Jackson Free Press

Carl Gibson has only been in Jackson for nine months, but he has already become a fixture of the city's music and arts scenes. The Kentucky native drums and performs poetry at open-mic nights around the city, so it wasn't a stretch for him to write about karaoke die-hards for the Jackson Free Press in July.

Gibson, 23, was born in Lexington, Ky., but moved frequently because of his father's work as a Methodist preacher. "I'm kind of used to packing up and moving to new towns and starting all over," Gibson says. "It's what I've been doing my whole life."

He graduated from Morehead State University in 2009 with a degree in journalism and came to Jackson in October to work for Mississippi Public Broadcasting as its capitol reporter, where he covered the Mississippi Legislature and BP Gulf oil spill, among other topics.

After MPB's abrupt cancellation of the nationally syndicated show "Fresh Air" for what it deemed "inappropriate" sexual content, MPB fired Gibson in July. The station had searched its mail servers, discovering that Gibson forwarded an internal e-mail to the Jackson Free Press using his work account. The e-mail showed that MPB's decision to pull "Fresh Air" came less than 24 hours after its July 7 show aired with a reference to sex.

Gibson says he regrets not having contacted MPB Executive Director Judy Lewis directly with his concerns about the Fresh Air cancellation.

"Honestly, if I didn't get fired for this, it would've been for something else like budget cuts or any other unforeseen circumstance," he says. "In a business like that, it's just really hard to keep your mouth shut, especially when something is going wrong right in front of you in your own agency."

Having acted in college and community-theater productions in Kentucky, Gibson is now bringing his energy and uncanny Haley Barbour impressions to political satire.

Gibson is developing a satirical, politically oriented radio show he is calling "The SPOT News Hour with Carl Gibson."

"SPOT" stands for "Small Particles Of Truth," he says.

"It's a mix of witty political commentary, mixed with hard-hitting political interviews with newsmakers and whoever will talk to me," he says. "My first one is going to be "Immigration in Mississippi" and this whole states' rights business."

Gibson proudly calls Jackson his "new adopted home."

"My last 10 months in Jackson have been jam-packed with stories that would make most people's heads spin," he says. "The music scene here is just fantastic. The arts scene is really inspiring. You've got Cultural Expressions on Sunday, Frank Jones Corner on the weekends. There's music everywhere, and everyone is so cool with each other about it."

Jackson's renaissance is intimately tied to its arts and music, he believes.

"I think we could be another Austin, Texas, in another 10 years, maybe even less than that, assuming the world doesn't end," Gibson says. "I think the key to that is the music and arts scene. I think that's what brings people here, and I think that's what sets us apart."

For more information about Gibson's upcoming radio project, contact him at [e-mail missing].