During the fourth annual Los Angeles County Technology Week in late January, USC was home to a panel discussion featuring four of the most prolific and influential pioneers in the new media industry.

More than 250 guests filled the USC Andrus Gerontology Center on Jan. 23 to enjoy a lively and provocative dialogue about the future of the new media markets titled “The Changing Face of the Media Business.”

Panelists Josh Berman MBA ’97, co-founder of the social networking Web site MySpace.com; David Dudas, co-founder, chief technology officer and vice president of engineering of Eyespot Corp.; Ryan Magnussen MBA ’95, CEO of Ripe Digital Entertainment; and Richard Rosenblatt JD ’94, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Demand Media, discussed their views on pressing topics facing the industry, such as the future of user-generated content on the Internet and its effects on the marketplace.

Berman, Magnussen and Rosenblatt are USC alumni.

The event was a joint collaboration among USC Stevens, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Integrated Media Systems Center, USC Marshall School of Business’ Center for Technology Commercialization and the USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Melinda Newman, the former West Coast bureau chief of Billboard magazine, was the moderator.

“When putting the panel together, we tried to find those entrepreneurs who not only have seismically affected the lives of consumers on a global basis, but who also demonstrated the unmatched entrepreneurialism evident in the curriculum and programs at USC,” said Kathleen Allen, director of the USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization and professor in the USC Lloyd Greif Center. “Each of the panelists has made a significant impact on the media business, and we were thrilled to provide the platform where they could share key learnings and their vision for the future.”

Prior to the panel, the IMSC opened its doors to the public and offered tours of its laboratory, providing an inside look at some of USC’s own advancements in multimedia and entertainment technologies.

“More than anything, this event demonstrates how USC is really on the map as a source for innovation,” said Krisztina Holly, vice provost and executive director of USC Stevens. “I was excited to see the sheer number of investors, business leaders and local influencers who attended our event, experiencing the cutting-edge research and dialogue that takes place at USC each day.”

The panel and lab tours were one of 13 events in this year’s L.A. Tech Week, a weeklong series of events showcasing the latest developments in technology growth.