Julie Lee has joined Mississippi Today and the Deep South Today Investigative Reporting Center as a data reporter. She will analyze data sets and tell stories behind the numbers, according to a news release from Mississippi Today.
Lee earned a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Columbia University and a doctorate in neuroscience. She previously worked as a public interest technologist in Massachusetts and has experience investigating policing, surveillance, and algorithmic decision-making systems.
She also spent a summer as a Dow Jones News Fund data intern at the University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, collaborating with the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel on investigations. Lee said she was drawn to journalism to have an impact and aims to highlight the stories behind the data.
Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Emily Wagster Pettus praised Lee’s rigor and curiosity. The Deep South Today Investigative Reporting Center, launched earlier this year, includes full-time investigative and data reporters, along with New York Times local investigations fellows. It receives support from Stanford University’s Big Local News program.
Lee expressed enthusiasm for meeting people through her reporting and working alongside her colleagues to uncover important, untold stories in the region.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
