The University of Mississippi’s Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics announced its fall lineup of programs, which will have an emphasis on upcoming elections and the future of journalism.

The center will host four programs, beginning on Oct. 2 and running through Nov. 20, and feature Mississippi political figures, political journalists, a newsroom lawyer and a documentarian.

“This fall’s programs offer great conversations with and about nationally recognized experts,” said Charles Overby, chairman of the Overby Center. “The audience will also have an opportunity to join these conversations.”

The first program is called “The Battle Between Trump and the Press,” and features political journalist Peter J. Boyer. Boyer has covered the evolution of American politics and analyzed the intersection of politics and the press. He, along with Overby fellow Curtis Wilkie, will discuss the negative relationship between the current president and the news media.

On Oct. 16, the program “Looking Ahead to the Mississippi Elections” will analyze the upcoming state elections. Mississippi Republican Austin Barbour and Mississippi Democrat Brandon Jones will follow up on their initial assessments from an Overby program that took place last fall. Overby and Wilkie will also be a part of the program.

“The Fight for Press Freedom,” featuring The New York Times’ lawyer David E. McCraw, is scheduled for Oct. 30. The program will discuss the struggle for press freedom in an age of alternative facts. Greg Brock, a retired editor of The New York Times, and Overby will join the discussion.

The fall’s final program is called “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America,” and will feature a documentary on Hamer, who was a Mississippi sharecropper and a powerful voice in the civil rights movement. The film’s director, Joy Elaine Davenport, will hold a Q&A session following the screening.

“Through the years, I have been impressed with how much Charles Overby hopes we as faculty, students and Oxonians will promote civil dialogue on public issues and new media,” said Will Norton, Jr., dean of the School of Journalism and New Media. “Clearly, the programs this fall are focused on civil discourse.”

All events will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Overby Center auditorium and are free and open to the public.