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Overby Center Plans Week of Debate-related Programs, Sept. 19-25 |
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Written by Deborah Purnell
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09/17/2008 |
OXFORD, Miss. - In anticipation of the first 2008 presidential debate,
to be hosted at the University of Mississippi Sept. 26, UM's Overby
Center for Southern Journalism and Politics has planned a slate of
special pre-debate programs and lectures that week on the significance
of presidential debates and how they've helped shape previous
presidential elections.
The series of free, public events, dubbed "Anticipating the Debate,"
kicks off at 9 a.m. Friday (Sept. 19) in the Overby Center Auditorium
with the panel discussion "The Significance of Presidential Debates."
Panelists are Matthew V. Storin, former editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Boston Globe and New York Daily News, and Tom Oliphant, former syndicated political columnist for the Boston Globe and a frequent guest speaker on the nightly PBS program "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Moderator is Curtis Wilkie, Overby Center Fellow and associate professor and Kelly Gene Cook Chair of journalism. Wilkie retired from the Boston Globe, following a 26-year career as a foreign and national correspondent during which he covered eight presidential campaigns.
"Oliphant and Storin have been on hand for many presidential debates and will likely draw from their experiences and memories of notable debates," Wilkie said. "We will also get their ideas on what we should expect from the first 2008 presidential debate scheduled here Sept. 26."
A panel of international journalists tackles "Views of the Election from Abroad" at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 23). Held in Overby Center Auditorium, the discussion is co-hosted by the Croft Institute for International Studies
On Wednesday (Sept. 24), the Overby Center, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and Lott Leadership Institute present the daylong symposium "How Events in Mississippi Changed American Politics." The symposium is to be presented in three discussions in the Overby Center Auditorium, beginning at 10 a.m. with "Mississippi Freedom Democrats' Challenge in Atlantic City in 1964." Remaining sessions follow at 2 p.m. with "The Realignment of Political Parties in the South" and at 4 p.m. with "The Current Political Scene."
"First Four Years - Presidential Campaign Ads," a special film and program on campaign commercials over the past 50 years, is slated for 4 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 25) in the Overby Center Auditorium. Charles Overby, CEO and chairman of the Freedom Forum, is the moderator.
"It was Roger Ailes, Nixon's campaign consultant, who said, 'Television is no gimmick, and nobody will ever be elected to major office again without presenting themselves well on it.' This is truer today than ever," Wilkie said. "TV presidential campaign ads have tried to sway votes for nearly 60 years. In this film, we'll see ads - both positive and negative - from past campaigns, as well as the latest ads from the two current major candidates."
The Overby Center concludes it week of programs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 25) with "An Evening with Tom Brokaw" in Fulton Chapel. Brokaw is slated to give an overview of the upcoming presidential debate and the election landscape. The free tickets to the Brokaw event have all been distributed; however, a simulcast of the discussion will air in Farley Hall, Room 202, and on the Grove Stage. The simulcast is free and open to the public.
For a complete list of debate-related events and activities, see http://debate.olemiss.edu/. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7236.
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