Interviewing Mayor Tony Yarber

6/22/2016

by Asia Mangum

My time here at YMP has been a great experience. The people here are great, along with its purpose and opportunities that come along with it. However, when I was asked to write a second blog about a memorable experience, I couldn't come up with one, that is until yesterday. I tagged along with five other YMP journalists to watch Donna Ladd interview the mayor of Jackson, Tony Yarber.

As I was there, I started to get a feel of what journalism was all about. Donna asked some really good questions, to which the mayor had some really good answers. I even asked a question of my own, and tweeted a few inspiring quotes he gave during the interview. I enjoyed Mr. Yarber addressing the issue with violence in Jackson, along with stories of his childhood and his personal life. He have me an idea of who he was as a person and a politician.

That was the first time I ever heard the mayor speak. My favorite part was after the interview, and I met him in person. I shared my thoughts about violence in the youth community, and he thought my points were "fair enough." I was very pleased to see that so many people liked and retweeted my tweets. I was even more pleased when I saw that one of those people were the mayor. I felt like a real reporter, and my press pass made me feel even more official.

I appreciated the amount of praise that I got the day after for the work I did. It made me feel as though I knew what I was doing. Because a lot of times when I'm in a huge social environment, I feel out of place, and I often shut people out and keep to myself. I hope this wasn't the last time I interview the mayor, or any public figure for that matter. If not, I look forward to what YMP has to offer me in the future.

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Major Sponsors and Supporters of YMP

Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) is a leader in informational broadcasting. MPB has exhibited a commitment to educating and informing Mississippians. MPB has partnered with YMP to lend tech equipment and provide youth engagement and media specialists to train students.

E3, a project of Parents of Public Schools of Jackson (now Ask for More), supported YMP in summers 2016 and 2017 with stipends for students, and other resources.
The Community Foundation of Greater Jackson (now The Community Foundation of Mississippi) is the
fiscal sponsor for E3.

Podastery Studios in downtown Jackson offers a network of locally produced podcasts. Beau York, founder of Podastery, has generously donated his time to train YMP students in podcasting skills and allowed Youth Media Project students to borrow professional podcasting equipment to learn
production skills.

Dialogue Jackson, formerly Jackson 2000 Inc., is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to fostering understanding and building harmony between people of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. The group became YMP's fiscal sponsor in 2017 and hosts youth dialogues for teens..

Choice Printing in downtown Jackson is an in-kind sponsor of YMP offering YMP copying and printing services from its Capitol Towers location.

Good Design & Code >>

Good Design & Co offers high-end UI/UX, web development, app development and branding services. Principal J.C. Hiatt is helping YMP students publish their own website for stories, video, podcasts and more.

Jackson-based Workplace Solutions by Barefield is a Steelcase authorized dealer offering high-end office furniture and technology solutions. Workplace Solutions has loaned chairs, mobile desks and mobile whiteboards to create a collaborative office for YMP participants.

Jackson-based Fuse.cloud (formerly Broadband Voice) offers Voice-over-IP phone systems, fiber Internet connections and technical services. Fuse.cloud has sponsored phones, VoIP phone service and technical assistance for YMP.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DR. GEORGE SCHIMMEL and NATALIE IRBY FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATIONS OF PRODUCTION IMACS FOR THE YOUTH MEDIA PROJECT.
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