Jackson Free Press

All, I just learned that, on Tuesday, newish Clarion-Ledger Executive Editor Brian Tolley, brought in from Louisiana or somewhere, asked the staff to help "folks who are writing ads for our new subscription model ..." (presumably the dumb charge-for-web stories idea). Apparently those "folks" are probably far from Jackson in some corporatey cubicle, and Tolley doesn't know enough about Jackson to tell them the following, as reported by Gannett Blog ( http://bit.ly/MEDdRU). Tolley's verbatim list:

1. What is your town famous for?
2. What are the local sayings unique to your community?
3. Is there a famous landmark not for tourists, but for locals?
4. Who are the personalities known by everyone in town?
5. Who are your local heroes -- and why?
6. Who are your local villains?
7. What events only happen in your community? (charity events, yearly runs/walks not associated with national programs)

My suggestion is that we help him out. Post below and answer the questions for him. We might even run them in the paper sometime soon.

Enjoy. Meanwhile here's your moment of Zen.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2012/jun/28/3144/

So tonight I got a text that WAPT had done my story from a couple weeks ago about Robert Henderson, the pardoned felon who is now working for Council President (and mayoral candidate) Frank Bluntson. But when I watched the report, I realized that WAPT actually completely cribbed my enterprise reporting, including the pardon and other details, with no attribution to me or anyone else. Not to mention, they talked about "some taxpayers" supposedly being upset about it without actually talking to any of them.

Then, they have District Attorney Robert S. Smith on camera at the end saying that everyone deserves a second chance, including Henderson. Let's just say this is a very different story than the DA told me a few years back when speaking about Mr. Henderson.

But back to WAPT: This piece was shoddy journalism at its worst. I expect better out of y'all and, at the least, credit where it's due.

The Jackson City Council tonight set a new election for Ward 3, in which LaRita Stokes' election to succeed her husband Kenneth Stokes was recently overturned for voting irregularities. What do you think will happen?

After months of development and trials, we went live with this new website late Thursday. Cheers to developer Matt Heindl (also the JFP distribution manager) for all his hard work. In addition, Kristin Brenemen and her design team worked really hard to get the look right, and Latasha Willis and Dustin Cardon knocked themselves out to get the JFP events and restaurant listings on the site.

If you see any problems on the site, please let us know ([email protected]). We are still working out bugs and turning on new features. By the end of this week, all old JFP stories and comments from the last 10 years should be moved to this site, so if you can't find something in our archive, be patient; it's coming! Meantime, play with our new Search box (top of page to the right); it's so much better than before!

Also, note that a new JFP mobile app replaces the old JFP app, which is no longer updating!

An important thing to know: You will have to re-register to post on this new site. If you have trouble getting your old user name, let's know, and we'll work it out for you. Note that you can also post photos and video now to your comments.

The general public can now blog as well, even though new posts will go through moderation (and must comply with the User Agreement) before they're opened. Click here to get started! And be sure to set your profile page up with your photo and other info!

Have fun on this site, and try out the new tools. Cheers, all.

It is JFP Chick Ball season in Jackson, and we need your help to fight domestic abuse—this year to start a rape crisis center and raise awareness about sexual assault in our city and state! Here are 10 easy ways you can help.

The JFP got more great news Friday night when we learned that we are winning two first-place and one second-place award from the Society of Professional Journalists' southeastern division. Valerie Wells takes first place for feature writing, the Personhood team (this time, including R.L. Nave and Adam Lynch) takes second place for public service, and I won first place for serious commentary. Here is the full press release. Cheers to the team, congratulations to all the winners. We're honored to be in your company:

The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution to a man set to become the third man in as many weeks the state puts to death. Gary Carl Simmons had asked the court for an additional 14 days to have a mental exam conducted, but justices rejected his request this morning. If his scheduled June 20 death by lethal injection is carried out, Simmons will be the third man Mississippi executes in June.

In about two hours, Jan Michael Brawner will be executed for the murders of his 3-year-old daughter, ex-wife and former in-laws. The Mississippi Department of Corrections issued the following news release detailing Brawner's final day:

Management & Training Corporation will take over management of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility and two other Mississippi prisons, the Associated Press is reporting. MTC will also assume management of East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Meridian and the Marshall County Correctional Facility in Holly Springs.