Featured Photo by Mississippi Today
Story by Serena Vasudeva
Anna Wolfe’s career trajectory has been different from most journalism students. Less than 10 years after graduating from Mississippi State University, Wolfe found herself taking on a governor, many other state officials and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in an investigation that has led to indictments and trials.
Earlier this year, Wolfe, 28, won the Pulitzer Prize in the local reporting category for exposing former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s mishandling of state welfare funds, which were funneled into nonprofits that failed to provide social services. The money was instead invested into a startup company, used to build a volleyball stadium at quarterback Brett Favre’s alma mater and paid Favre for promotional events that never happened. The scandal has a civil case with three dozen plaintiffs and a criminal case connected to several individuals. Wolfe added that former Gov. Bryant has not been charged with a crime.
Speaking Nov. 16 on campus, Wolfe told students she gathered the story through leaked text messages, news tips, an auditor’s investigation, land records and 90 Freedom of Information Act requests. FOIA requests allow members of the public and reporters to access government documents. She began chasing the funds in 2017 when she saw that only 1.42% of low income people in Mississippi who applied for welfare were accepted. Over six years, she built a web of trusted sources that helped her confirm details and information. The eight part series, The Backchannel, was released on Mississippi Today, a nonprofit news organization.
“All the records requests, that battle for information is what I’m definitely passionate about,” Wolfe said.
Her reporting connected the scandal’s origins to a lack of oversight in block grants. The diverted welfare money came from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a block grant the federal government gives states in order to provide services. Unlike other entitlement programs, TANF has less oversight from the federal government in order to give states flexibility, Wolfe noted.
“People were totally in the dark as to what happened to the funding, where it was going, or why they weren’t getting it. It was like a complete black hole,” she said.
When the story broke, including dozens of incriminating texts, its weight was felt in Mississippi’s political circles and by those in poverty.
“People in Mississippi know that this kind of corruption is occurring, they know about the good old boy system. But to see stories that really reflected this right in politician’s own words was really impactful and validating for people who have always known this was occurring but didn’t necessarily have tangible proof.”
Wolfe was pleased that national news outlets, including those focused on sports, brought the story back to poverty in Mississippi and the need for public assistance. Currently, 19% of Mississippi’s population lives below the poverty line.
Since the publication of The Backchannel, Wolfe has seen improvements in Mississippi’s welfare system. The bid process has been put back into place and nonprofits receiving state money are required to talk about the outcomes of their programs. According to Wolfe, however, there is still more work to be done. A lack of federal oversight means that states aren’t required to show the outcome of their spending. Instead, data that exists gives a broad overview of spending in catch-all categories like “childcare” and “work supports,” without giving details as to where the money was spent.
“What are work supports? Could be a volleyball stadium for all we know,” she said, referencing the facility at the University of Southern Mississippi that was built with TANF money.
She hopes her series will help prevent corruption in the future, either through deterring politicians or influencing policy.
Wolfe’s first dive into reporting was during her time at Mississippi State University, where she was the news editor for the student paper, The Reflector. While in college, she aspired to have a career in commentary or political writing. Upon graduating in 2014, she realized she was more interested in investigative reporting.
“I don’t really have a journalism origin story. I didn’t sit on my grandfather’s lap while he read the newspaper to me or something.”
When she covered the health beat at The Clarion-Ledger, she saw poverty as the root issue of many health concerns such as diabetes and infant mortality. After joining Mississippi Today, she introduced the idea of starting a poverty beat.
Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Pieces can be found here.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email [email protected]. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
