Donna K. Ladd (born October 9, 1961) is an American investigative journalist who co-founded the ''
Jackson Free Press
The ''Jackson Free Press'', referred to often as simply "JFP", is a for-profit community magazine available free of charge at various retail establishments in Jackson, Mississippi founded in 2002 and owned by Mississippi native Donna Ladd and au ...
'', a community magazine,
[Kuldell, Heather (2007-06-15). "AAN Announces AltWeekly Awards Winners". Association of Alternative Newsmedia, 15 June 2007. Retrieved on 2009-11-03 from http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=oid%3A187877 .] and later, the ''
Mississippi Free Press
Mississippi () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; a ...
'', an online news publication that emphasizes
solutions journalism
Solutions journalism is an approach to news reporting that focuses on the responses to social issues as well as the problems themselves. Solutions stories, anchored in credible evidence, explain how and why responses are working, or not working. Th ...
where Ladd currently serves as editor. She is noted for highlighting the historical and continuing role of race in current events, for investigative reporting that helped convict klansman
James Ford Seale
James Ford Seale (June 25, 1935 – August 2, 2011) was a Ku Klux Klan member charged by the U.S. Justice Department on January 24, 2007, and subsequently convicted on June 14, 2007, for the May 1964 kidnapping and murder of Henry Hezekiah Dee an ...
for his role in the 1964 civil rights kidnappings and deaths of
Henry Hezekiah Dee
''Mississippi Cold Case'' is a 2007 feature documentary produced by David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the Ku Klux Klan murders of two 19-year-old black men, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, in Southwest Missi ...
and
Charles Eddie Moore
''Mississippi Cold Case'' is a 2007 feature documentary produced by David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the Ku Klux Klan murders of two 19-year-old black men, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, in Southwest Missis ...
, and for her coverage of
Frank Melton
Frank Ervin Melton (March 19, 1949 – May 7, 2009) was the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, United States, from 4 July 2005 until his death on 7 May 2009. Melton, an African American, defeated the city's first black mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr ...
, the controversial mayor of
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
.
Biography
Early life and education
Ladd was born in
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 census.
History
Philadelphia is incorporated as a municipality; it was given its current name in 1903, two year ...
. In 1983, Ladd completed her
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...
and left to pursue a career in journalism. She helped start ''The Colorado Springs Independent'',
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
' first alternative newsweekly, in 1993. After editing and then writing for the paper for several years, she moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where she wrote for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' and pursued a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in journalism from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Family
Ladd returned to
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
. She lives with author and ''Jackson Free Press'' publisher and technology/blogging consultant
Todd Stauffer Todd Stauffer is co-founder and publisher of the Jackson Free Press in Jackson, Mississippi, and author of 40 nonfiction books on a variety of computer-related topics. He lives with his partner, journalist and editor Donna Ladd.
Stauffer and Ladd s ...
, her partner of 20 years.
Career in Mississippi
In 2001, Ladd returned to Mississippi after an 18-year absence and co-founded ''The Jackson Free Press''. She serves as editor-in-chief and regularly contributes
op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
s and investigative pieces. She took the name from ''The Mississippi Free Press'', a now-defunct investigative
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
newspaper from the 1960s.
The ''JFP'', as it is called locally, launched in 2001 with a fully interactive Web site, with a wide variety of blogs and forums. Ladd teaches workshops on incorporating reporting and the Web around the country.
She is one of the few female political voices in Mississippi, sometimes drawing criticism as well as recognition for her outspoken progressive commentary on her blog. Her investigative work on Barbour has attracted attention from national blogs.
Justice and reconciliation
In July 2005, Donna Ladd and photographer Kate Medley joined Thomas Moore and
Canadian Broadcasting filmmaker
David Ridgen
David Ridgen is an independent Canadian filmmaker born in Stratford, Ontario. He has worked for CBC Television, MSNBC, NPR, TVOntario and others. He is currently the writer, producer and host of CBC Radio’s true-crime podcast series, '' Some ...
in a trip to Moore's hometown of
Meadville, Mississippi
Meadville is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Mississippi, United States, in the southwest part of the state. The population was 449 at the 2010 census, down from 519 at the 2000 census. It is situated north of the Homochitto Riv ...
. They intended to investigate and call for justice for the 1964 Klan murders of his brother, Charles Moore, and his friend Henry Dee. In the paper's first story about the trip, published July 20, 2005, the JFP revealed that the lead suspect,
James Ford Seale
James Ford Seale (June 25, 1935 – August 2, 2011) was a Ku Klux Klan member charged by the U.S. Justice Department on January 24, 2007, and subsequently convicted on June 14, 2007, for the May 1964 kidnapping and murder of Henry Hezekiah Dee an ...
, was living in the area, although ''
The Clarion-Ledger
''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...
'' and other media had reported that he was no longer alive. In January 2007, the Justice Department announced that Seale had been indicted for federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges in connection with the case.
Ladd's work on the case drew national and international attention, including from
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
,
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, CBS Radio, ''Editor & Publisher'', and the Poynter Institute.
In June 2007, Seale was convicted of federal charges and sentenced to life in prison.
. She teaches annual writing workshops at the Academy for Alternative Journalism at
every summer, a program to increase diversity in the alternative press.
Her work for racial conciliation and justice in the state have been recognized widely, including in a ''
'' magazine profile, as well as by other media outlets.
Ladd serves on the board of directors of the
and as its national Diversity Chair. She is also vice president of the
were co-recipients of the Friendship Award, an annual prize given by Jackson 2000, a racial reconciliation group.
*Ladd has received six awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies for her investigative work and political commentary, including for her Dee-Moore series and as part of the team that investigated Mayor Frank Melton.
*2005, Ladd was designated one of Mississippi's leading 50 businesswomen by the ''