Roy Howard Community Journalism Center
The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center (RHCJC) enhances the media landscape in southeast Mississippi through issue-oriented and people-centered reporting.
Funded by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation, the center works to combat disinformation and misinformation, support the development and growth of student journalists and help grow newsrooms across its 10-county service region.
Based in the School of Media and Communication on the Hattiesburg campus, the center also operates bureaus at the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach and at Mississippi Public Broadcasting in Jackson.
Reporting What Matters
student journalists at work
Students are an important part of the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center's work. Through the center, student journalists contribute to original reporting covering southeast Mississippi and statewide issues that affect the region.
Since launching in 2025, the Center has:
- Hired more than 50 student journalists
- Published more than 350 stories and fact-checks
- Built partnerships with 60+ media organizations
- Conducted media literacy workshops across Mississippi
- Earned 18 Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Awards
What Is True?
What Is True? is a fact-checking and media literacy service from the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center that helps southeast Mississippi communities separate fact from fiction.
The center鈥檚 student journalists and media literacy team research viral claims and online rumors and share their findings through written fact-checks, short-form videos, graphics and explainers.
See a suspicious post, rumor or claim? Submit it to the center for research and investigation.