MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2025 Regular Session To: Rules By: Senator(s) Kirby, McMahan, Harkins, Boyd, Hopson, Younger, Fillingane, Wiggins, Polk, Chassaniol, Horhn, Blount, Michel, DeBar, Bryan, England, Simmons (13th), Frazier, Barnett, Thomas Senate Concurrent Resolution 505 (As Adopted by Senate and House) A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE 30-YEAR CAREER OF EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS AS A CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT WITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND THANKING HER FOR HER SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI. WHEREAS, the retirement of Emily Wagster Pettus from The Associated Press gives us an opportunity not only to reflect upon her career, but also a chance to pause and reflect upon the recent great changes in press coverage of the Mississippi Legislature; and WHEREAS, in keeping with the small-town atmosphere of the Capitol, legislators generally called long-time reporters by their first names, it seems appropriate to refer to her in this resolution as "Emily." (Emily and other reporters called some legislators by their first names. With others, they were more formal. We have no idea how they referred to us behind our backs.); and WHEREAS, before we got to know her, Emily covered Mississippi politics for The Clarion Ledger. During that time, she was also a Beat Reporter covering Rankin County, a one-person Gulf Coast Bureau, and a Copy Editor for International Edition Textbooks of USA TODAY. Prior to her service with The Clarion Ledger, she worked with the Vicksburg Evening Post as City Hall Reporter and Feature Writer. She first started covering the Legislature in 1990 for The Clarion Ledger, and in January 2001, she began covering the Legislature for The Associated Press; and WHEREAS, in her career, Emily has covered the administrations of five Mississippi Governors; six Lieutenant Governors and four Speakers of the House of Representatives; countless Senators; Representatives; mayors; aldermen; county supervisors; sheriffs; police chiefs and judges; and WHEREAS, Emily has covered more than 65 regular and special legislative sessions, and hundreds of committee hearings and floor debates during her career on issues ranging from tort reform to education to highways to health care to crime and economic development; and WHEREAS, Emily has covered multiple campaigns for Governor, U.S. Congress, the Legislature and city and county offices, interviewing candidates and voters alike; and WHEREAS, Emily has distinguished herself among newsmakers for her efforts to provide fair, balanced coverage and a range of perspectives; and WHEREAS, Emily always took time to mentor and share her knowledge of Mississippi politics with new reporters sent to the Capitol to cover the daily activity of the Legislature and state leaders; and WHEREAS, as a wire reporter for The Associated Press, she was "always on deadline," whether covering countless emergency declarations and natural disasters such as hurricanes, ice storms or man-made events such as plane crashes, courtroom trials and cultural events; and WHEREAS, Emily's byline has appeared in newspapers across the globe as she covered major events such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 trial of Edgar Ray Killen, who was convicted for the 1964 killings of Civil Rights Activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman Michael Schwerner in Neshoba County. In 2007, she covered the federal trial of Ku Klux Klan member Ford Seale, who was convicted in the kidnapping that led to the death of two young black men, Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, in Southwest Mississippi; and WHEREAS, even as news staffs diminished across the country, state government reporters have become much smaller, Emily steadfastly continued to cover Mississippi news, telling citizens across the state and nation about events far and wide, helping to strengthen our democracy; and WHEREAS, Emily received her BA majoring in Journalism and German in 1989; and WHEREAS, Emily Wagster Pettus was honored as the 2018 Silver Em winner, the University of Mississippi's highest award in Journalism; and WHEREAS, mentors and colleagues such as Will Norton, Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and News Media, describe Pettus as smart, a hard worker and a terrific reporter. "She has devoted herself to covering Mississippi. She has reported in-depth, on deadline and always accurately. Emily is a person of integrity. She can be trusted"; and WHEREAS, Curtis Wilkie, an Overby Center Fellow and Assistant Professor of Journalism, agrees that Emily has earned the trust of readers; and WHEREAS, when Emily came to the Capitol, there were more than a dozen reporters covering the Legislature, and the Capitol Press room was a beehive of activity, with reporters from several daily newspapers around the state using the newsroom as their Jackson bureaus. Now, no reporters work primarily from that newsroom year-round. With her departure, The Associated Press will no longer have a reporter covering state government in Mississippi, a truly remarkable development; and WHEREAS, the gradual reduction in coverage of state government has made it impossible for the average citizen to obtain comprehensive coverage of the Legislature, and the practice of The Associated Press of covering all major developments during legislative sessions is long gone; and WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the work of a long-time legislative reporter whose enormous civic energy has contributed to the welfare of the citizens of the State of Mississippi: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby pay tribute to the 30-year career of Emily Wagster Pettus as a Capitol Correspondent with The Associated Press and thank her for her service to the citizens of the State of Mississippi and extend the best wishes of the Legislature to Emily for her future success. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Emily Wagster Pettus and her family, forwarded to The Associated Press and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Kirby, McMahan, Harkins, Boyd, Hopson, Younger, Fillingane, Wiggins, Polk, Chassaniol, Horhn, Blount, Michel, DeBar, Bryan, England, Simmons (13th), Frazier, Barnett, Thomas
# Senate Concurrent Resolution 505
## (As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE 30-YEAR CAREER OF EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS AS A CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT WITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND THANKING HER FOR HER SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
WHEREAS, the retirement of Emily Wagster Pettus from The Associated Press gives us an opportunity not only to reflect upon her career, but also a chance to pause and reflect upon the recent great changes in press coverage of the Mississippi Legislature; and
WHEREAS, in keeping with the small-town atmosphere of the Capitol, legislators generally called long-time reporters by their first names, it seems appropriate to refer to her in this resolution as "Emily." (Emily and other reporters called some legislators by their first names. With others, they were more formal. We have no idea how they referred to us behind our backs.); and
WHEREAS, before we got to know her, Emily covered Mississippi politics for The Clarion Ledger. During that time, she was also a Beat Reporter covering Rankin County, a one-person Gulf Coast Bureau, and a Copy Editor for International Edition Textbooks of USA TODAY. Prior to her service with The Clarion Ledger, she worked with the Vicksburg Evening Post as City Hall Reporter and Feature Writer. She first started covering the Legislature in 1990 for The Clarion Ledger, and in January 2001, she began covering the Legislature for The Associated Press; and
WHEREAS, in her career, Emily has covered the administrations of five Mississippi Governors; six Lieutenant Governors and four Speakers of the House of Representatives; countless Senators; Representatives; mayors; aldermen; county supervisors; sheriffs; police chiefs and judges; and
WHEREAS, Emily has covered more than 65 regular and special legislative sessions, and hundreds of committee hearings and floor debates during her career on issues ranging from tort reform to education to highways to health care to crime and economic development; and
WHEREAS, Emily has covered multiple campaigns for Governor, U.S. Congress, the Legislature and city and county offices, interviewing candidates and voters alike; and
WHEREAS, Emily has distinguished herself among newsmakers for her efforts to provide fair, balanced coverage and a range of perspectives; and
WHEREAS, Emily always took time to mentor and share her knowledge of Mississippi politics with new reporters sent to the Capitol to cover the daily activity of the Legislature and state leaders; and
WHEREAS, as a wire reporter for The Associated Press, she was "always on deadline," whether covering countless emergency declarations and natural disasters such as hurricanes, ice storms or man-made events such as plane crashes, courtroom trials and cultural events; and
WHEREAS, Emily's byline has appeared in newspapers across the globe as she covered major events such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 trial of Edgar Ray Killen, who was convicted for the 1964 killings of Civil Rights Activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman Michael Schwerner in Neshoba County. In 2007, she covered the federal trial of Ku Klux Klan member Ford Seale, who was convicted in the kidnapping that led to the death of two young black men, Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, in Southwest Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, even as news staffs diminished across the country, state government reporters have become much smaller, Emily steadfastly continued to cover Mississippi news, telling citizens across the state and nation about events far and wide, helping to strengthen our democracy; and
WHEREAS, Emily received her BA majoring in Journalism and German in 1989; and
WHEREAS, Emily Wagster Pettus was honored as the 2018 Silver Em winner, the University of Mississippi's highest award in Journalism; and
WHEREAS, mentors and colleagues such as Will Norton, Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and News Media, describe Pettus as smart, a hard worker and a terrific reporter. "She has devoted herself to covering Mississippi. She has reported in-depth, on deadline and always accurately. Emily is a person of integrity. She can be trusted"; and
WHEREAS, Curtis Wilkie, an Overby Center Fellow and Assistant Professor of Journalism, agrees that Emily has earned the trust of readers; and
WHEREAS, when Emily came to the Capitol, there were more than a dozen reporters covering the Legislature, and the Capitol Press room was a beehive of activity, with reporters from several daily newspapers around the state using the newsroom as their Jackson bureaus. Now, no reporters work primarily from that newsroom year-round. With her departure, The Associated Press will no longer have a reporter covering state government in Mississippi, a truly remarkable development; and
WHEREAS, the gradual reduction in coverage of state government has made it impossible for the average citizen to obtain comprehensive coverage of the Legislature, and the practice of The Associated Press of covering all major developments during legislative sessions is long gone; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the work of a long-time legislative reporter whose enormous civic energy has contributed to the welfare of the citizens of the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby pay tribute to the 30-year career of Emily Wagster Pettus as a Capitol Correspondent with The Associated Press and thank her for her service to the citizens of the State of Mississippi and extend the best wishes of the Legislature to Emily for her future success.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Emily Wagster Pettus and her family, forwarded to The Associated Press and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.