USC Annenberg Agenda

usc annenberg agenda IDEAS FROM THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM WINTER 2013

dean’s column

THE THIRD SPACE Talent-21

By Ernest J. Wilson III

Over the past eighteen months, I and select faculty from USC Annenberg have met with dozens of C-level executives and thought-leaders from the media, communications and entertainment (MCE) fields to discuss their strategies for addressing the tectonic technological and competitive challenges wracking their industries.

What emerged was unexpected: top MCE executives consistently articulated that their priority is people—the need for more uniquely talented individuals who possess a rare and specific skill set. In particular, they seek people who are capable of: recognizing new patterns and connecting the dots; aligning creativity, context and strategy; analyzing and communicating across multiple boundaries; and effectively using various platforms to reach diverse audiences while THE THIRD SPACE upholding core organizational values. Moreover, the challenges associated with attracting, growing and retaining these talented individuals are universal, regardless of geography or industry.

Realizing that these needs are unlikely to be fulfilled by individuals coming from existing conventional disciplines, such as the MBA or Engineering spaces, I dubbed this new set of 21st century communications competencies, the “Third Space.”

In the Information Age, communication is at the center and our leadership role has never been more pronounced, expected and necessary. USC Annenberg is therefore in the midst of an ambitious project intended to effect a virtuous cycle—we listen and learn; we change what we teach and research; our students gain jobs, and our MCE partners gain best-prepared graduates to become the next generation of leaders. We call this 21st century initiative—and imperative —“Talent-21.”

Joining ASCJ in the Talent-21 project are top executives from such leading institutions as Cisco, IBM, Korn/Ferry, Disney, Google and CAA. Over time, the project’s scope will expand further, encompassing larger groups of thought-leaders, and ultimately culminating in crowdsourced global discourse and change. Contact us if you and your organization want to participate, and please also share your stories with us of people who personify the Third Space competencies.

For more information, visit www.talent-21.org and follow @USCTalent21 on Twitter.

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table of contents

PORTFOLIO | 4

BRIEFS | 12

CAN LIVES BE SAVED BY STORIES, GAMES AND APPS? | 16 stay connected with usc annenberg social media

COVER AND TABLE OF CONTENTS ILLUSTRATION BY AUTUMNSEVENTY

BACK COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY GUS RUELAS

DIGITAL. MEDIA. LEADERSHIP. | 20

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP | 28

BRIEFS | 30 also inside

Annenberg Agenda is published twice a year by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. We welcome your comments.

Send your your feedback to ascpubs@usc.edu.

Dean’s Column 1 Board of Councilors 34 Alumni Notes 35

The University of Southern California admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin. annenberg.usc.edu

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TRAVELOGUE Mapping Cuba PHOTOGRAPHY BY NEFTALIE WILLIAMS Last summer, a collaboration between USC Annenberg, the David and Dana Dornsife College, and Price School of Public Policy sent a group of twenty-five USC students to Cuba for one month to study that nation’s shifting political, social and economic landscapes.

Many of the students worked on a digital mapping project.

Their goal was to photograph and catalogue every business, public or private, on Calle Obispo, a one-kilometer stretch of Old Havana that serves as a microcosm of the changes occurring throughout the country.

“Things are falling down around older people while new things are emerging,” said Neftalie Williams, a USC Annenberg Master of Public Diplomacy student and the photographer whose shot of a shoe repair store appears to the left.

“They’re trying,” Williams said “to find their footing.”

—Greg Asciutto (Print and Digital Journalism `14)

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MUDCAT GRANT Striking out Jim Crow PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT VAN ORT From 1947-1972, Major League Baseball remained the largest—in terms of audience—and most important sports stage in the United States. During that time, the league and American society went through drastic change. In 1947, Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby broke baseball’s color line.

African-American players often had to stay at separate hotels and eat at separate restaurants from their teammates. Many were threatened. And many were actively engaged in the civil rights struggles of the era. These players have a unique perspective on the burgeoning civil rights movement of the 1950s, the civil rights legislation of the 1960s and the birth of Black Power as a movement and ideology in the 1970s.

To gather these stories, the Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media & Society (AISMS) has launched an oral history research project, “The African-American Experience of Major League Baseball.” Early interviewees include “Downtown” Ollie Brown, Sweet Lou Johnson, Oscar Brown, Bennie Daniels and—photographed October 9, 2013 in the dugout at USC’s Dedeaux Field—Jim “Mudcat” Grant.

Grant, from tiny Lacoochee, Fla., spent fourteen years in the major leagues and won 145 games. He hit a threerun homer in the 1965 World Series; fronted a band, Mudcat and the Kittens; broadcasted Cleveland Indians games; and wrote a book, “The Black Aces,” about star African-America hurlers. Best of all, when John F. Kennedy invited him to breakfast and then to visit the White House, Grant used the opportunity to put in a successful pitch for better schools and public housing back home.

— Prof. Daniel Durbin Director, AISMS

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“ You couldn’t get a white cab, you always had to get a black cab… And you couldn’t ride in the bus.”

—JIM “MUDCAT” GRANT ON HIS EARLY YEARS AS A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER

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portfolio LAWRENCE SCHILLER A Life in Photojournalism During his extraordinary sixty-year career, the photographer, author and filmmaker Lawrence Schiller has time and time again identified and chronicled America’s social, cultural and political zeitgeist through his iconic and enduring work.

A new USC Annenberg exhibition displays Schiller’s photos of the Watts Riots, Muhammed Ali, Martin Luther King, Jr, Robert F. Kennedy, Ai Weiwei, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney productions, the Jackson Five, legal LSD experimentation, the Olympic Games and more. The exhibition also features two iPads loaded with Schiller’s interactive app.

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Watts Riots 1965 Two police officers aim from behind a parked press car as fire and smoke from a burning building color the Los Angeles night sky. The photo appeared in Paris Match. ©LAWRENCE SCHILLER. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF FAHEY KLEIN IN LOS ANGELES

ARCHIVAL REVIVAL Songs in the Key of Los Angeles For more than a year, USC Professor Josh Kun, director of the Popular Music Project at USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center, and a group of students worked with librarians from the Los Angeles Central Library to comb that institution’s roughly 50,000-piece sheet music collection. The group identified and shaped an unprecedented archive of Southern California sheet music—the very first of its kind.

As Kun explained, “Together with the Library and the Library Foundation, we’re exploring how to tell the stories of our city using song. How do we use the music of the past to talk about the present?

In the age of the Internet, simply having an archive or a collection is not enough. We want to bring these songs to life, to make the collections accessible to new audiences.”

Among the ways Kun and company did just that: A hardcover book, an exhibition, a Tumblr with images and links to music files, TV and web musical performances and radio interviews. The finale: A brilliantly-reviewed concert held in Downtown L.A. that starred Ozomatli and featured performances by I See Hawks in L.A., Ceci Bastida, Jackson Browne, Cheech Marin and Stevie Wonder.

COLLECTION OF THE LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY

Collection of the Los Angeles Public Library

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View from the second floor of the east lobby, circa 1978.

COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

USC ANNENBERG Two Buildings Strong Construction continues on Wallis Annenberg Hall. This state-of-the-art 88,000-square-foot technological marvel is scheduled to open Fall 2014. When it does, USC Annenberg will have two extraordinary edifices, as the school will continue to use the modernist marvel designed by A. Quincy Jones and constructed in 1976.

Inside Wallis Annenberg Hall, the three-story media wall rises during September, 2013.

PHOTO BY JOEL ZINK

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COLLABORATION Gaming The System Throughout the Fall semester, USC Annenberg undergraduate students played “Xposure,� a new media-making collaboration game.

Students worked in teams to discover, combine and trade custom-made playing cards. The students then collaborated to earn game points by creating media projects such as websites, news broadcasts, photo editorials, press releases and infographics. A mysterious Xposure Committee rewarded the top players in the game with experience-based prizes such as a visit to L.A.based internet radio station, Dublab, which was cofounded by USC Annenberg alumnus Mark McNeil.

IMAGES COURTESY OF XPOSURE COMMITTEE

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briefs FILM: DATA FROM THE USC ANNENBERG MEDIA, DIVERSITY & SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE

16.7%

In 2012, women comprised of all directors, writers and producers across the top 100 grossing films. This translates into 5 males behind the camera to every 1 female. 1

When industry leaders referred to

“gendered financial barriers,” they meant three things:

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Many of the financiers in the film world are male.

The subject matter of female-directed films is perceived to be less commercially viable.

12.2%

In 2012, only of all writers were female across the top 100 grossing films. Only 34 out of 278 screenwriters last year were female. 1

278

Women are perceived to lack confidence and 5 be less trustworthy with finances than men.

Of all speaking characters 40-64 years of age, only 20.7% were women but 79.3% were men in the top 100 grossing films of 2012.

This translates into 3.8 middle-aged males on screen to every 1 middle-aged female. In terms of race, only 3.1% of these middleaged speaking characters were Hispanic and 7.9% were Black. 1

20.7%

women

34

7.9% black

89% white

Only 41 unique female directors worked across 1,100 top-grossing films between 2002 and 2012. In contrast, more than 620 unique male directors helmed films. This translates to a ratio of over 15 to 1. 5

1,100

3.1% Hispanic

79.3% men

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S mith, S.L., Choueiti, M., Scofield, E., & Pieper, K. (2013). Gender Inequality in 500 Popular Films: Examining On-Screen Portrayals and Behind the Scenes Employment Patterns in Motion Pictures Released between 2007 and 2012. Los Angeles, CA: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

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Smith, S.L., Pieper, K.M., & Choueiti, M. (2013). Exploring the Barriers and Obstacles for Independent Women Filmmakers. Report prepared for Sundance Institute and Women in Film Los Angeles.

@ uscannenberg UPCOMING EVENTS USC ANNENBERG COAST TO COAST Aug. 7, 2013 Washington, D.C. alumni meet Dean Ernest J. Wilson III, Journalism School Interim Director Michael Parks and Fred Ryan, Politico’s President & CEO.

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A TASTE OF ANNENBERG Aug. 22, 2013 This annual assembly, opportunity fair and lunch introduces new students to the school’s many organizations and departments.

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY REIMAGINED The Cyrus Cylinder Exhibition Cultural exchange has always been, and still remains, a pillar of public diplomacy. That’s unlikely to change. What has changed, however, are the innovative ways in which non-state actors are engaging in cultural diplomacy.

The British Museum, for example, has proven itself an adept force in cultural relations with its recent international exhibition “The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning for the Middle East.” In partnership with the Iran Heritage Foundation, the Museum brought the Cylinder to five major U.S. museums.

An ancient clay tablet noted for its account of a Persian king allowing exiled peoples to repatriate, the Cylinder could easily have attracted a narrow audience of scholars and experts.

The British Museum, however, was able to enhance the Cylinder’s colorful past and status as an iconic object with skillful outreach and communication. By framing the exhibition as relevant to the general public, the museum facilitated a global dialogue of cultural linkages and connections.

As part of its efforts to examine innovative practices in cultural diplomacy, the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School spotlighted the exhibition with several multimedia features on the Cylinder’s journey this fall, including an interview with John Curtis, Keeper of the British Museum; a roundtable discussion with Timothy Potts, Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum (above, left, in photo); an article

by Nasser Manesh of the Iran Heritage Foundation; and various blog posts. CPD will continue to explore trends and developments in cultural diplomacy with a research conference on soft power in emerging economies in Spring 2014.

— Prof. Jay Wang Director, USC Center on Public Diplomacy

book excerpt CROWDSOURCING In the June 2006 issue of Wired magazine, contributing editor Jeff Howe first coined the term crowdsourcing in his article, “The Rise of Crowdsourcing.”

Building on the spirit of James Surowiecki’s 2004 book “The Wisdom of Crowds” and other works, Howe described in this article and early blog posts that followed a new organizational form. Companies took functions that once were performed by employees and outsourced the work to others by making an open call to online communities. Crowdsourcing was a fitting portmanteau because it morphed two concepts— outsourcing and a crowd of online laborers—to produce an entirely new word.

Like many new terms that appear in a magazine like Wired, crowdsourcing took off quickly and within days became widely used. Suddenly, new media examples that structurally had nothing to do with crowdsourcing—such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Flickr, Second Life, open-source software, and blogs—were all called crowdsourcing. Soon anything that involved large groups of people doing anything was called crowdsourcing. Many of these loud but misguided voices—including Forbes, BusinessWeek, and countless social media gurus—spread a confusing message about what exactly crowdsourcing was.

In crowdsourcing, the locus of control regarding the creative production of goods and ideas exists between the organization and the public, a shared process of bottom-up, open creation by the crowd and top-down management by those charged with serving an organization’s strategic interests. This sharing of power between an organization and the public makes crowdsourcing distinct from similar creative processes.

— Prof. Daren C. Brabham COURTESY OF MIT PRESS

STORYTELLING WITH GOOGLE GLASS Aug. 27, 2013 USC Annenberg students, faculty and staff who are pioneering Google Glass Explorers share their ideas, experiences and observations.

USC ANNENBERG COAST TO COAST Aug. 28, 2013 Orange County alumni hear Professors Gabriel Kahn and Christopher Smith in conversation about the Media, Economics & Entrepreneurship Initiative.

THE OBAMA-XI SUNNYLANDS SUMMIT Sept. 3, 2013 Former Dean Geoffrey Cowan, President of the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, on how two nations perceived this historic gathering.

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GOOGLE GLASS USC Annenberg is constantly exploring new ways to tell stories. This year, six of the school’s faculty, students and staff members were among the first 10,000 people in the world to use Google Glass. The group holds regular virtual meet-ups with fellow Glass Explorers from around the world. Professor Marcia Dawkins (pictured, lower right); doctoral students Alex Leavitt (not pictured) Francesca Marie Smith (upper right); and Professor Robert Hernandez (lower left) shared their early experiences with the augmented reality tool during the Fall 2013 semester’s first Journalism Forum.

Each uses Glass for a different purpose. Dawkins, for instance, is studying how Glass could potentially be used in classrooms to enhance pedagogy. Hernandez said he uses Google Glass to see “how it will affect journalism from the creation side.” Added Hernandez: “When has journalism ever benefitted from ignoring or dismissing technology?” USC Annenberg web developer Christopher Guitarte (upper left) missed the Journalism Forum, but Guitarte had a good excuse. He was getting married. And yes, he took great Glass footage as his wife walked down the aisle.

— Mike Juliani (B.A., Print and Digital Journalism `13) PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT VAN ORT (1&3), ALAN MITTELSTAEDT (2&4)

@uscannenberg ANNENBERG RESEARCH SEMINAR Sept. 9, 2013 René Weber discusses neuroscientific approaches and brain imaging studies related to media violence, health communication and more.

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WE THE MEDIA: ANNENBERG AS PUBLISHER Sept. 10, 2013 A roundtable discussion by student-run outlets Annenberg Radio News, Annenberg TV News, Impact, Neon Tommy, U.S. China Today and Asia Pacific Arts.

CRUNCH LUNCH Sept. 17, 2013 Digital brand strategist Gunther Sonnenfeld visits the Annenberg Innovation Lab to talk about best practices for social media and marketing.

PRIVACY, ENTERTAINMENT AND THE MILLENIAL GENERATION Sept. 17, 2013 Center on Communication Leadership & Policy senior fellow Morley Winograd on demographics, technology and American life.

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book excerpt

USCAnnenberg BRITTANY HEIL @BrittanyUSC2011 Days like this, when news is breaking everywhere, I am thankful for multi-platform reporting I learned @ USCAnnenberg during Core! #ascj #USC

VANESSA VALDIVIA @vvaldiv Proud @USCAnnenberg alum watching Dean Wilson moderate discussion w/ Google’s Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen.

ALICIA QUARLES @aliciaquarles @hunterapeters @uscannenberg phenomenal. USC prepared me for all aspects of journalism. You will learn from those who are tops in the biz.

TRENISE FERREIRA @TreniseFerreira Just got back home from the @USCAnnenberg Alumni Sports Media event. Always a blessing to be around such well-connected, like minded ppl!

ARASH MARKAZI @ArashMarkazi @KristineLeahy @USCAnnenberg Nice. I hope you had fun at the best journalism school on the planet.

AUTHENTIC™ The politics of ambivalence in a brand culture In a culture where graffiti artists loan their visions to both subway walls and department stores and buying a cup of “fair-trade” coffee is a political statement, I question the distinction between what we understand as the “authentic” and branding practices. But brand cultures are also contradictory and potentially rife with unexpected possibilities, leading me to articulate a politics of ambivalence, creating a lens through which we can see potential political possibilities within the new consumerism.

The practice of branding is typically understood as a tool of marketing, a method of attaching social meaning to a commodity as a way to make it more personally resonant with consumers. But I maintain that branding has extended beyond a business model to become intertwined with our most basic social and cultural relations.

Further, these types of brand relationships have become cultural contexts for everyday living, individual identify, and personal relationships— what I refer to as “brand cultures.” Distinct brand cultures, that at times overlap and compete with each other, that I’ve written about include: the normalization of a feminized “self-brand” in social media, the brand culture of street art in urban spaces, religious brand cultures, and the culture of green branding and “shopping for change.”

— Prof. Sarah Banet-Weiser COURTESY OF NYU PRESS

EVERETT M. ROGERS AWARD COLLOQUIUM Sept. 18, 2013 Honoree Mark Granovetter’s paper about the importance of having acquaintances as well as friends has been cited over 24,000 times.

RESCUING RUBEN SALAZAR Sept. 19, 2013 Panel discussion and screening of a film about the famed journalist by USC Annenberg Fellow Phillip Rodriguez.

THE ORIGINS OF CELEBRITY DIPLOMACY Sept. 26, 2013 Ira Wagman of Carleton University provides historical context for the efforts of today’s A-list advocates.

CRUNCH HACKATHON Sept. 27-28, 2013 Participants are challenged to create a transmedia experience focusing on a Los Angeles environmental problem in only 24 hours.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY GUS RUELAS

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CAN LIVES BE SAVED

BY STORIES, GAMES AND APPS?

By Andrea Richards

Grant-Funded Research on the Role of Narrative and Connectivity in Health-Related Decisions In the late 1980s when USC Annenberg Professor Lynn Miller began researching ways to reduce the risk-taking behaviors that lead to HIV infection among men who had sex with men (MSM), she had a revelation while reviewing interviews: “I listened to the tapes and it became obvious to me that we weren’t factoring in the heavily contextualized factors―smells, tastes, sights—that were automatically activating decisions for people and leading them down a road to risk. Sensory perceptions played a huge role in decision making.” At the time, most interventions into at-risk behaviors were based on cognitive learning, teaching skill components such as condom use. From her studies, Miller saw the need for a different approach―one that took into account the emotionally charged context and the fact that “it wasn’t a single decision, but a sequence.” “That’s where I came up with the interactive video,” she says, “I wanted to get inside the head of the person making the decisions.”

Miller’s idea was to develop an interactive video game that would serve as a narrative-based intervention, simulating the actual choice scenarios people faced and showing them the points where risky decisions are made.

In this virtual environment, users choose how the narrative proceeds, and when a risky choice is made there’s an interruption―a virtual future self that shows the possible repercussions of the choice.

Technologically, it was an idea ahead of its time; the interactive video game itself was an innovative concept, much less the use of one for a major public health concern. But thanks to almost two decades of research and development and many grants, including a five-year, $3.475 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) that Miller received in 2008, the fully realized 3D animated computer game called SOLVE IT is being studied in national testing. Improvements in digital technology not only permit the game’s intelligent agents to be more complex within the game, it also permits more rapid dissemination of the game via the Internet.

INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF NARRATIVE The effectiveness of the game relies on its ability to immerse the user and relay a simulacrum of the situations and choices they encounter in life. “A huge amount of

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Above: The Quick! Help for Meals app developed at USC Annenberg aims to provide families with healthier cooking options and recipes.

formative science goes into designing the game environment,” says Miller. “Just because it’s a game doesn’t mean it’s going to be successful—you’ve got to get it right. You have to leverage the capability of the game to create an intervention effective for the target population.”

uses a Mexican American family’s preparations for their daughter’s quinceañera as the narrative vehicle. Murphy writes that the positive results “call for a re-examination of the prevailing ‘one-size-fits-all’ assumption that guides most health messages…Although this research focuses

That capability is at least partially reliant on the strength of its narrative―a take as innovative as its medium in health communications. “Narrative scenarios and choices have not been the predominate paradigm,” says Miller. Her USC Annenberg colleague, Professor Sheila Murphy, whose NIH-funded grant “Transforming Cancer Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior through Narrative” highlights the power of narrative in health-related communications, concurs: “When it comes time to craft health messages designed to convey crucial, potentially life saving health information, Western medicine all but ignores the use of narrative.”

Awarded a prestigious five-year Transformative RO1 grant from the National Cancer Institute, Murphy and CoPrincipal Investigator (PI) Lourdes-Baezconde Garbanati (USC Keck School of Medicine) test whether using a narrative format to convey health information produces a stronger and more sustained impact. To do so, their team produced two short films containing the same key facts about cervical cancer. Results show the narrative film, “The Tamale Lesson” more effective than the nonnarrative (titled “It’s Time”) in increasing knowledge about cervical cancer–and an increase in the cervical cancer screening rates. The data also revealed that among The Tamale Lesson’s audience the usual ethnic disparity in cervical cancer screening rates was erased.

Murphy’s films, like Miller’s video game, were carefully created to address key demographic factors of her audience so as to foster identification with the characters and engagement with the story. The Tamale Lesson

on cervical cancer, our results have clear implications for virtually all health communication.” The American Public Health Association awarded The Tamale Lesson its 2013 Public Health Education and Health Promotion Contest Award.

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USING TECHNOLOGY TO REACH UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES Murphy is also currently working (with Co-PI, USC Annenberg’s Sandra Ball-Rokeach) on a second NIH-funded grant that looks at health-related storytelling and the factors that inhibit or facilitate health communication in the social networks of Hispanic women in Los Angeles. By identifying and mapping the assets within specific communities, Murphy hopes to identify individual, interpersonal and community level factors both in isolation and as a system, so that practitioners and researchers can explore a multilevel approach to cervical cancer prevention and health communication in general. “We are looking for hot spots―and asking why do some communities have better communication about health-related information?”

Murphy explains.

According to Margaret McLaughlin, Professor of Communication and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research at Annenberg, Murphy and Millers’ projects are “typical of the type of grant-funded research projects Annenberg professors do here, that investigate health promotion and literacy among underserved communities,” and “use technology to reach multiethnic communities.”

To the right: Prof. Lynn Miller’s “SOLVE IT” game uses narrative-based intervention to curb the risk of HIV infection.

Yet another example that combines the use of new technology with an underserved community is a smartphone app designed to help low-income families utilize fresh produce from food banks and food-assistance programs. Called “Quick! Help for Meals,” the app’s development is the result of research USC Annenberg Professor Peter Clarke and Research Scientist Susan Evans.

Their work, supported by a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is entitled “Fighting Obesity among Low-Income 9-14 Year Olds: A Home-Based Intervention Using Mobile Phones to Deliver Customized Nutrition Outreach.”

Clarke and Evans have collaborated for more than two decades with food assistance programs, work that has proved instrumental in helping food banks distribute fresh produce alongside the carbo-heavy pantry staples like breakfast cereal and cookies (thanks largely to their efforts nearly one billion pounds of produce is distributed a year).

Pleased that healthier fare has become available, the researchers noticed a new concern: “The rub though is that so many people don’t know what

in low-income households increases dramatically.

With more than a third of food assistance recipients owning smartphones (and that number is expected to grow), Quick! Help for Meals could change users’ eating habits. Along with being able to select recipes and learn tips for food preparation, storage, and presentation, the app allows users to order print copies that can be picked up at the community food bank―or email recipes to friends. Not only does such social messaging help spread healthy eating habits, studies also show the user is more likely to prepare a recipe he or she has given someone else.

While new technology makes this practical tool to combat obesity easier to disseminate and use,

“ WESTERN MEDICINE ALL BUT

IGNORES THE USE OF NARRATIVE “ to do with some of the produce they are receiving either due to lack of time or cooking skills or both,” Evans explains. “So here you have a group of very determined people who are grateful to have received this food and don’t want to waste it. Plus, they are really interested in feeding their children the most nutritious way possible. But, often, they simply don’t know how.”

Ergo, their idea for an app that can create customized recipe selections and tips (nearly three hundred recipes and seventy “Secrets to Better Eating” are included in the app’s current incarnation) for each client, allowing the user to enter relevant data about food preferences, cooking methods, and available cooking equipment in their home.

Tests thus far prove that the app makes a difference―the amount of fresh vegetables consumed

Clarke cautions, “It’s a mistake to be beguiled by the technology. If you don’t follow through by implementing it with content people can really use, what is to gain?” Clarke, Evans and their research team spent time developing the content so that it is responsive to low-income people’s needs. Recipes forgo items like expensive spices and keep ingredient demands simple, incorporate time saving techniques and convey innovative uses of old standbys (tortilla broccoli pizzas, sweet potato smoothies).

Perhaps it is the carefully calculated balance and precision between the project’s medium and its message that allows the app to work as an effective health intervention―and a profound example of the possibilities new technologies offer, provided they are grounded in narratives, stories, and even foods, relevant to real communities.

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ILLUSTRATION BY AUTUMNSEVENTY

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Throughout human history, mastery of a certain field has proven crucial to shaping, powering and understanding a particular era. In today’s Information Age—or Imagination Economy, or Mobile Revolution—that central field is our USC Annenberg purview. On the pages that follow, ten faculty members and alumni share cutting-edge ideas and observations about a range of vital topics.

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DEFINING SPREADABILITY SPREADABLE MEDIA Content circulates in multiple ways today, from top-down to bottom-up, from grassroots to commercial. As we explore circulation, we see the way value and meaning are created in the multiple economies that constitute the emerging media landscape. Our message is simple and direct: if it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.

We don’t mean the kinds of circulation that have historically concerned publishers—that is, how many readers pick up this morning’s edition of The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal….Like the “impressions” online publishers tout, such “circulation” is concerned with making audience members into receptacles for massproduced and mass-distributed content: as eyeballs in front of a screen (in television terms), butts in seats (in film or sports terms), or whatever other body parts media companies and brands hope to grab next. But those definitions of “circulation” are really talking about distribution, where the movement of media content is largely—or totally—controlled by the commercial interests producing and selling it. These logics of distribution best apply in a broadcast media world, where a small number of producers—Random House, or CBS, or Warner Brothers—create discrete and finished products for mass audiences.

Instead, our book, “Spreadable Media” examines an emerging hybrid model of circulation, where a mix of topdown and bottom-up forces determine how material is shared across and among cultures in far more participatory (and messier) ways. The decisions that each of us make about whether to pass along media texts—about whether to tweet the latest gaffe from a presidential candidate, forward a Nieman Marcus cookie recipe email, or share video of a shoplifting seagull—are reshaping the media landscape itself. This shift from distribution to circulation signals a movement toward a more participatory model of culture, one which sees the public not as simply consumers of pre-constructed messages, but as people who are shaping, sharing, reframing and remixing media content in

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ways which might not have been previously imagined. And they are doing so not as isolated individuals, but within larger communities and networks, which allow them to spread content well beyond their immediate geographic proximity….

While many content creators are struggling with the growing prominence of such grassroots audience practices, an array of online communication tools has arisen to facilitate informal and instantaneous sharing. These platforms offer new capacities for people to pass along media artifacts—and, in the process, seek models to generate revenue through the activities of their users. However, while new tools have proliferated the means by which people can circulate material, word-of-mouth recommendations and the sharing of media content are impulses that have long driven how people interact with each other. Perhaps nothing is more human than sharing stories, whether by fire or by “cloud,” (so to speak). …Our approach doesn’t presume that new platforms liberate people from old constraints but rather suggests the affordances of digital media provide a catalyst for reconceptualizing other aspects of culture, requiring the rethinking of social relations, the re-imagining of cultural and political participation, the revision of economic expectations, and the reconfiguration of legal structures. …Spreadability refers to the potential—both technical and cultural—for audiences to share content for their own purposes, sometimes with the permission of rights holders, sometimes against their wishes. As we have been working on this book, some have challenged the term “spreadable,” suggesting it sounds more appropriate for describing cream cheese or peanut butter.…However, think of “spreadability” as a placeholder, perhaps like a stub in Wikipedia; it is something we can shape a conversation around.

— USC Annenberg Prof. Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green COURTESY NYU PRESS

* Book Excerpt from Spreadable Media: Creating Value And Meaning In A Networked Culture

HOW WE LIVE RIGHT NOW

RADICAL RETHINKING THE EDISON PROJECT

Welcome to the most recent cultural “revolution,” the mobile revolution! The term “revolution” seems almost mundane these days, especially in the digital sector. We hear about the digital revolution, the social media revolution, the gaming revolution and now the mobile revolution. There are now so many “game changers” and so many “disruptive technologies” that alter how we engage with each other and with society around us. Yet, mobile is different. Mobile technologies, including phones, tablets and a variety of products that most of us do not directly use are actually changing how we interact, and how we think about our lives. Having mobile devices with us at all times is changing our culture into a “right now” culture. And that IS revolutionary.

Mobile devices put us in the “real time” world. Every thing, any thing, and any one is at our fingertips right now. In the past, we consumed information or entertainment at scheduled times and interacted with friends when we could make contact. But now, with mobile, we watch TV in a car, send and receive documents from meetings, text while in class and shop from a ski slope. We read the news, contribute to charity, invest, divest, incite action, comment on others’ behavior, shoot and post videos and take a stand politically all from that little device that we first thought of as merely a convenient phone.

Why is mobile such a revolution? It is not only the robustness of the technology or the breadth of options being created by mobile apps developers. The truly revolutionary aspect of mobile is that it allows us to communicate, interact, and engage right now, right here, in real time.

Marshall McLuhan explained that, “the medium is the message.”

Nothing has ever been so true! With mobile tools in our hands, we are lured into the participation culture. Rather than passively receiving messages, entertainment, and information, we now enter the conversation. Because the conversation comes to us via mobile, we can participate in that “conversation” as it unfolds.

We like, comment, parody and share our thoughts and reactions.

Those little devices convey a message that we have the power (and perhaps a responsibility) to participate rather than just to receive information. The mobile revolution is the cultural shift that truly creates a participatory culture.

— Prof. Karen North Director, Annenberg Program on Online Communities

The media and entertainment business is in turmoil. Revenues are struggling to outpace inflation; production and marketing costs are skyrocketing; the Hollywood blockbuster model is collapsing; broadcast TV is dying— everything from news to games to music to publishing is in the midst of massive change.

However, what most perceive as signposts of disaster are really signposts of opportunity.

The Information Economy is being replaced by a new Imagination Economy—a new global boom in which the rise of ubiquitous, natural and affordable technology, the rise of participatory culture and the new “maker” movement, the rise of a global broadband distribution platform with 3.5 billion users and the rise of a rapidly growing global middle class converge to reshape the media and entertainment industries. And quite possibly every other industry as well.

The time is right for a radical rethinking of production, distribution, revenue streams, asset management and collaboration. The Edison Project is a three-year research and executive education initiative undertaken by the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab in cooperation with the USC Cinematic Arts 5D Institute and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The project will produce prototypes of wearable computing and 3-D printing platforms, and explore how the new creators and makers, the new metrics and measurement, the new funding and the new screens are all combining into a new ecosystem. The end game? A prescription for how media and entertainment companies can reorient themselves to flourish.

— Prof. Jonathan Taplin Director, Annenberg Innovation Lab

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feature

THE NEW GDP VALUING IP—AT LAST

VENTURE CAPITAL CATCHES THE NEWS BUG

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has since July 2013 modified the methodology calculating the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding the investment in research and development (R&D) and for entertainment, literary and artistic originals. The GDP is the main tool for measuring a country’s economy, and it is determined by private consumption, investment, government spending and net exports. The changes in how the GDP is calculated reflect the shifts in the 21st century global economy and follow updated international guidelines for national economic accounting.

Why this matters: At the microeconomic level these updates recognize and are consistent with business practices of industry players, which have long considered expenditures in R&D and the development of entertainment artifacts as long-term investments, included as intangible assets in their balance sheets.

Successful entertainment products enjoy a very long shelf life: We still watch reruns of “Pretty Woman” and “Friends” and these products retain economic value as they continue generating revenue streams.

At the macroeconomic level, the new methodology increases the magnitude of the GDP by inserting elements not previously included, hence affecting all the GDP-based analyses and calculations. At the mesoeconomic level, the updates might have political economy implications, perhaps increasing the incentives these industries could receive. And at the international level, this should further solidify the leadership of the U.S. economy, which invests the most in these categories.

While some critics point out the risks of inflating the value of the GDP, this move brings to the fore the power of creative ideas and innovation, underscoring the value of investments in knowledge and creativity in generating economic growth.

— Prof. Paolo Sigismondi

There is a common misperception about the state of journalism today. Many focus on the dire headlines of newsroom cutbacks and declining revenues at big, brand-name publications. No question, that’s bad news. But I think it misses the real story.

The news business is now attracting large amounts of venture capital. Silicon Valley has caught the news bug, launching companies such as Circa, which reformats news for mobile devices; Flipboard, which has opened up new ways of discovering journalistic content; along with many others. Los Angeles’s startup community has spawned Ebyline, a new company that has created an online marketplace for journalists and editors. Another firm, Perfect Market, has found ways to monetize publishers’ vast archives of news articles.

Journalism remains a craft. In order for it to thrive, new practitioners need to be mentored, seasoned veterans must express sound news judgment and journalistic standards need to be updated in order to remain relevant in the digital age. No doubt, the current business climate presents tough challenges for the news business. But the real story, as I see it, is that journalism is now attracting investment capital, engineers and data scientists are entering the news space, and innovation is everywhere. I can’t imagine a more exciting time to enter the profession of journalism.

— Prof. Gabriel Kahn Co-Director, USC Annenberg Media, Economics & Entrepreneurship Program

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MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING

START UP NINJA METRICS

When I met Sheryl Glatt, I studied her hospital room for the story. The blood-filled tubes tethering her arm to the dialysis machine, the stuffed animal duck perched next to her lunch tray, her mother looking on as doctors checked Glatt’s foot for blood flow. There was no shortage of visual elements. But, when the 50-year-old Glatt spoke, I knew her voice had to be a strong part of the story as well.

I’m convinced it was the combination of photographs and audio that made my story powerful: the gruesome images of staples running up her emaciated leg, the gaping hole in her heel, the eerie pumping sound of the dialysis machine, all matched to her sweet voice saying how living with kidney disease wasn’t so bad.

As a multimedia journalist, I have to figure out which tools are appropriate to tell any given story.

There’s no formula. After all, it might be consumed via phone, tablet, computer, radio or newspaper. A policy-heavy piece might be best told in print with an accompanying animated video explainer. Others, like the one I co-reported on mental illness and access to care, are best told through close-up black and white portraits.

Fortunately for me, I have the luxury of time at my job; most reporters can’t say that. For the dialysis piece, I visited Glatt in the hospital several times throughout her ordeal and then checked back in when she got fitted for a new leg after her multiple surgeries failed. When Sheryl Glatt died several months after my video ran, my colleague and I wrote a print piece. That was the perfect, quiet medium for that moment.

— Lauren M. Whaley (M.A. Specialized Journalism ’10) CHCF Center for Health Reporting at USC Annenberg

USC Annenberg Communication Professor Dmitri Williams took a sabbatical during the Fall 2013 semester to launch Ninja Metrics, an L.A.-based technology firm focused on big data.

Williams’ past research has been about the social and economic impacts of new media, with a focus on online games. He was the first researcher to use online games for experiments, and to undertake longitudinal research on video games.

USC Annenberg’s Greg Ascuitto, (Print and Broadcast Journalism `14), caught up recently with Williams and asked about the start-up. Here’s an excerpt from the professor’s reply: “Ninja Metrics tracks the Social Value of consumers. We’ve found a way to literally calculate the value of people in how much [they] impact others. This comes out of our labs and years of research in the overlapping area of big data and consumer psychology. For example, you may spend $20 on movies in the next year, but your interactions with your friends will drive an additional $50 in spending among them. We are able to report both numbers with high accuracy, allowing businesses to acquire, monetize and retain their most valuable customers. This is big data for the social shopping era. We’re just about to launch our flagship product, Katana, and are pretty excited about it.”

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feature

VIDEO GAMES DOES FUN MATTER?

ANNENBERGX AVANT EXPERIMENTATION

There’s a three-letter word that’s been poisoning the game industry, and that word is fun. A game, it has long been agreed upon, must, ultimately, be fun. This line of thinking is broken. It has led us to a place where games are never more fantastical in their creation of digital worlds and never more fluid in their perfection of controls. They are … fun.

But fun only takes us so far. Fun takes us down magical pipes in “Super Mario Bros.,” to a deserted simulacrum of the Hollywood Bowl in “Grand Theft Auto V” and aboard a magical turn-of-the-century city in “Bioshock Infinite,” where all the horrors of America’s racist past and present are cured with a gun.

It’s time to stop having fun. Some designers are doing just that. Fun gave us Lara Croft, but fun is not what gave us Katya Vostok. Who? Katya is just one of the many characters in “Papers, Please,” an independently released game from Lucas Pope, a veteran of the mainstream game industry who is now putting thoughtfulness ahead of fun.

Katya Vostok in “Papers, Please” is in danger of never seeing her husband again. She stands at a border control office in the Eastern Bloc, where you, the player, work. Her husband is already on his way to plotting a new life in a different country.

You are in control of Katya’s fate, and all you can do is analyze her passport, which is faulty. Reject her entry, and she starts begging. Do your job, and destroy a marriage. You can’t shoot, but you can empathize.

But “Papers, Please” is a video game, so the question: is it fun to play? It’s something better.

It’s attentive to life, a little thing so many games would rather kill. Quite frankly, that’s starting to get boring.

— Todd Martens (B.A. Print Journalism ’00) Video games reviewer, Los Angeles Times

Innovation, nimbleness and cross-disciplinary collaboration are pillars of the information age. USC’s Annenberg School already offers a dynamic, adaptable menu of classes crafted by the school’s faculty. These courses use established lecture and seminar approaches, while building on the best in contemporary pedagogy to prepare our students to walk into any workplace environment and succeed. But even with that Annenberg Advantage, the school is innovating as the world changes. We have introduced new classes, new minors and whole new degree programs such as the nine-month graduate degree in Journalism M.S. (see p. 33). To carry innovation and experimentation even farther, we have invented Annenberg Experimental, or AnnenbergX. AnnenbergX, beta-launched in Spring 2013, offers variable, zero-to-four credit courses taught by academic and non-academic experts at the cutting edge of innovation. AnnenbergX classes come in two flavors–intensive boot camps that provide students with skills they will need in the new media and communication workplaces, and collaborative, experiential, problem-solving seminars taught by innovative leaders in new ways, in new formats, and often away from campus. It is cliché to claim that the Internet changes everything. AnnenbergX will help students acquire the skills and experience to go beyond this cliché and figure out how to thrive and to lead in a fast-changing world.

The first AnnenbergX offerings included a Payphone Hacking project that brought together USC students and community activists and earned significant media attention; an Annenberg Innovation Lab design competition; and an interdisciplinary Pattern Recognition workshop that drew on string theory, game theory, quantitative election predictions, painting techniques and optical illusion to help students expand the way they think about themselves and their future. Each class and activity is an experiment. Welcome to AnnenbergX. — Prof. Jonathan Aronson Director, AnnenbergX

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Q&A CALLIE SCHWEITZER

USC ANNENBERG: What have you given to the Twitterverse, and what has the Twitterverse given you?

Callie Schweitzer (B.A. Print Journalism `11), former Editor-in-Chief of Neon Tommy, is Director of Digital Innovation at TIME. The magazine previously called her Twitter feed (@cschweitz) one of the world’s best, and she’s been honored as one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30 in Media” and as one of Business Insider’s “30 Most Important Women In Tech Under 30.” @USCAnnenberg’s Michael Juliani (Print and Digital Journalism ’13) interviewed Schweitzer—of course—online.

SCHWEITZER: I’ve given it lots of tweets about bad television, frozen yogurt and Diet Coke, and it’s given me new friends, new ideas and new challenges.

USC ANNENBERG: There were fears that the digital revolution in media would take emphasis away from thoughtful reporting and editorial writing, but it seems like a lot of digital curating values and promotes posts that involve unique insight and perspective. How do you think digital/ social media enhances journalistic discourse?

CALLIE SCHWEITZER: I think we’re seeing the most incredible and exciting time in journalistic history. All of these new tools—from Twitter and Vine to YouTube and Google Glass—just enhance our storytelling abilities. I have always been driven by the idea of bringing quality content to as many people as possible, something my job at TIME is completely tied to. I think digital and social media are the greatest things to happen to the spreading of new and great ideas.

USC ANNENBERG: You went from being a Daily Trojan print reporter to heading Neon Tommy to a couple of jobs that have brought you to your current role at TIME, all in six years or so. What made you focus on digital innovation?

SCHWEITZER: I’ve long been focused on experimenting with new storytelling techniques and tools. I can’t get enough of them! They just present so many opportunities for finding new audiences and growing a brand. I’ve always loved TIME, so when the opportunity presented itself, I knew it would be an amazing fit for me. TIME has a tremendous foundation in the digital and social world, and we’re undertaking a major relaunch this fall. I’ve loved every second of my time there so far.

USC ANNENBERG: How do you and your colleagues negotiate the relationship between your print and online output? Looking at how Newsweek folded into The Daily Beast, for example, what is it that keeps TIME in print?

SCHWEITZER: Print and online are completely intertwined at TIME. We’re completely digital, and everyone does everything. What keeps TIME in print is its relevance. You cannot kill relevance. Every week, millions of people wait for this magazine to arrive at their homes to read the fantastic journalism inside, and they will for a long time.

Nancy Gibbs often notes that she’s the first managing editor to lead the organization when our digital audience at TIME is larger than our print audience—and our print audience is still one of the healthiest in the business.

Print and digital are completely different experiences for the reader to consume, and the two are a great complement to one another. We think that’s a good thing, and we expect print to be around for quite some time.

USC ANNENBERG: Journalism at USC was first taught in 1914. In 2014 ASCJ opens Wallis Annenberg Hall and launches a nine-month Journalism MS program. We’re also using the occasion to ask this question: What do you think the next century of journalism will be like, and why?

SCHWEITZER: I think the next century of journalism will be even more exciting than the current one. The barrier to entry for media has never been lower, and I think the more involved we can get people in the newsmaking process, the better. We’re going to see even more of the “disruptive” technologies that are giving us the great journalism we see today, and I can’t wait to see what that innovation looks like.

‘SELFIE’ COURTESY CALLIE SCHWEITZER

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interview

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP

Q&A with Thomas Campbell Jackson Thomas Campbell Jackson and Penny Jackson have created a fellowship in science and technology for the USC Annenberg Master’s of Specialized Journalism program. The fund will provide scholarship support to “gifted journalists who seek a deeper understanding of a field of science and technology and the skills they need to interpret this knowledge for the widest possible audience.” The Jacksons are parents of a current Annenberg student and live in New York City.

Above: A look inside CERN, the particle physics laboratory where the Higgs boson was discovered. With his new Specialized Master’s fellowship, and through his film, Particle Fever, Thomas Campbell Jackson hopes to create greater public understanding about such scientific advancements.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CERN/PF PRODUCTIONS

USC ANNENBERG: What inspired you to support USC Annenberg with this generous gift?

THOMAS CAMPBELL JACKSON: Penny is a former teacher, and she and I have long been interested in education, and science education in particular. It just seems clear to us that education is the best route to progress on the world’s many challenges and opportunities, and equally obvious that science and technology will always be essential. We’ve had the honor to be associated with some exceptional organizations doing remarkable work in these domains.

One of those organizations is USC Annenberg. The school first came to our attention through former Dean Geoffrey Cowan. And after our daughter—now a junior at Annenberg—enrolled at USC, we began to learn more about the great work being done here.

The school’s cutting edge work in diverse media came as no surprise, and yet, as we got to know more

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about the school we were increasingly wowed with its wide range of subject knowledge. I have a background in public health, and was very impressed with Annenberg’s deep bench in health communication. These days I am an investor in early stage companies, and I was excited to see lots of expertise in economics and entrepreneurship, including in the person of our exemplary Dean Ernie Wilson.

USC ANNENBERG: Why is a specialization in science and technology important in journalism?

JACKSON: Science and technology have been themes throughout my careers, and I suppose I am a scientist manqué. Of course, most people will not be scientists or engineers, but all of us are impacted by science and technology. Sadly, the public’s grasp of science has not kept pace with technological progress, or with our increasing understanding of reality. Adam Frank’s New

York Times editorial “Welcome to the Age of Denial” eloquently, if distressingly, highlights the backsliding in Americans’ science literacy.

As science and technology advance ever more quickly, we are increasingly dependent on people who can investigate specific research, innovations, trends, possibilities and problems, and then effectively present this information to a lay audience. We need talented “explainers” to engage audiences and transmit information in a largely non-technical way that is nevertheless meaningful and actionable.

reading and recommending for years. I am very much looking forward to meeting Prof. Dan Birman, not least because he’s doing a NOVA program on the Higgs boson and I am executive producer on the extraordinary new documentary “Particle Fever,” which is currently on the festival circuit.

The fact that Annenberg has communications knowhow across diverse media is ideal. Although my wife and I are book people (we met at an independent bookstore, and our home probably qualifies as one), we appreciate all means of communication. I actually co-founded a film

Above all, we want to reduce the number of people giving up on understanding science because they think it is too difficult, or too boring, or even not relevant to them.

production company and help to run a film festival, both devoted to exploring science. Penny is just back from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and working on a new play about genetics. We are both astonished with the explosion in science blogging and tweeting, and delighted by the growing DIY groups in science such as the Maker Movement and Citizen Science.

We can’t wait to see the Specialized Master’s students these fellowships will support. We believe our investment in USC Annenberg will provide tremendous leverage in advancing scientific literacy. We just love the idea that each graduate will go forth with new expertise, and will use various media—perhaps even some as yet unknown—to investigate and inform, and potentially share the beauty and grandeur of science with vast audiences of readers and viewers across the country and around the globe. Dare I say, perhaps even billions and billions!

USC ANNENBERG: What are your hopes for this scholarship? What possible outcomes do you envision?

JACKSON: It is not solely about making better-informed voters. We want journalists who communicate the joy that can come from understanding the world around us, both the natural world and the augmented one we are busy constructing. Great science journalism will inspire future generations of scientists, and armchair scientists.

So it is a very happy happenstance that we find ourselves at USC, as Annenberg already has faculty firepower. I recently had the long-awaited pleasure of meeting Prof. K.C. Cole, whose marvelous books I’ve been

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briefs ANNENBERG Publications Alhambra Source http://www.alhambrasource.org Alhambra’s trilingual community voice Annenberg Radio News http://www.annenbergradio.org NPR-inspired student voice platform Annenberg Television News http://www.atvn.org Student television, multimedia news outlet Asia Pacific Arts http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu Covering Asian popular culture Boyle Heights Beat http://www.boyleheightsbeat.com Bilingual outlet for Hispanic community Impact http://impact.uscannenberg.org Long-form audiovisual storytelling project Intersections South LA http://intersectionssouthla.org South L.A. news and views Religion Dispatches http://www.religiondispatches.org Online newsmagazine Neon Tommy http://www.neontommy.com Nation’s largest student digital-only publication TriSight Communications http://trisight.com Public relations firm US-China Today http://uschina.usc.edu Bilingual insight to international partnership PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN MITTELSTAEDT

@uscannenberg UPCOMING EVENTS REPORTING ON DIVERSE COMMUNITIES IN THE DIGITAL ERA Oct. 1, 2013 How do journalists use new digital tools to tell meaningful stories from a variety of different places?

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CONNECTING PEOPLE FOR DEVELOPMENT Oct. 7, 2013 A colloquium with students and the faculty authors of the recent Global Impact Study Report, including USC Annenberg Professor François Bar.

A CONVERSATION WITH KIM GHATTAS Oct. 8, 2013 The BBC’s multi-platform State Department correspondent and author discusses public diplomacy, multimedia storytelling and her book about Hillary Clinton.

AFTER THE ARAB SPRING: COVERING RELIGION AND DEMOCRACY Oct. 10, 2013 Charles Sennott, executive editor of GlobalPost, discusses on-the-ground reporting in the Middle East.

MOBY-DICK: THEN AND NOW Oct. 11, 2013 A rewritten staging of the American classic, plus a conversation with USC Annenberg Professor Henry Jenkins.

FROM THE ARCHIVES USC Annenberg YouTube Highlights USC Annenberg School of Communication Commencement Address by Maria Shriver

Distinguished Lecture Series on Latin American Arts and Culture—Diego Luna

WWII Hero and Alumnus Louis Zamperini Visits USC Annenberg Class

BIG DATA DISCUSSION Oct. 11, 2013 Prof. Jonathan Aronson speaks with Kenneth Cukier, author and data editor for The Economist.

WIRED WOMEN Oct. 15, 2013 A lunch series focused on leadership and women in the communication, journalism and technology fields.

STRATEGY SESSION WITH DAVID C. MCCOURT Oct. 17, 2013 The school’s 2011 Economistin-Residence returns for classroom visits and a conversation with the Media, Economics & Entrepreneurship co-directors.

SPORTS & THE LGBT EXPERIENCE Oct. 22-24, 2013 Scholars and athletes discuss implications of sexual orientation and gender identity in sports during this USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media & Society gathering.

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briefs

NON-PROFIT Journalism I’m the managing editor of Santa Barbara’s narrative and investigative journalism start-up called Mission and State (MissionandState.org). We’re a nonprofit organization funded by a grant from the Knight Foundation and matching funds from local foundations and private individuals. Our big challenge: to build a new model for community journalism in the digital age. One that’s focused on local and regional issues but also contributes to national discussions on broader topics. And one that’s sustainable.

We have a tiny staff: Executive Editor Joe Donnelly, plus reporters Yvette Cabrera, Sam Slovick and Alex Kacik, and me working on the tech side to get stories up as well as make sure we’re on track with strategy. We rely heavily on our contributors and interns to help feed the beast while the longer-form stories are being researched, written, filmed and recorded. These multimedia elements also help bring our stories to life.

Our hard work has been paying off, and the proof is in the analytics. Readers are spending more than five minutes on most of our major features. Considering the industry average is one minute and five seconds, we’re doing what we hoped to do—engage readers in a deeper dialogue. Also, our unique-visitors count is impressively high for such a small, local publication. That’s because we’re quickly getting the hang of how to build community engagement. For example, we’re hosting public events on important issues, such as panels on the state of pro bono and homelessness. Our marketing approach is guerilla-style, because we find it to be more effective in a city our size. The next step is to attract committed local funders, so we can continue growing what we’ve started. We strongly believe in what we do and are enjoying every moment of this wonderful story we’re creating.

— Phuong-Cac Nguyen (B.A. Print Journalism ’99) Author, “Total Sao Paulo: A Guide to the Unexpected”

@uscannenberg UPCOMING EVENTS TROJAN FAMILY WEEKEND Oct. 24-26, 2013 Hard-hat tours of Wallis Annenberg Hall, a football win, and a conversation with EPIX Television Network President and CEO Mark Greenberg.

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REDISCOVERING THE CYRUS CYLINDER Oct. 30, 2013 Cultural diplomacy comes to center stage during this Center on Public Diplomacy discussion about this 2,500-year-old cultural icon.

THROUGH TINTED LENSES? Nov. 1-2, 2013 Leading academics, pollsters, journalists, diplomats and entertainment industry practitioners explore what Americans and Chinese “know” about each other.

BEHIND THE SCENES Digital Ad Campaign “Having my communications background from USC Annenberg, it was especially exciting to apply my education and experience in promoting Wallis Annenberg Hall and the new nine-month Master’s of Journalism program. The concept by our agency—H&L Partners—centers on the idea that while some schools are de-emphasizing their journalism programs, we at USC Annenberg are proudly innovating ours.

“We used the image of the entire building as a news ticker to represent how big this news is and to highlight the new building’s design— including the converged media center where the animation concludes.

I’m proud to help promote how my alma mater is bigger, better and more of a worldwide leader in the field than ever.”

—Michael Ramirez (B.A. Broadcast Journalism ’03)

ENDOWED CHAIR Jayne and Hans Hufschmid USC Annenberg has received a $3 million gift from Jayne and Hans Hufschmid to endow the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair in Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication. The couple’s gift will enable USC Annenberg to attract a transformational interdisciplinary scholar to provide academic and research leadership focusing on the intersection of communication and business.

The holder of the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair in Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication, yet to be selected, will be an expert on the rapid convergence that is taking place among the various communications disciplines, new models of articulating the “corporate message,” and the relevance of these new conditions for small and large businesses alike. This faculty leader will work closely with colleagues at both USC Annenberg and the USC Marshall School of Business.

“The Hufschmids’ generous support for this endowed chair provides USC the opportunity to recruit a renowned scholar studying how message creation and distribution in the 21st century can help institutions become more successful,” said USC Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Garrett.

“I’m thrilled and inspired by the generosity and the visionary leadership that Jayne and Hans Hufschmid have shown,” said USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III. Both of the Hufschmids are graduates of USC. Jayne Hufschmid is an independent public relations and communications professional.

She earned a bachelor of arts in 1975 and received a Master’s in Public

ADOBE DAYS Nov. 11-13, 2013 USC Annenberg students receive free-of-charge Adobe Creative Cloud access for the year. Also: workshops, videos and a performance by Soul Pancake.

HOMECOMING Nov. 14-16, 2013 Tours of Wallis Annenberg Hall, reunions galore, plus a discussion and reception with Colin Cowherd, from ESPN Radio and ESPNU television.

Relations from USC in 1980. Hans Hufschmid co-founded GlobeOp Financial Services in 2000 and was former Chair and CEO of the company.

He earned a bachelor of science in business administration from USC Marshall in 1983.

“Our USC university experience was integral to our professional careers,” said Jayne Hufschmid. “For many years, Hans and I spoke about making a gift that reflected both of our interests and backgrounds in strategic PR and business. It is exciting to know that the chair is now in place and that the work will soon begin.”

The couple met while Jayne Hufschmid studied abroad with the USC Annenberg International Communications Studies (ICS) program. Today she sits on the alumni steering committee for the program.

THE ENGAGING NEWS PROJECT Nov. 18, 2013 An exploration of how comment sections and “Like” buttons can promote meaningful online dialogue.

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board of councilors

WILLIAM ELKUS—NAMED BOARD CHAIR During an October, 2013 meeting, William Elkus (left) was named Chair of the USC Annenberg Board of Councilors. Mr. Elkus is the Founder and Managing Partner of Clearstone Venture Partners and has been recognized on three separate occasions as one of the top 50 to 100 Venture Capitalists in the United States by Forbes Maga-

zine in its annual Midas List. Mr. Elkus takes over the Board of Councilors Chair position from former Chair, Jarl Mohn (right). Mr. Mohn will continue his distinguished service as a member of the Board. Please join us in thanking each of them for their vision, leadership and generosity.

WILLIAM SIMON—NEW BOARD MEMBER William D. Simon is a Senior Client Partner in Korn/Ferry International’s Los Angeles office and Managing Director of the Media, Entertainment and Convergence sector.

Mr. Simon has a distinguished career as an entertainment executive with a vast knowledge of both traditional entertainment—film, television, home entertainment, music and publishing—as well as

digital content and platforms for broadband, games, wireless and mobile devices. He is recognized in Nancy Garrison-Jenn’s survey of the top 200 global executive recruiters and ranked among the top 35 in CableFax magazine’s most influential in cable. Mr. Simon earned a B.A. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.

JANICE MARINELLI—NEW BOARD MEMBER President, Disney Studio Global In-Home & Digital Distribution and Disney-ABC North America Content Distribution Ms. Marinelli oversees in-home global distribution for The Walt Disney Studios across a wide spectrum of physical and digital platforms.

Under her direction, the division distributes top-tier motion pictures from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios,

Disneynature, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorks Studios. She also oversees content distribution for the Disney-ABC Television Group throughout North America, licensing first-run and off-network content across traditional and new media outlets. A native of New York, Ms. Marinelli is a graduate of St. John’s University.

MARK GREENBERG—NEW BOARD MEMBER Mark Greenberg is President and Chief Executive Officer of EPIX, a joint venture of Viacom, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and MGM. An early architect in the transformation of television networks across new platforms and technologies, Mr. Greenberg created the strategic blueprint for EPIX, the first network designed for linear TV,

on demand, and online viewing. Under his direction the network’s rapid growth set records by breaking even in the first year of its launch. A leader in TV Everywhere, he has overseen the rapid expansion of EPIX across hundreds of new consumer devices. He holds a B.A. from Providence College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

USC ANNENBERG ADMINISTRATION Ernest J. Wilson III, Dean Larry Gross, Vice Dean and Director, School of Communication Michael Parks, Interim Director, School of Journalism

BOARD OF COUNCILORS William Elkus, Chair Wallis Annenberg Lauren Bon Paul Bricault Louise Henry Bryson Frank H. Cruz Mark Greenberg Oliver Hammond

Toni Erikson Knight Markos Kounalakis Norman Lear Wendy Luers Paula Madison Janice Marinelli Jarl Mohn

Marc Nathanson Bruce Ramer Cristine Russell Frederick Ryan Rockwell Schnabel George Schweitzer Wellen Sham William Simon

USC ANNENBERG AGENDA IS A PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

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Jeffrey Smulyan Charles Annenberg Weingarten Gregory Annenberg Weingarten Ernest J. Wilson III John F. Cooke, Chair Emeritus Ronald L. Olson, Founding Chair

DESIGN BY ETCH CREATIVE

alumni notes

Dayle M. Smith

Keith Malone

Seth Doane

Andrea Hanstein

Mary Hill-Wagner (B.A. Print Journalism ’82) has a book in the works titled “Girlz in the Hood” and a screenplay titled “Resource Wars.”

Dayle M. Smith (M.A. Communication Arts & Sciences ’84, PHD Communication Arts & Sciences ’86) was named Dean of the School of Business at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. Smith previously taught at the University of San Francisco’s McLaren School of Business.

Paul Dergarabedian (M.A. Communication Management ’88) is the Senior Media Analyst at Rentrak, a company that provides transactional media management and analytical services to entertainment and media industries.

Lori Putnam (B.A. Public Relations ’93, M.A. Communication Management ’00) was named Director of Marketing Advancement for California Lutheran University. She was formerly Executive Director of Marketing Communications for Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.

Ian McPherson (M.A. Communication Management ’95) is Director of Product Marketing at Guavus Inc., a data analytics company in San Mateo.

Allison Olmstead (B.A. Communication ’95) recently became the CEO of TO Media Co., a public relations firm specializing in consumer and lifestyle press for a diverse collection of clients including international companies, industry leaders and start-up entrepreneurs.

Keith Malone (M.A. Communication Management ’98) works in communications and public education for the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a public-private partnership of government, automakers, industry and others working to bring hydrogen-powered vehicles to California.

Seth Doane (B.A. Broadcast Journalism ’00) is now the Asia correspondent for CBS News, stationed in Beijing.

Todd Nelson

Amelia McLear

Andrea Hanstein (B.A. Public Relations ’00, M.A. Communication Management ’06) was recently named President of the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR). NCMPR represents marketing and PR professionals at community and technical colleges throughout the United States, Europe and Canada.

Todd Nelson (M.A. Communication Management ’01), Senior Vice President of HealthCare Associates Credit Union, has been named chairman of the Financial Services SIG of the American Marketing Association, Chicago Chapter. In this new role, he is charged with building a community of dynamic marketing practitioners that explore key issues and share the latest thinking, trends and techniques in financial services marketing.

Justin Unell (B.A. Broadcast Journalism ’03) works as a producer for golf news and instruction programs in Orlando, Florida.

Amelia McLear (B.A. Print Journalism ’04) was recently promoted as the Public Affairs Director of Walmart.

Heather Wilson (M.A. Journalism ’04) joined the Chicago office of Weber Shandwick as an Executive Vice President in the Corporate Affairs practice. She focuses on crisis management and financial communications.

Michelle Rabinowitz Carney (M.A. Broadcast Journalism ’05) recently joined Tribeca Enterprises as the Director of Production where she oversees all original content for the parent company of Tribeca Film and the Tribeca Film Festival.

Dominique Samario (B.A. Communication ’05, B.A. Theatre ’05) is the Director of Communications and Creative Media Services at TV Santa Barbara, which oversees two television channels in California.

Reem Mouazzen (B.A. Communication ’06) was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s 50 Global Shapers that were selected to attend the annual meeting in Davos this January. Global Shapers are young people from around the world who have the potential to be influential leaders in society.

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alumni notes

Dominique Samario

Gabriela Fresquez

Jamie Hersch

Lasana Smith

Pedro Moura

Layne Kaplan

Felix Rodrigues (B.A. Broadcast Journalism ’06) reports for KSN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Wichita, Kansas.

Heather Hope (M.A. Journalism ’11) works as a reporter for KWTV in Oklahoma City.

Bao-Viet Nguyen (B.A. Communication ’07) is a Senior Manager of Media Relations and Corporate Communications at Walmart Global eCommerce. Bao works on consumer campaigns and corporate communications for Walmart eCommerce.

Mikey Collard (M.A. Strategic Public Relations ’12) will begin work as an Account Executive at Method Communications in Salt Lake City, UT, as he and his wife welcome a son or daughter into their family.

Natasha Chen (M.A. Journalism ’08) is a reporter for KIRO-TV in Seattle, Washington.

Gabriela Fresquez (B.A. Public Relations ’08) hosts LatiNation, a television show on the LATV network that empowers bi-cultural, Latina working women. The show will be pitched to the El Rey Network, which is set to launch in early 2014.

Jamie Hersch (B.A. Broadcast Journalism ’09) is a sideline reporter and host for Fox Sports North. Prior to this, she worked as a sports anchor and reporter in Madison, Wisconsin.

Lasana Smith (M.C.M. Communication Management ’09) recently released her first book, “Get a Ring on It: 10 Secrets to Becoming Wife Material,” which is based on her Master’s thesis.

Torey Van Oot (B.A. Print Journalism ’09) is a news editor with NBC Owned Television Stations. She works with digital content from the websites of ten affiliate stations owned and operated

by NBC, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Washington D.C. Evelyn McDonnell (M.A. Specialized Journalism ’10) recently received glowing reviews for her book “Queens of Noise: The Real Story of the Runaways” (DaCapo), which was based on her thesis about The Runaways for the Specialized Arts Journalism Master’s program.

Cesar Corona (M.A. Public Diplomacy ’11) has begun work as the Development, Outreach, and Communications Assistant at USAID in Mexico City, Mexico.

36 usc annenberg agenda

Elisa Hough (M.A. Specialized Journalism ’12) was recently hired by the Smithsonian as their new writer and editor for the Center of Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Carmen Maiz-Bar (M.C.M. Communication Management ’12) has founded OUTRABANDA Comunicacion in Vigo, Spain. With the motto, “A different point of view, a new way of managing your communication,” the firm specializes in communication training and consulting, working to turn communication into a tool to achieve their clients’ goals.

Pedro Moura (B.A. Print and Digital Journalism ’12, B.A. Political Science ’12) is a baseball reporter for The Orange County Register.

Justin Abrotsky (M.A. Journalism ’13) is a digital sports producer for USA Today, working in Culver City.

Tanaya Ghosh (M.A. Strategic Public Relations ’13) works for Rogers Finn Partners, a global PR firm in Los Angeles that works in the fields of consumer, technology, digital, B2B, nonprofit and crisis management.

Layne Kaplan (B.A. Broadcast & Digital Journalism ’13) is working as the apprentice of Eric Shanks, the COO of Fox Sports.

Andrew Mees (M.A. Communication Management ’13) is the Director of College and Athletics Communications at Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

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