News & Analysis
A new documentary film on Soggy Sweat’s iconic Whiskey Speech will be presented at a program in October by the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. When Prohibition was still in effect in Mississippi and the issue of liquor a major point of political and social discussion, Judge Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat first delivered the speech at the King Edward Hotel in Jackson, Miss., in 1952.
Southern comedian Jeff Foxworthy has made the meme “you might be a redneck if…” famous. He tells Terry Mattingly of the Overby Center that since “we agree on about 85% of stuff,” he likes to stay in his own lane in his comedy routines.
The first 100 days of the Trump administration and interviewing notable women such as Barbara Walters were discussed in a program at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief for USA TODAY and a veteran reporter and observer of American politics, discussed her journalistic career.
There’s a story behind how Baylor University in Waco, Texas, became the center of a significant project to preserve and store Black gospel music. Robert Darden, a member of the Overby Center panel of experts and professor emeritus at Baylor, tells the story.
News organizations have been trumpeting partnerships with AI firms, but they should be entering such arrangements with caution. Jared Schroeder of the University of Missouri and a member of the Overby Center panel of experts writes that such partnerships could damage journalism in the long run.
In an exclusive Q&A with the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, Paul Keane shares his insights on the future of journalism, public relations, and the emergence of artificial intelligence.
Professor Charles Mitchell of the University of Mississippi writes that the Trump administration’s agenda for universities would undermine their historic independence and research ability.
The music and early civil rights work of legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will be the focus of a fall program at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. “Songs of Freedom: Bob Dylan’s Mississippi,” will be presented Oct. 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Overby Center Auditorium on the Ole Miss campus.
R.J. Morgan, professor at the University of Mississippi, discusses singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s music and Minnesota’s history of violence.
Retired Houston Chronicle executive editor Steve Riley, writing for the Overby Center, relates a typical encounter on social media that speaks to the problem of our political dialogue.
Q&A with Lyndy Berryhill, General Manager of Stone County Enterprise.
The Department of Education is comparable to a forest, funding dozens of programs in all states and territories and issuing edicts forcing local schools to spend lots of cash on filing compliance forms.
A father and daughter in Deep South Texas had "The Talk" regarding how to respond to questioning from immigration authorities.
Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today and a veteran reporter and observer of American politics, will appear at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics on Tuesday, April 29.
Mississippi has been pro-active in beginning and maintaining a variety of activities that benefit scholastic journalism students.
A state judge in Mississippi has withdrawn her order that a newspaper in Clarksdale, Miss., must take down an editorial criticizing local officials for not providing notice of a meeting to consider a tax increase.
A state judge in Mississippi has ordered a newspaper in Clarksdale, Miss., to remove an editorial.
The use of executive orders to make law has increased rapidly in the last 50 years, and for various reasons.
The U.S. government put forward a case that was basically a ruse, and the justices fell for it, banning a specific communicator for the first time.
His music about the struggle for freedom became a powerful symbol of the times, especially in the South.
Since 1964, defamation law has provided strong protections for ensuring a “profound national commitment” to debate on public issues.
Despite challenges over budgets and freedom of speech, high school journalism is thriving in Mississippi.
Tony Pederson, managing fellow of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, discusses the presidency of Jimmy Carter.
Former President Jimmy Carter died Sunday at the age of 100 after almost two years in hospice care. Curtis Wilkie, inaugural fellow at the Overby Center, covered Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign against Gerald Ford from the beginning for the Boston Globe, and he was White House reporter during Carter’s four years as president. Charles Overby, chairman of the Overby Center, recently interviewed Wilkie.
Terry Mattingly of the Overby Center panel of experts reports that historic storms from Hurricane Helene have left North Carolina people without homes and still in desperate need of help.
Charles Mitchell of the University of Mississippi and a member of the Overby Center panel of experts argues that the benefits of diversity initiatives can be significant.
Jared Schroeder of the University of Missouri and a member of the Overby Center panel of experts makes the case that the migration to Bluesky is about the space in which we will engage in conversation.
First Amendment scholar Jared Schroeder from the University of Missouri and a member of the Overby Center panel of experts writes that we’ve been concerned about students using AI for writing essays and getting test answers. We should be concerned about AI limiting knowledge and its effect on democratic society.
Tony Pederson, managing fellow of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, discusses the need for community post-election.