[1/22/26] Mississippi Free Press Seeks East Central Mississippi Bureau Reporter

The Mississippi Free Press is seeking a full-time East Central Mississippi Bureau Reporter to join our diverse team of reporters and freelance contributors as we continue to grow our mission to cover Mississippi in a deeply contextual, inclusive and solutions-based fashion that challenges the old ways of the state’s traditional media environment. The East Central Mississippi Bureau Reporter will work with the news editor to pitch, identify and pursue story assignments covering the diverse counties of the region (Attala, Clarke, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott, Smith and Jasper counties), with strong attention to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and other tribal communities and the issues that affect them. We are particularly interested in candidates who have personal or cultural connections to Native or tribal communities and possess a deep understanding of community dynamics, as well as a commitment to inclusive and ethical reporting. This reporter will produce in-depth, people-centered stories that illuminate how history, policy, and systems shape daily life across the region—with reporting that goes far beyond typical Black/white narratives about Mississippi.