cost-cutting move, Mississippi Today was launched in 2016 in order to fill the reporting void at the Capitol in Jackson, Nave said. The Missouri native has been a member of Mississippi Today’s editorial team from the start, including as editor-in-chief since 2017.
Mississippi Today now has a staff of 20, including 14 reporters and two editors. That would make it one of the largest newsrooms in the state.
Two of those reporters are based in the Delta.
Unlike traditional media organizations, which have historically relied on advertising for the largest share of their revenue, the nonprofit Mississippi Today is largely supported by foundations and grants. Advertising is only a small part of its revenue stream, and it does not accept political advertising. Nor does it charge for access to the content on its website, mississippitoday.org.
It hopes in the future, Nave said, to follow the example of The Texas Tribune, a similar nonprofit news organization headquartered in Austin, which generates significant revenue from corporate-sponsored events.
Editorially, Mississippi Today focuses on in-depth and investigative reporting, as well as areas of public interest that are being undercovered by other news media, Nave said.
It makes its articles available at no charge to newspapers and other media organizations. The Commonwealth is among those that regularly publishes its work.
Mississippi Today also has collaborated on occasion with some of the state’s newspapers on stories. Nave said he would like to do more of that.
“We actually believe that the more journalism that is being produced in Mississippi, the better,” he said.
“It is not our mission to make any newspaper close, to put anybody out of business. If there’s less journalism happening in Mississippi because of Mississippi Today, we’re not fulfilling our mission.”
•Contact Tim Kalich at 581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
