Anna Hu Joins Mississippi Today as First Haselhorst Fellow Focused on Mental Health
Anna Hu has joined Mississippi Today as the newsroom’s first Haselhorst Fellow, dedicated to reporting on mental health and underserved communities in Mississippi, the organization announced.
Hu grew up in New Jersey and earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Wellesley College. She previously researched infectious diseases, including malaria, at the Harvard School of Public Health. She later transitioned to journalism, working as a reporter at Sampan Newspaper and as a digital video intern at WGBH in Boston.
Hu said she aims to combine her scientific background with investigative journalism to make health information more accessible. “People need trustworthy reporting to help them when systems are so complicated and so broken a lot of the time,” she said. “I’d be really excited to contribute to that and really provide a service that makes these issues local and allows them to make sense for the people most affected.”
The fellowship was established through the Sarah Yelena Haselhorst Fund for Health Journalism, created in honor of the late journalist Sarah Haselhorst, who was passionate about highlighting health disparities in Mississippi. The fund supports reporting on mental health, maternal health, and underserved populations.
Hu emphasized the importance of covering issues like rural hospital stability, access to reproductive health care, and longstanding inequities. “Issues tied to the stability of rural hospitals, access to reproductive health care and longstanding inequities in Mississippi and the country are shaping people’s daily lives,” she said. “I want my journalism to be very grounded in people’s experiences and to be accessible and accountable to the public.”
Laura Santhanam, Mississippi Today’s health editor, noted the timing of Hu’s arrival, citing ongoing debates over Medicaid and food assistance cuts, as well as potential legislative changes impacting mental health resources statewide. “We are thrilled and thankful for Anna to join the team, and we need her passion and ideas to meet the moment we’re in,” Santhanam said.
Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Emily Wagster Pettus also expressed gratitude to Haselhorst’s family. “We are confident that Anna’s journalistic work at Mississippi Today will be a valuable service to readers, just as Sarah’s was at The Clarion-Ledger and other newsrooms where she worked,” Pettus said.
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