For the second straight year, Mississippi Today and Open Campus reporter Molly Minta was named a finalist for a coveted Education Writers Association award.

The annual awards recognize the best education reporting in newsrooms big and small across the nation. Minta is one of three finalists in the small newsroom division of the beat reporting category, which honors excellence in everyday education reporting.

Minta, who was also named a finalist last year for an EWA award for feature reporting, was honored this year for several stories that uncovered secrecy and unfairness in Mississippi’s higher education system.

Higher education in Mississippi is a black box, but through public records requests, sourcing and shoe leather reporting, Minta revealed how secrecy operates at various levels of higher education in the state — including stories about public officials debating new ways to spend millions of dollars of state financial aid in closed-door meetings, and an investigation that found university hospital leaders told employees not to communicate in writing about their decision to stop treating trans kids at an LGBTQ+ clinic.

“Molly’s impact as a reporter in Mississippi speaks for itself, and she more than deserves to be recognized among the very best education reporters in America,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today editor-in-chief. “We’re also very proud to have such a strong partner in Open Campus, which values the importance of strong local journalism.”

Minta’s articles that EWA jurors considered for this year’s award included:

• Public officials met in ‘confidence’ to overhaul state financial aid. Their proposal could become law.
• Handwritten notes show what IHL trustees thought during JSU listening session 
• A USM student spoke out about a candidate for provost. Then they got an email from one of the school’s biggest donors.
• How a business consultant with a history of domestic violence allegations took over the Delta State music department
• Facing political pressure, UMMC cut care to trans kids before the Legislature banned doing so, emails show

The other two finalists in the small newsroom division for beat reporting are Brian Lopez of The Texas Tribune and Kate McGee of The Texas Tribune and Open Campus. The winner will be announced on May 30 at EWA’s national seminar in Las Vegas.

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