Gulf States Newsroom
Too many local news outlets have disappeared in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The Gulf States Newsroom was created to ensure that stories related to health care, criminal justice, the economy and other important issues continue to be told. WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana, WBHM in Alabama, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, and NPR are working together as a regional newsroom to plan coverage, share resources and add reporting power in a story-rich region that has for too long gone under-covered.
Support for the Gulf States Newsroom comes from WBHM, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR, the Commonwealth Fund, the Public Welfare Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. To learn more about the Gulf States Newsroom, email [email protected].
The Regional Team:
Priska Neely, managing editor based at WBHM in Birmingham
Rashah McChesney, senior content editor based at WBHM in Birmingham
Orlando Flores Jr., digital editor based at WWNO in New Orleans
Stephan Bisaha, senior reporter covering wealth and poverty based at WBHM in Birmingham
Kat Stromquist, senior reporter covering justice, incarceration and gun violence based at WWNO in New Orleans
Joseph King, sports and culture reporting fellow based at WBHM in Birmingham
Drew Hawkins, health equity reporter based at WWNO in New Orleans
Danny McArthur, environmental justice reporter based in Tupelo
Maya Miller, community engagement reporter based at Mississippi Public Broadcasting in Jackson
WBHM News Team | WWNO News Team | MPB News Team
Recent stories from the Gulf States Newsroom
- As Alabama tries to legalize sports betting, advocates point to neighboring states’ success
- What architects learned from 30 years of building affordable homes in Alabama’s Black Belt
- The HBCU Legacy Bowl is more than a game. It also prepares students for life after sports
- Thousands honor Selma Jubilee, voting rights ahead of March 5 election
- From sea to table to sea: How recycled oyster shells are restoring the Alabama coast
- 4 factors besides cold weather that explain expensive winter power bills
- As March 5 primary election nears, some voters are still unaware of District 2 change
- ‘Living in fear’: Small-town Mississippi residents are skeptical of DOJ’s police investigation
- A South Asian krewe in New Orleans wants to ‘put the masala in Mardi Gras’
- The Gulf South’s rejection of the Summer EBT program puts further strain on child hunger issues
- Opioid overdoses are on the rise. A Louisiana medical student believes Narcan training can help
- New Alabama law aims to improve police interactions with people with disabilities
- Ahead of Kenneth Smith’s execution, people impacted by Alabama’s death penalty speak out
- Jackson estimated his water bill and overcharged him by thousands. He fought back and won
- MLK Day is Monday. In Alabama and Mississippi, it’s also Robert E. Lee Day.
- Deadline approaches for USDA loan discrimination funds for underserved farmers
- Nick Saban’s retirement is a blow to Alabama football’s fans — and a boon to its haters
- Mercedes-Benz autoworkers in Alabama want to join the UAW. Here’s what the past could teach them
- New Orleans residents are uneasy about the NOPD’s planned drone program, documents show
- Inflation is slowing, unless you’re ‘makin’ groceries’ for New Orleans gumbo. Here’s why
- The 2023 moments that will stick with us: Reflections from the Gulf States Newsroom
- This New Orleans restaurant made it through the pandemic. Can it survive water billing issues?
- Despite strong economic signs, food pantry lines are still growing in the Gulf South
- Place, Erased: A virtual listening session with the Gulf States Newsroom; watch replay
- Jackson State’s Sonic Boom of the South is ready to prove it’s ESPN’s ‘Band of the Year’
- How making Jackson’s famed Farish Street more green could also help cool it off
- Alabama’s prison population sees troubling growth in latest DOJ report
- She owed $7K due to a water leak. Her utility saw the signs but didn’t tell her
- A pro jiu-jitsu league is bringing grapplers from across the globe to a small city in Alabama
- LGBTQ doctors are leaving the Gulf South due to discrimination: ‘We weren’t welcome anymore’
- Place, Erased: A look at Gulf South communities transformed by forces beyond their control
- Place, Erased: Is this Mississippi community really a ghost town? It depends on who you ask
- Place, Erased: The fight for the remains of a Louisiana town
- Remembering Margaret Walker 50 years later, as her groundbreaking poetry festival returns to Jackson
- Place, Erased: How a drowned Alabama town still holds lessons 60 years later
- At the Magic City Classic, what you wear is just as important as who you cheer for
- The Gulf South looks to ‘charge up’ its economy with electric vehicles
- At Huntingdon College, Alabama’s 1st NCAA women’s wrestling team is ready to roll
- The Gulf South’s record heat brought another pain for residents — higher power bills
- Book bans are on the rise in the Gulf South. Here’s what’s being challenged in Alabama
- Alabama finally has a new congressional map after a lengthy legal fight
- How Gulf South outdoor workers dealt with the hottest August on record
- 6 months later, Mississippi communities hit by March tornado fear they’ve been abandoned
- Q&A: Author of ‘Rocket Men’ details how Black quarterbacks helped move the NFL forward
- Q&A: Why New Orleans’ unhoused people face increased danger from relentless heat
- Birmingham residents reflect on 60th anniversary of church bombing
- Birmingham students take trip back in time for lesson on 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
- A ‘catastrophic’ loss: Severe heat puts a heavy strain on rural farmers in the Gulf South
- In fight to remove divisive New Orleans highway, activists turn to new strategy — an EPA study
- She looked for help after her power bill doubled. But aid for utilities often falls short
- Gulf South’s ‘Hot Labor Summer’ is heating up heading into the fall
- Parents, students deal with record-breaking heat at the start of football season
- A medical equipment company is trying to turn the tide on the Gulf South’s ‘diaper divide’
- Alabama argues its new standards — not SCOTUS order — should dictate congressional map redraw
- As the peak of hurricane season nears, Southwest Louisiana is still recovering from 2020 storms
- 7 cases of tuberculosis found in 4 Alabama chicken processing plants
- As infertility rates rise, data shows much of the US lives in a ‘fertility desert’
- EPA wants to reject Alabama’s coal ash program; says it is not protective enough
- An Alabama family’s water bill tripled after moving just outside of city limits. Here’s why
- Residents near Louisiana Dow plant are skeptical after explosion: ‘You can’t trust them’
- How Mississippi historians are preserving Emmett Till’s and Mamie Till-Mobley’s story
- Emmett Till is being memorialized with 3 national monuments. Here’s where they’ll be located
- WATCH: A discussion on what’s behind the spread of dollar stores with the Gulf States Newsroom
- North Birmingham’s Bluestone Coke plant issued warning for Clean Water Act violations
- Elder Black farmers in Mississippi seek a new generation to continue their legacy
- New CDC report finds ‘significant increase’ in children diagnosed with developmental disorders
- The Dollar Store Takeover: A Virtual Listening Session and Conversation
- In rural Mississippi, Baby University is helping parents with ‘more than diapers’
- She thought one call would fix her power bill. A year later, she’s still not satisfied
- As ‘overwhelming’ heat dome settles over the Gulf South, unhoused residents seek refuge
- Alabama’s health care system for women ranks near the bottom of this new scorecard
- How hard is life after prison? This simulation in Birmingham offers a taste
- A year after the loss of Roe v. Wade, Gulf South residents reflect on abortion rights
- ‘Kids will end their lives’: Anti-trans legislation is impacting mental health in the Gulf South
- As the US invests more in climate-smart ag, these Louisiana farmers could serve as a model
- With pandemic-era boost to SNAP over, a Mississippi diaper bank is receiving more calls for help
- A water leak led to a $20K bill for an Alabama couple. A smart meter could have saved them
- How TikTok and the South’s urban legends opened new doors for Alabama’s Joshua Dairen
- Tell us your story about reproductive health care in the Gulf South
- An Alabama program helps residents stormproof their homes. Louisiana wants to copy it
- To improve birth outcomes for uninsured moms, Birmingham is training more doulas
- A Ukrainian dressmaker and his family find refuge and a new beginning in Vestavia Hills
- WATCH: A conversation on the experiences of Cameroonians in immigration detention with the Gulf States Newsroom
- Tornado’s swift arrival in Rolling Fork highlights Gulf South’s emergency management needs
- Why SCOTUS decision on abortion pill ban won’t change much for Gulf South residents
- Pascagoula residents sue EPA to halt production of Chevron’s plastic fuel
- Why preventing flooding in Mississippi’s Yazoo Backwater is easier said than done
- The imbalanced scales of immigration justice: A listening session and conversation
- With ‘dollar stores in every direction,’ some communities are saying enough
- Advocates warn of a ‘dollar store invasion.’ Researchers are still figuring out the consequences
- New complaint alleges sex assault, medical neglect, abuse of detainee at Louisiana ICE facility
- Dollar stores are everywhere in the South. These 5 charts explain what’s behind their growth
- An inside look at an AP African American Studies class
- Volunteers are driving in to offer hot meals, necessities to Mississippi tornado survivors
- As midwifery evolves, this Mississippi museum is preserving the history of granny midwives
- In Rolling Fork, a congregation comes together to save a century-old church
- ‘We’re going to help them’: How Mississippians are banding together after a devastating tornado
- With the NCAA Tournament in town, Birmingham is ready for thrilling games, an economic boost
- Spurred by slow deportation wait times, Louisiana ICE detainees attempted a hunger strike
- In rural Mississippi, E.R. staff are being trained to care for moms and deliver babies