News & Analysis

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.

Eliza Gains, the publisher of WEHCO Media Inc., shares her insights on the future of journalism, the challenges facing the industry, and her vision for sustaining newspapers in the digital age.

The tragic events of the murder of Emmett Till in 1955 and the farcical trial that followed were discussed in a program at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics on Oct. 9.  Author Ronald Collins discussed his new book, “Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial.”

Country music icon Marty Stuart along with the Philadelphia Arts Council restored the Ellis Theater in Philadelphia, Miss., to establish the Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music.

Curtis Wilkie, the inaugural fellow of the Overby Center, discusses the presidential race in 1968 filled with political division and incidents of violence. He compares the race to this year's presidential race as well as offering details of the events that led to the Democratic presidential nomination of Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

The Center for Integrity in News Reporting distributed its first awards May 14 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The center was established through the leadership of Walter E. Hussman Jr., longtime publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

More than 450 high-school journalists gathered at the University of Mississippi on April 2 to celebrate achievements and learn from both peers and professionals.

The editor-in-chief of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale shares her insights on leading a major Southern newspaper and the evolving media landscape.

The following is a collection of quotes and anecdotes from students of David McHam. For 54 years at four Texas universities, David McHam hammered into students’ heads lessons in succeeding in journalism.

Listen to the audio of the Great Conversations luncheon with Dean Slabach. The Overby Center hosted the Great Conversations luncheon with students, faculty, and invited guests.

Few people were more influential in Dallas in the last half of the 20th Century than the Rev. Dr. W.A. Criswell. As pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas from 1944 until 1994, he was among pioneers of the megachurch concept, served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and was a leader in the conservative shift of Southern Baptists, both theologically and politically.  

In a jointly-sponsored program by the Lott Leadership Institute and the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, General Wesley K. Clark, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and Overby Center chairman Charles Overby joined in a discussion on Feb. 27 in the Overby Auditorium.

Next week, the Overby Center will delve into the importance of empowering leaders for civil impact with a discussion featuring General Wesley K. Clark, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and Overby Center chairman Charles Overby.

Ryan “R.L.” Nave became Reckon’s editor in May 2020, overseeing the newsroom’s transformation into a millennial-focused brand in the South. Before Reckon, he was the editor-in-chief of Mississippi Today, the state’s largest newsroom.