Short answers, pulled from the story.
Mississippi native Donna Ladd and technology expert Todd Stauffer established the Jackson Free Press in 2002. They launched the publication simultaneously as an online platform and a free biweekly print magazine that same year.
Gannett Corp and their newspaper The Clarion-Ledger proposed a new distribution plan requiring independent publishers to pay fees and sign exclusive contracts to join the network. The Jackson Free Press joined eight other area publishers to form the Mississippi Independent Publishers Alliance to create its own distribution system and resist Gannett's demands.
Donna Ladd served as editor-in-chief during July 2005 when the magazine reported on James Ford Seale who was a long-suspected Klansman involved in the 1964 abductions and murders of Charles Moore and Henry Dee. This reporting revealed he remained alive in Mississippi and prompted a renewed federal investigation into the cold case.
The Circulation Verification Council audited the magazine in 2016 and found specific circulation numbers showing weekly print readership reached around 37,500 copies during that year. Online visitors totaled approximately 30,000 weekly according to the same audit.
The Society of Professional Journalists awarded the Jackson Free Press multiple Green Eyeshade awards and Diamond awards for outstanding reporting. The Associated Press granted several honors for work covering the Louisiana and Mississippi region while the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies provided multiple accolades over the years.