CARRYING TRADITIONAL JOURNALISM VALUES INTO THE FUTURE
Overby Center for Southern Journalism & Politics
The Overby Center for Southern Journalism & Politics offers timely perspectives rooted in foundational democratic values. Its work and programs advocate for the highest standards of journalism, the importance of a fair and free press, and the principles of the First Amendment.
Nearly two decades after its founding, the center sought to reset its regional focus and overall communication strategy. The center is housed at the University of Mississippi and adjacent to the UM School of Journalism and New Media, but its scope needed to be broader than the hosting of local events.
Senior Fellow Tony Pederson and Chairman Charles Overby partnered with Red Window to transition the center into a new model, blending in-person events with digital content. An additional goal was equipping the center’s team of students to run a consistent communications program for the center, even with staffing that would change frequently.
CONSULTING
MESSAGING
WEBSITE
BRANDING
GRAPHIC DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTENT STRATEGY
SYSTEMS SUPPORT
TRAINING
VIDEO
Building upon the vision and values shared by Overby, Pederson and board members, Red Window developed new messaging that placed the center more clearly in its regional and topical contexts. New branding for the center reflects the tone and posture of its content — but also supported the content, rather than upstaging it.
The Overby Center’s new messaging also informed a refreshed content strategy. It retired vague labels in favor of clear content tags, placing each story within the umbrella of the center’s areas of focus.
The content-first design approach flowed into the center’s new website. To help tell the Overby Center’s story visually, Red Window produced new photography and sourced existing images from the university’s collection. The website prominently features the center’s regional collection of experts who share commentary on current trends and events, alongside news about in-person events at the center and coverage of those events.
Red Window equipped the center’s staff and students to take its new brand and website forward, working with the students to understand their workflows and creating a central custom guide for their use. The Overby Center continues to tap Red Window for professional support around social-media strategy and analytics, as well as video coverage of live events.
Photo: Mackenzie Ross
Logo Redesign
Photo: Joe Wotrthem
“Lucy Schultze and her staff at Red Window Communications did a superb job of building and relaunching our website at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. They helped us refine and even refocus our messaging as well as building an attractive and highly functional website. Lucy’s background in journalism and news was especially helpful in understanding our role as journalists and our promotion of professional news standards and First Amendment freedoms.”