Mississippi News Outlet Asks State Supreme Court To Stop Former Governor's Attack On Journalism
Mississippi Today appealed a court decision ordering the news outlet to provide "newsgathering materials" to former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant
A nonprofit news organization in Mississippi, which was ordered by a state court to provide “newsgathering materials” to the state’s former governor, Phil Bryant, has appealed the court’s decision. They urge the Mississippi Supreme Court to recognize a reporter’s privilege for the first time in the state’s history.
Mississippi Today maintains that the order to give Bryant access to notes and interviews with confidential sources “threatens the constitutional rights and privacy of journalists and every Mississippi citizen.”
“If the lower court’s order is upheld,” Mississippi Today editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau declared, "every Mississippian [stands] to lose a fuller understanding of how some government leaders truly operate when their doors are closed and they think no one is watching.”
Bryant was the state’s governor while “one of the largest public fund fraud scandals” in Mississippi history unfolded. An audit determined that “more than $77 million dollars in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds” were misused or “spent illegally.”
As Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe exposed in April 2022, Bryant greatly influenced the funding decisions made by the state’s welfare director, John Davis, who was arrested for embezzlement in February 2020. Bryant assisted “his friend and retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who was the inspiration behind more than $8 million in improper welfare payments.”
Read the full article at The Dissenter
This is actually a big story... please keep us informed of what happens with this case... thank you for bringing the case to light for all to be alert to
What are the 10 states that don't protect journalists? Mississippi, Wyoming and who else?