Clarion Ledger adds reporter to cover City of Jackson.

Clarion Ledger's newest staff member, Charlie Drape, will take on City Hall, council meetings, and all things government in Jackson.
Clarion Ledger's newest staff member, Charlie Drape, will take on City Hall, council meetings, and all things government in Jackson.

The Clarion Ledger has added Charlie Drape to its newsroom as its Jackson beat writer.

In that role, Drape will cover City Hall, the Jackson City Council and all things related to city government.

Drape graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he received a Bachelor of Journalism with an emphasis in print and digital reporting.

"The Clarion Ledger is growing, and we're thrilled about what that means for the City of Jackson," Executive editor Mark M. Konradi said. "Charlie is a key part of this growth. In covering Jackson, he will tell a great diversity of stories, reflecting the wide array of questions we receive about the capital city. We are excited at what Charlie brings to the team."

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While at the University of Missouri, Drape worked as a reporter for the town newspaper, the Columbia Missourian, where he covered local government and the city council beat and wrote community feature stories covering a variety of topics like environmentalism, local business and elections.

His bylines with the Clarion Ledger have already started appearing this week.

“I’m excited to be here and get to work covering the City of Jackson and doing great things with The Clarion Ledger," Drape said.

Most recently, Drape worked as a reporter for the Salisbury Post in Salisbury, North Carolina. His main beat was covering Rowan County and the North Carolina General Assembly. He also wrote features and daily reports when needed.

Previously, he interned at MLex Market Insight in Brussels, Belgium. He was assigned to the climate and energy beat, covering topics like the European Parliament, the EU Green Deal, the Russian war against Ukraine and climate issues.

Drape grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, loves music and talking about the NBA.

Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Clarion Ledger adds new reporter to newsroom