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RELEASE: Museum of Political Corruption in Albany announces the 202 Nellie Bly Award goes to Jerry Mitchell, Founder of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.
NYSNYS News

ALBANY, NY (May 5, 2022) - The Museum of Political Corruption proudly announces that Jerry Mitchell, Founder of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting (MCIR) and a former investigative reporter with the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, MS is the 2022 winner of The Nellie Bly Award for Investigative Reporting.

Jerry Mitchell’s reporting on corruption and the abuse of power has resulted in the firing of officials and state reforms. His investigations also led to convictions in some of the nation’s most notorious crimes, including the assassination of NAACP leader Medgar Evans and the bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four girls. In 1996, Mitchell was portrayed by Jerry Levine in the Rob Reiner film Ghosts of Mississippi.

“I feel very humbled and honored to receive this award. Nellie Bly has long been a hero of mine. Her reporting helped make a difference in the society around her. I hope and pray that my reporting does the same.” Mitchell stated on learning of the award.

“Mitchell has relentlessly pursued justice through journalism,” offered Bruce Roter, MPC President. “His work, often at great personal risk, made our society better.”

Mitchell is the 6th annual recipient of the award. Previous “Nellie” winners include Alex Gibney, Jane Mayer, Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor, Jim Heaney, and Susanne Craig.

Mitchell is the recipient of numerous awards, including the George Polk Award for Justice Reporting, the Vernon Jarrett Award for Investigative Reporting, Columbia University’s John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism and a MacArthur “genius” Grant.

Founded in 2017, the Nellie Bly Award honors the legacy of the pioneering 19th century reporter who dedicated her career to exposing social injustice. The award is announced annually on May 5th in commemoration of Nellie Bly’s birthday.

The 2022 selection committee included MPC Founder and President Bruce Roter, Trustee Karol Kamin and MPC advisors Jacob Appel, former CBS 60 Minutes producer and founder of the Center for Public Integrity, Charles Lewis, and Rex Smith, former Editor of the Albany Times Union.

The Museum of Political Corruption is an Albany, NY-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan institution dedicated to educating and empowering the public by providing a better understanding of corruption and encouraging solutions that promote ethics reform and honest governance. In addition to the Nellie Bly Award, the MPC inaugurated the DISRUPT international film series. The MPC’s virtual museum is free and open to the public at www.museumofpoliticalcorruption.org


Contacts:

Jerry Mitchell
Jerry.mitchell@mississippicir.org
(601) 937-1970

Bruce Roter, MPC President
(C) (518) 506-1286
AlbanyMPC@gmail.com

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