Inside Media Relations: Real Talk from Both Sides

Don’t miss PRAM Central’s July meeting. Journalists Courtney Ann Jackson and Adam Ganucheau, joined by communicator and former journalist David Kenney, take the stage for a must-attend panel on media relations. Get the latest state of the media report plus battle-tested best practices on how communicators can work smarter and build stronger relationships with journalists.

Meal: Chipotle Bourbon Grilled Chicken, Smoked Gouda Grits, Salad, Dessert Tray

Service Project Opportunity: We're continuing to support the Youth Detention Intervention Program by Baptist Children's Village and Family Ministries, which serves detained youth across Mississippi through mentorship, discipleship, and essential resources. If you'd like to participate, simply bring travel-size toothpaste or any item from our Amazon wish list to the meeting. Every donation makes a difference, and no item is too small. Thank you for helping us support this incredible ministry!

Panelists

· Courtney Ann Jackson – News Anchor/Multimedia Journalist at WLBT

· Adam Ganucheau – Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer at Deep South Today

· David Kenney – Public Information Officer at MDOT

Courtney Ann Jackson Biography

News Anchor/Multimedia Journalist at WLBT

Courtney Ann Jackson has worked as an on-air reporter in Jackson since 2010. She is currently on air for both WLBT and FOX 40 and serves as the 6:00 p.m. co-anchor and statewide reporter. As part of her statewide duties, she sends stories Monday-Friday to WTVA (Tupelo), WTOK (Meridian), WDAM (Hattiesburg) and WLOX (Biloxi).

Jackson covers the State Capitol during the legislative sessions each year, often times gaining exclusive interviews with policymakers and helping break down the most complex issues of the day for viewers across the state. Her statewide coverage isn’t limited to the Capitol. For example, she was sent to Los Angeles in 2016 to cover the American Idol finale and is often sent to other parts of the state for significant breaking news and weather events.

Courtney Ann served as a panelist for the 2018 Mississippi Senate debate hosted by WLBT and Mississippi Farm Bureau which was televised across the state. She has received the first place for TV Reporter in a Large Market during the 2021 and 2022 Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Excellence in Broadcasting Awards.

The Corinth native graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Mississippi where she was also a Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College graduate. She is a current board member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mississippi.

Adam Ganucheau Biography

Executive Editor at Deep South Today

Adam Ganucheau serves as Deep South Today’s first Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer, a regional leadership role overseeing the organization’s editorial and content strategy across its growing network of nonprofit newsrooms. He supports the newsgathering efforts of Deep South Today’s three existing outlets — Mississippi Today, Verite News, and The Current — and provides essential direction for the launch of new newsrooms across the region. Ganucheau previously served as editor-in-chief at Mississippi Today, which under his leadership grew into the largest newsroom in the state and earned a reputation for some of the most impactful investigative reporting in the nation.

David Kenney Biography

Public Information Officer at MDOT

David Kenney is from Minneapolis Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin River Falls with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Immediately after college David began his broadcast career as a reporter and weekend anchor at KIMT TV the CBS affiliate in Mason City Iowa.

Two years later, David moved to Mississippi and began working at WLBT as a general assignment reporter in 1996.

During his time there he covered all types of stories around the state, from Presidential visits, the shootings at Pearl High School, to Hurricane Katrina, to the Federal trial of the late former Jackson Mayor Frank Melton.

David has been honored several times by the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters. In 2010 and 2012, he was awarded the Howard Lett Newsperson of the Year award from the Mississippi Associated Press.

In August of 2021 David Kenney joined the Mississippi Department of Transportation as a Public Information Officer assigned to the northern district.

David lives in Ridgeland and is married to Tabatha Kenney who is a Licensed Therapist. They have been married since 1998. David’s daughter Zoe Kenney is a graduate of Mississippi State University and teaches Kindergarten at Ann Smith Elementary in Ridgeland.