Columbia Journalism Review

04/16/2025

Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for an investigative series describing how Mississippi governor Phil Bryant directed millions of dollars in state welfare funds to projects that benefited his family and friends, among them former NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Bryant sued, alleging that Mississippi Today’s CEO, and also Wolfe and her editor, had defamed him in their public comments. Last week, a judge dismissed the case, sparing Mississippi Today the prospect of being compelled to reveal confidential sources during the discovery process.

Though the legal threat is not over—Bryrant’s attorneys have vowed to appeal—this is a major victory, one that shines a spotlight on what is happening in local media across the country. Some of the best accountability reporting is being done today by local nonprofit newsrooms—from Mississippi Today and its sister publication Verite News in New Orleans to VT Digger in Vermont and the Texas Tribune. But the threats are growing, from local officials and also a federal government animated by President Trump’s fierce anti-media rhetoric. Press freedom and legal organizations are rallying to meet the challenge—and have scored some notable successes.

More broadly, there’s a whole new system of local media emerging across the country, and if you divert your eyes from the terrifying threats to American democracy you can just see it coming into focus. It’s important to recognize the potential especially at a time when journalists and media experts are obsessing about the lack of sustainable business models, the expanding news deserts, the media’s declining influence, and the threat from AI. The concerns are understandable. But journalists and the public we serve also need to believe there is a future worth fighting for.