The word “bittersweet” doesn’t do justice to the news we share today. After six years with Mississippi Today, Marshall Ramsey, our editor-at-large and beloved editorial cartoonist, will be leaving the newsroom to launch the Mississippi Media Lab at the University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media. In this first-of-its-kind position, Marshall will serve as editor of the journalism school’s media lab and as the civic engagement coordinator for the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation, where he will serve as a liaison between the center, the school and the broader community.
Marshall joined our newsroom in December 2018 with decades of editorial cartoons under his belt. He’d been nominated for multiple Pulitzer Prizes, published numerous books, hosted television and radio programs and emceed nearly every event in the state. He brought to Mississippi Today his insatiable appetite for community connection, levity and creativity. He helped us build our brand of accountability reporting into a household name, and he gave readers across Mississippi hope, humor and an illustrative critique of current events. He is simply irreplaceable, and we will miss his presence in the newsroom and on the website.
Of Marshall’s many admirable qualities, his bravery will always be the one I admire most. Marshall often tells the story of getting a cancer diagnosis and being made part time at his newspaper job on the same day. He does so with his signature comic style, but what he doesn’t share is the tenacity and gumption it took to reinvent himself. He grew his artistic talent as a cartoonist into a full-time gig as a creative entrepreneur. His social media became a brand of its own, and Marshall Ramsey fans are a dedicated and loyal bunch to this day. Through his public speaking engagements, Marshall gave Mississippians what they hadn’t seen before: a mix of sarcasm and empathy that resonated deeply and profoundly for folks from all walks of life. From there, he developed television and radio programs that highlighted the creative spirit of our state but never shied away from the hard-truths that inspire the artistic process.
As an editorial cartoonist, Marshall’s pen spared no one and never played favorites. Marshall amplified the work of our journalists through his editorial cartoons and always had the backs of our reporters, and of our readers. We, as a team, never cease to be amazed by how he can capture the essence of a 7,000-word story in a single cartoon. He’s helped us all laugh to keep from crying, and to collectively seethe when words can’t do justice. For that, we as Mississippians are grateful.
Mississippi Today is growing, and for that we are grateful, but we won’t be posting a job description to replace Marshall Ramsey. That is simply impossible. What we will be doing is cheering on his work at Ole Miss, collaborating closely with the students and projects he leads and continuing to publish his original cartoons weekly for our readers. We are immensely proud of the accomplishments Marshall has made during his years in our nonprofit newsroom, and we are exponentially hopeful for the influence he will have on a new generation of journalists and newsroom leaders.
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