Wolfe was born in Washington state[1] and grew up in Tacoma.[2] In 2012, she obtained an AA degree from Pierce College (Washington).[1] In that same year, Wolfe moved to Mississippi to attend Mississippi State University (MSU). While at MSU, Wolfe was a staff reporter for the student newspaper – The Reflector.[3] After graduating in 2014 with a BA degree in communication and journalism,[3] she relocated to Jackson.[1] As of 2023, Wolfe was serving on MSU's print and digital journalism advisory board in the journalism department.[3]
Mississippi Today – Investigative reporter (September 2018 to present [2024])[1]
Awards
Bill Minor Prize – "...reporting on unfair medical billing practices and hunger in the Mississippi Delta" ( 2018), "...for investigative journalism" (2019)[2]
Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award (2020)[10]
In May 2023, former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant gave notice of his intent to sue Deep South Today, doing business as Mississippi Today, and its chief executive officer Margaret White for defamation relative to comments she made at a Knight Foundation conference promoting Anna Wolfe's award-winning Backchannel series.[16] White's comments implied that the former governor misused $77 million in welfare funds and accused him of funneling millions of those welfare dollars to family and friends, even though Bryant had not been charged with any crime.[16][17]
Shortly after Bryant had given notice of his intent to sue, CEO White issued a public apology stating that she misspoke at a recent media conference, that her remarks were not appropriate, and that the former governor had not been charged with any crime.[18] Nevertheless, Bryant proceeded with his civil action (Case: 45CI1:23-cv-00238-JM, Document # 9-2) which was filed in the circuit court of Madison County, Mississippi on July 26, 2023.[16] In the filing, Bryant requested all documents and communications that Anna Wolfe had access to during the writing of her series on the Mississippi welfare scandal.[19]
As of July 2024, Mississippi Today had requested that the Mississippi Supreme Court reverse a court order requiring the news outlet to turn over Wolfe's welfare scandal documents and the names of her confidential sources to a judge, who would determine if the evidence had relevance to Bryant's defamation case.[17]
Footnotes
^The Backchannel is a five-part series on corruption in Mississippi welfare programs published in Mississippi Today (April 2022).