D. Jackson II

Founder and editor, WHNN.

What I cover

Most of what I write falls in two places. The first is the pet food regulatory system — AAFCO, how an ingredient becomes a legal ingredient, how recalls actually work, and what is in the bag as opposed to what is on it. I came to that subject because I had to learn it to start a company, and I kept finding that the plain answers were not written down anywhere a normal person could reach them.

The second is Georgia and the wider diaspora: schools, HBCU athletics and academics, local government, and the culture around all of it. The through line is attention. I would rather spend a week on something nobody has covered than a day on something everybody has.

Past that, I report on what I find interesting. That is not a dodge. It is the actual editorial policy of a one-person newsroom, and I would rather say so than pretend to a beat structure I do not have.

My background

I am from Atlanta. I spent twelve years living in China, and when I came home I started a dog food company — Willie Herman LLC, which cooks fresh whole-food meals for dogs and delivers them by hand.

I am not a career journalist, and I am not going to claim to be one. I am a founder who wanted straight answers about an industry he was walking into, could not find them, and started writing them down. What I bring instead of a newsroom pedigree is that I am inside the thing I cover. I read the filings because they affect me. That is a real advantage on the pet food side and a real obligation to disclose, which is why the line below is on every page of this site.

When I am not working a full-time job, making dog food, playing golf, or pruning my roses, I am reporting.

How I work

I go to the primary source. If a story turns on a court filing, a study, or a state rule, I read the filing, the study, or the rule — not the press release about it, and not another outlet's summary. Where a document is public, I say where it is so you can go read it yourself.

I do not invent quotes, and I do not run a photograph I do not have the right to run. When something is alleged rather than established, I say alleged and I say who is alleging it. When I do not know something, I would rather leave a hole in the story than fill it with a guess that sounds right.

I will get things wrong. When that happens I will correct it in the open rather than quietly editing the page, because a correction you cannot see is not a correction. If you find an error, tell me and I will fix it.

Who pays for this

WHNN is published by Willie Herman LLC, the dog food company I founded. There is no separation to pretend about: the company is the reason the publication exists. What I will not do is take underwriting, sponsorship, or outside money from any institution inside the coverage area.

Contact me

Email is best, and it reaches me directly: [email protected]. Story tips, corrections, and arguments are all welcome. So is telling me what you think this outlet should be covering and is not.