Who founded the Jackson Free Press and when?
The Jackson Free Press was founded in 2002 by Donna Ladd, a Mississippi native, and Todd Stauffer, an author and technology expert. The magazine launched simultaneously in print and online that same year.
Questions about Jackson Free Press
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the Jackson Free Press named after?
The Jackson Free Press takes its name from the original Mississippi Free Press, a civil rights movement newspaper started by a multiracial coalition. The naming was a deliberate acknowledgment of that publication's legacy.
How did the Jackson Free Press expose James Ford Seale?
In July 2005, the Jackson Free Press reported that James Ford Seale, long suspected in the 1964 abductions and murders of Charles Moore and Henry Dee, was alive and living in Mississippi, contradicting previous media reports. The reporting helped prompt a renewed federal investigation, and Seale was indicted in 2007.
What was the Mississippi Independent Publishers Alliance and why was it formed?
The Mississippi Independent Publishers Alliance (MIPA) was formed in 2006 when the Jackson Free Press joined eight other Jackson-area publishers to oppose a Gannett Corp. distribution plan that would have required independent publishers to pay a fee and sign an exclusive contract. MIPA built its own distribution network; by 2009, Gannett closed their competing network while MIPA's remained.
What were the circulation figures for the Jackson Free Press?
In 2007, the Jackson Free Press had a circulation of 17,000 and between 52,000 and 64,332 readers per week. A 2016 audit by the Circulation Verification Council found around 37,500 weekly print readers and 30,000 weekly visitors online.
Who bought the Jackson Free Press in 2022?
In 2022, the Jackson Free Press's journalism assets were purchased by the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a nonprofit that owns and operates the Mississippi Free Press. That organization was co-founded by Jackson Free Press founder Donna Ladd and former associate publisher Kimberly Griffin.