Journalists from Time magazine made a stop in Natchez this week as part of a two-week voyage to find the &uot;Pulse of America.&uot;

The purpose of the trip was for the magazine staff to find out what people along the Mississippi River are thinking about and talking about.

&uot;It’s so important, I think, to get out there and hear what it is people are thinking and feeling,&uot; said Debra Richman, Time magazine deputy director of public affairs.

Along the way, the journalists interacted with residents at cotton and catfish farms, community meetings and local restaurants.

The journalists arrived in Natchez late Tuesday and were only in town for a short time before leaving Wednesday for the Louisiana State Prison at Angola.

Tim Roche, the Atlanta bureau chief for Time magazine, took a short tour of Natchez Wednesday, which included a stop at Monmouth.

Roche said the trip is important because journalists &uot;don’t have much of a chance to sit down and talk to people and find out what the issues are to them,&uot;

Magazine staff considered 2000 an important year to examine these issues because America will soon be electing a new president, he said.

Some of the journalists on the trip had never been in the South before.

&uot;It’s so interesting to see what the different responses people have to the South,&uot; Roche said, while making references to the area’s beauty and its hospitality.

Time will use information gathered on the trip in a special July 4 issue.

Readers can get earlier details on the trip on the Internet at www.time.com.

Cable network CNN will also be shooting footage for a one-hour special to air on &uot;CNN & Time&uot; Sunday, July 2.