Edgar T. Crisler Jr. carried on a family tradition of community journalism while establishing his own legacy as an accomplished editor, investigative reporter and publisher of the Port Gibson Reveille.
Born in Vicksburg in 1935, Crisler earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Southwestern College, now Rhodes College, in Memphis before returning to Mississippi and joining his family’s newspaper in Port Gibson. He became editor of the Reveille following the death of his father, Edgar Crisler Sr., a former president of the Mississippi Press Association, in 1975.
During his tenure, Crisler guided the Reveille through a consequential period in the history of Port Gibson and Claiborne County. The newspaper chronicled major events that reshaped the community, including an NAACP boycott of local businesses and construction of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant.
Crisler also earned recognition for his investigative journalism and willingness to hold public officials accountable. His widow, Emma Crisler, recalled that her husband’s “expertise in investigative reporting” strengthened the newspaper’s coverage of corruption in public office. Among the numerous honors Crisler received from the Mississippi Press Association was a 1981 award for Best Investigative Reporting.
Crisler is also remembered for broadening the Reveille’s coverage to better reflect the entire community, expanding the newspaper’s content to include news relevant to citizens of all races.
Through his leadership of the Reveille, Crisler upheld his family’s newspaper tradition while demonstrating the vital role of a community newspaper in documenting change, investigating wrongdoing and serving all of its readers. His legacy continues through the Reveille, where Emma Crisler remains publisher today.
