The Commercial Dispatch is announcing the hiring of Ben Wait as its new Mississippi State beat writer.
Wait, a 2011 graduate of MSU, starts today as The Dispatch’s third full-time member of the sports department. He will focus on covering the MSU athletic department and prep sports.
“I am excited and thrilled to be joining The Commercial Dispatch and staying on the Mississippi State beat,” Wait said. “I look forward to what the future holds and I know I will continue to progress and mature as a human being and a writer/reporter. I want to thank Adam Minichino, (managing editor) William Browning, and (general manager) Peter Imes for the opportunity.”
Wait comes to The Commercial Dispatch after spending nearly four years as a sports writer at the Starkville Daily News. He was the MSU beat writer for the SDN since November 2012.
Born in Oxford, Wait grew up in Etta, and went on to play basketball and baseball at West Union High School.
He worked in a variety of roles in the MSU athletic department and in the school’s media relations department before graduating from MSU with a degree in sports information.
“We are pleased to welcome Ben to our staff,” Minichino, The Dispatch’s sports editor, said. “We are confident Ben will help The Dispatch continue its tradition of strong reporting about MSU. We believe he has a keen sense of how to break news and how to build contacts with sources to provide our readers with the best insight into what is going on at MSU.”
Wait has had the honor of voting for the Rotary Lombardi Award, which is given to the top lineman or linebacker in college football; the Lou Groza Award, which is given to the top kicker in college football; and the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the most outstanding wide receiver in college football. You can follow his coverage on MSU on The Dispatch’s sports blog and on Twitter @bcwait.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.