Startup youth newsroom releases survey on future of Mississippi’s capital city

Jackson Youth Newsroom queried local high school students as part of New York City-based program

Student reporters for the Jackson Youth Newsroom this week released the initial results of a survey about issues of interest to young Jacksonians relative to the mayoral race, part of a novel New York City program that expanded to Jackson in March 2025.

The reporters surveyed 106 students aged 13 to 19 about what they saw as the most important issues and whether they plan to stay in Jackson after high school graduation. The students represented every public high school in the city.

Chief among their concerns were the city’s long-running water crisis, crime rate and education funding.

The Jackson Youth Newsroom’s first report on the survey noted that “Jackson is losing population at among the fastest rates in the country. One reason is ‘brain drain’ -- when educated and talented people leave a place for better opportunities elsewhere.” The reported noted: “Many survey respondents do not see a future for themselves in Jackson.”

JYN was launched by New York City-based The Bell, which offers training, workshopping, media publication and podcast hosting by high school students. The Bell was founded by former teachers and journalists Adrian Uribarri and Taylor McGraw in 2017, originally as a podcast to amplify the voices of New York City high school students on the issue of school segregation. McGraw, a Mississippi native, launched the Jackson Youth Newsroom after he moved back to his home state.

The goal, McGraw said, is for the program to be a viable news outlet, not simply a youth program, to help reshape the local media landscape and amplify youthful voices. The first cohort of Jackson students conducted the survey and plans to collaborate with other news outlets and engage with professional journalist mentors.

“We’re also interested in getting them in the pipeline of journalism,” JYN program manager Azia Wiggins said.

JYN reporters Zy’Quria McClendon and Laeyla Walters previously covered the first Jackson Public Schools mayoral forum, organized by student government leaders from seven public high schools, and interviewed 11 mayoral candidates.

The March 20, 2025, forum drew close to 200 attendees, most of whom were members of student governments at JPS high schools. JYN’s full coverage of the forum is on its website and Instagram channel. Because none of the mayoral candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote, an April 22, 2025, runoff is slated between the two Democrats who garnered the most votes, incumbent Chokwe Antar Lumumba and state Sen. John Horhn.

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Image: Forum attendees recite the Pledge of Allegiance (Imani Khayyam via Jackson Youth Newsroom)