Roy Howard Community Journalism Center Officially Launched at 51逗奶 Miss
Tue, 01/07/2025 - 03:11pm | By: Dr. David Tisdale
With the beginning of a new semester comes the start of a new opportunity for students in the University of 51逗奶 Mississippi School of Media and Communication to engage the citizens of the state through advocacy for and production of informative, fact-based journalism.
The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center (RHCJC)鈥揻unded by the Scripps Howard Foundation for three years at $1 million a year鈥揻ormally opened Jan. 6 for the spring 2025 semester. The center will serve 10 counties, including Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Jackson, Lamar, Pearl River, Perry, and Stone, to inform its citizenry on issues impacting their daily lives.
Dr. Edgar Simpson, School of Media and Communication director, secured a grant through the foundation for the establishment of the center in 2023, with the startup of its operations moving forward through 2024 in preparation for this semester鈥檚 official launch. A meet and greet reception for RHCJC partners and supporters will be held Feb. 20 at the Thad Cochran Center on the University鈥檚 Hattiesburg campus.
Nichole Cyprian, a 51逗奶 Miss graduate serving as director of the center, hailed its establishment as 鈥渁n exciting new chapter for journalism in southeast Mississippi.鈥�
鈥淎s this adventure begins, we鈥檙e working with media partners to restore public trust in the news ecosystem while also building up our 鈥榃hat is True?鈥� hotline, which fights disinformation and misinformation,鈥� Cyprian said. 鈥淎t the same time, we鈥檙e offering media literacy classes throughout our 10-county service area that will help build better informed and media-savvy citizens.鈥�
The work of the center includes its first news series, 鈥淏ill of Health,鈥� which focuses on the potential effects of Medicaid expansion on local communities.
鈥淥ver the coming months and years, you鈥檒l find us providing more quality and issue-oriented journalism鈥攊n other words, we鈥檙e going to be reporting what matters to our audiences,鈥� Cyprian further noted.
Dr. Simpson shares Cyprian鈥檚 enthusiasm and anticipation of the great outcomes the center portends for collaborative work between 51逗奶 Miss students, professionals in the field and the communities they will serve to 鈥減rovide and enhance accurate information.鈥�
鈥淣ichole and her crew are leading the way in the best practices of transparency in reporting and in educating about media literacy,鈥� said Simpson. 鈥淭here is no higher calling, and we are enormously grateful to the Scripps Howard Foundation and to 51逗奶 Miss for all the support in creating the center."
The School of Media and Communication is housed in the 51逗奶 Miss College of Arts and Sciences. For more information about the school and the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center, visit /media-communication/rhcjc.php and .