“In some ways I just never left,” Jim Mustian said. “Natchitoches will always feel like home to me.”

Mustian is the new Erbon W. and Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism in the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts, and as an alumnus of Northwestern State University of Louisiana he is humble to hold this title.

Natchitoches will always be a part of Mustian, and NSU will always be a part of him. “Not only do I get to teach journalism, which is my passion, but I get to do it at NSU of all places,” he said.

He has previously taught Beat Reporting and Feature Writing as an adjunct professor since Fall 2021. “I have absolutely loved teaching at NSU, it has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” Mustian said.

The Associated Press investigative journalist and podcast co-host of “Smoke Screen: Betrayal on the Bayou,” teaches from New York, but with this new role he hopes to expand his involvement in the department. Mustian is honored to have a role in shaping the next generation of storytellers, he said.

As a student he looked up to his Wise Chair, Raymond Strother.

“When I was a student, he used his time in that role in a way that left a very lasting impact on me and other journalists and it was really special to know Ray, first as a student and later as a friend, and as devastated as I was by his passing, this feels extra special because he used to be in this role,” Mustian said.

Taking on this role and teaching new classes allows him to reach more students and instill the importance of journalism.

“It is important to entertain. It is important to inform,” he said. “But what is absolutely paramount is to use journalism to hold elected leaders and those people in authority accountable for the power and responsibility that they have.”

One of his newest responsibilities comes in shaping the curriculum, which is why the department will be adding investigative reporting as a class.

While Mustian teaches investigative reporting in all his classes, as he believes that all reporting is investigative, creating a space for this class has been exciting for him.
“I think what I want to do with that course and with all of my classes is introduce students to people who I have met along the way,” Mustian said. “I don’t profess to know everything there is to know about investigative reporting, but through the 15 years I have been in this business I have accumulated tons of contacts and people who know how to do it better than I do and I can introduce students to these people.”

Through his rolodex of professional contacts he hopes to give aspiring journalists the chance to talk and ask what it is like to do this type of reporting, he explains.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wants to inspire students to get curious, and to question the things happening around them, he said.

“It’s so incredible how many times in my career the response from some type of authority is ‘it’s just always been done that way,’” Mustian said.

He challenges everyone to not accept that response and seek alternatives that defy that type of logic.

Mustian was also a part of The Current Sauce when he attended NSU. Being a News editor taught him the fast paced environment of news.

“It was fun, there were stories that we were breaking that affected people on campus and there was something intoxicating about seeing your name in print for the first time,” Mustian said.

He describes the thrill and excitement that he and other Current Sauce members had going from rack to rack and seeing that there were no papers left. He remembers the satisfaction of writing something that everyone wanted to read.

It is through his own stories about reporting that he wants to spark a passion in students and inspire a love for accountability storytelling, he said.

Mustian has ventured into new things as a co-host for Sony Music Neon Hum Media, “Smoke Screen: Betrayal on the Bayou.” With his co-host, Faimon Roberts, they narrate the series of events that led to the fall of an infamous DEA agent from Louisiana. The podcast is available in various streaming services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.