Too many local news outlets have disappeared in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The Gulf States Newsroom was created to ensure that stories related to health care, criminal justice, the economy and other important issues continue to be told. WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana, WBHM in Alabama, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, and NPR are working together as a regional newsroom to plan coverage, share resources and add reporting power in a story-rich region that has for too long gone under-covered.
The Gulf States Newsroom thanks those who make our work possible through their support, including: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, Moises Itzkowich Foundation, Theresa McDonald, the Trust for Civic Life, Advancing Democracy, Haberman Foundation, WWNO, WRKF, WBHM, MPB, and individual donors from our region and across the country. To learn more about the Gulf States Newsroom, or to support our work, email connect@gulfstatesnewsroom.org.
The Regional Team:
Ryan Vasquez, acting managing editor based at WWNO in New Orleans
Orlando Flores Jr., deputy managing editor based at WWNO in New Orleans
Kat Stromquist, senior reporter covering justice, incarceration and gun violence based at WWNO in New Orleans
Drew Hawkins, senior reporter covering public health based at WWNO in New Orleans
Nellie Beckett, community engagement producer based at WBHM in Birmingham
Joseph King, sports and culture reporter based at WBHM in Birmingham
Elise Catrion Gregg, community engagement reporter based at MPB in Jackson
Marci Schramm, development director based at WWNO in New Orleans
Andrea Miller, business manager based at WBHM in Birmingham
-
Traditional plastic beads can be toxic and bad for the environment. In response, some are moving away from plastic beads, using locally recycled glass instead. -
Nolan discusses the journey of writing her debut novel, how her journalism informs her fiction and more with the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins. -
Federal immigration enforcement and the deployment of the National Guard for security purposes have put New Orleans in the spotlight recently. What could this do to tourism at a crucial time of the year? -
Federal funding cuts and a 43-day government shutdown made 2025 a chaotic year for food banks in the South. For many, the challenges may provide a road map for 2026. -
Federal judge Brian A. Jackson certified the prison labor case as a class action in late December. A lawsuit alleges the "farm line" violates the Eighth Amendment rights of people working there and the Americans with Disabilities Act. -
Tariffs, inflation, and other federal policies have battered U.S. farmers' bottom lines. Now many farmers say the expiration of federal health care subsidies will make their coverage unaffordable. -
A report from the Death Penalty Information Center shows Alabama played a key role in executions and new death sentences. -
More than a thousand letters were written and answered after the hurricane. They’re now housed in an exhibit at the Ground Zero Hurricane Katrina Museum. -
At the National Black Growers Council meeting in New Orleans, Black farmers respond to the $12 billion in tariff relief announced by the Trump administration and outline challenges farms are facing. -
An expert with the Louisiana Opioid Surveillance Program says that the decrease in deaths coincides with an increase in treatment and harm reduction.
