Deep South Today, a growing nonprofit network of independent newsrooms in Louisiana and Mississippi, has named Adam Ganucheau as its first Executive Editor & Chief Content Officer.

Ganucheau has led Mississippi Today as Editor-in-Chief since April 2020 and began his new position on Monday. He steps into a regional leadership role overseeing Deep South Today’s editorial and content strategy across its growing network of nonprofit newsrooms. 

Working closely with Deep South Today President and CEO Warwick Sabin, Ganucheau will support the newsgathering efforts of Deep South Today’s existing outlets, provide essential direction for the launch of new newsrooms across the region and identify impactful editorial collaborations.

“As Deep South Today continues to expand its geographic reach and forge new partnerships, we need to ensure that we have a coherent content strategy and can provide editorial support to our newsrooms,” Sabin said. “Adam Ganucheau is the perfect person to provide that leadership as our first Executive Editor & Chief Content Officer. He has been enormously successful as the Editor-in-Chief of Mississippi Today, he knows our organization intimately and he has the respect of his colleagues and the national journalism community. I am looking forward to working even more closely with Adam as we build a sustainable model to deliver essential local news to the communities we serve across the Deep South.”

Ganucheau is succeeded at Mississippi Today by Emily Wagster Pettus, who has been the newsroom’s Senior Editor since May.

READ MORE: Emily Wagster Pettus named Editor-in-Chief of Mississippi Today

Under Ganucheau’s leadership, Mississippi Today grew into the largest newsroom in the state, earning a reputation for hard-hitting investigative reporting and developing innovative audio, video and community engagement initiatives.

Mississippi Today also was recognized with numerous national journalism awards under Ganucheau’s leadership. The newsroom won one Pulitzer Prize and was named a finalist for a second. It also won two Goldsmith Prizes, a Livingston Award, a Collier Prize and numerous Society of Professional Journalists regional awards. Many of the newsroom’s successes came in the face of one of the most aggressive and notable attacks on the free press in modern U.S. history, leading to Mississippi Today’s receipt of the National Press Club’s highest honor for press freedom.

“It has been the honor of my career to lead Mississippi Today’s newsroom through a period of remarkable growth and impact. I’m incredibly proud of the work our journalists do for Mississippians, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it,” Ganucheau said. “I’m energized by the opportunity to step into this new role at Deep South Today to expand the reach of our mission across the region and keep working hard to shore up a sustainable model for local news.”

About Deep South Today

Deep South Today is a nonprofit network of local newsrooms that includes Mississippi Today, Verite News, and The Current.

Founded in 2016, Mississippi Today is now the largest newsroom in the state, and in 2023 it won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Verite News launched in 2022 in New Orleans, where it covers inequities facing communities of color. The Current is a nonprofit news organization founded in 2018 serving Lafayette and southern Louisiana.

With its regional scale and scope, Deep South Today is rebuilding and re-energizing local journalism in communities where it had previously eroded, and ensuring its long-term growth and sustainability.