The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is pleased to announce that Chas Sisk has been named its new editorial director. Sisk brings a proven track record leading successful news collaboratives to the Desk, which serves 31 states and more than 70 million people in the Mississippi River Basin.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sisk has more than a decade of experience in print and radio journalism, covering topics ranging from Wall Street mergers to New England town halls. He was part of the Pulitzer-finalist team that covered the 2010 Nashville flood. Prior to joining the Ag & Water Desk, he led two multimedia collaboratives, demonstrating his commitment to collaborative journalism.
In this role, Sisk will oversee editorial operations and help strengthen collaboration among the Desk’s growing network of member newsrooms and distribution partners. His passion for local journalism and experience building these partnerships will be instrumental in advancing the Desk’s mission to produce high-quality reporting on agriculture and water issues throughout the region.
“I’ve seen how much local news organizations benefit when they collaborate,” said Sisk. “I’m excited to join a group as extensive and smart as the Ag & Water Desk, and I think we’ll do a lot of great journalism by working together even more.”
Sisk was selected following a nationwide search by the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
“Chas brings a wealth of collaboration experience, many newsroom connections, and a history of award-winning work,” said Sara Shipley Hiles, executive director of the Desk. “We are delighted to have him join the team.”
He joins at an exciting time. In 2025, the Desk published its biggest collaborative project yet, “Down the Drain: A watershed moment for America’s greatest wetlands.” The ambitious project explored how recent legal and policy changes affect wetlands in the basin and what that will mean for the health of the river, as well as the people and wildlife that rely on it.
The Desk was also recently honored by LION Publishers as “Collaboration of the Year,” and it will add a new cohort of member newsrooms in the coming months.
About the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk
The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, in partnership with Report For America and the Society of Environmental Journalists, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The mission of the Ag & Water Desk is to enhance the quantity, quality and impact of journalism on agriculture, water and related issues throughout the nation’s largest watershed.