Each year, USC programs and faculty research are highlighted in print, broadcast and online stories throughout the world. Highlights of recent news coverage are compiled by USC Media Relations.
USC in the News 4/13/2012
Featured Stories
Los Angeles Times covered USC's response to the shooting of two students. The Huffington Post covered the neighborhood's response to the shooting. Los Angeles Times reported on a $125,000 reward offered to catch the shooter and profiled the two USC students, Ming Qu and Ying Wu (additional links available on request). China Daily (China) covered a vigil for the students and interviewed friends of the students. The story was also covered by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, United Press International, KPCC-FM (additional links available on request), KCET-TV, Voice of America, CBS News Los Angeles affiliate KCBS-TV, NBC News San Diego affiliate KNSD-TV, CW News Los Angeles affiliate KTLA-TV, Los Angeles Wave, Commercial Radio Hong Kong (China), Now TV (China), Radio Television Hong Kong (China) and TVB News (China).
The Washington Post, in an Associated Press story, featured a social networking site that was developed by USC alumni Brenton Callahan and Kai Soto as their senior project in the USC Marshall School's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Called FieldLevel, the site is used to connect professional coaches with promising recruits. Callahan and Soto, who attended USC on academic scholarships, said that they were under-recruited as sports players in high school and created the site based on their own experiences.
Los Angeles Times featured a report by the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate predicting that the average Los Angeles County rent will jump nearly 10 percent over the next two years. The Lusk Center's annual Casden Multifamily Forecast showed that the rental market appears to be on an upswing, with rents last year rising in 39 of Southern California's 40 submarkets. "For investors, it's a good thing; for renters, it's a bad thing," said Richard Green of the Lusk Center. The report was also covered by The Huffington Post, KPCC-FM's "Patt Morrison," CBS News Los Angeles affiliate KCBS-TV, The Orange County Register, Los Angeles Business Journal and Curbed L.A.
Los Angeles Times featured an experimental online poll by the USC Dornsife College, finding that voters reported small business owners and teachers are the most likely to influence voters' choices this election season. Dan Schnur of the Dornsife College said the findings were similar to those of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, a traditional phone poll. "There's no doubt to me that the future of public opinion research is going to be conducted over the Internet," Schnur said.
Business Insider highlighted the USC Rossier School and USC School of Social Work online master's degree programs, developed with the tech company 2tor. Rossier School Dean Karen Symms Gallagher said that the only difference between the online program and the on-campus experience is how the material is delivered. "The program's curriculum, requirements, and conferred degree are identical to our on-campus program," she added. The story noted that the school's distance students are now located in 35 countries. R. Paul Maiden of the School of Social Work said that his school's online program has expanded its reach beyond Southern California, with 1,200 students now enrolled nationally and internationally. "Highly qualified students can pursue a top-tier education that might not otherwise be available to them in their own communities," he added.
Los Angeles Times featured T.C. Boyle of the USC Dornsife College, whose manuscripts, research and notes were recently archived at the University of Austin's Ransom Center. Boyle, the author of "The Tortilla Curtain," "East is East" and "The Road to Wellville," formerly kept his archival material in his basement. "The house seems a little lighter now; it seems to be rising up now that the weight has been removed," Boyle said.
Los Angeles Times featured David Treuer of the USC Dornsife College and his new book, "Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life." The book delves into Native American identity and how life on a reservation can shape it. "The reservations are not places that have been set aside; they're the heart of the heartland," Treuer said.
Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Neal Gabler of the USC Annenberg School about historian and cultural critic Daniel J. Boorstin and his book "The Image." Boorstin saw how manufactured, postmodern culture was replacing what he saw as legitimate, true culture, Gabler wrote. "Boorstin didn't invent Kim Kardashian, but he knew she was coming, and he knew what she would displace," he added.
The Atlantic ran a Q&A with David Sloane of the USC Price School, author of the new book "Planning Los Angeles." The book is a collection of nearly 30 essays on the city's planning history. Sloane agreed that L.A. is dogged by a suggestion that it needs to be more like New York, which overlooks the city's unique strengths. "The polycentric nature of L.A. is one of its strengths economically, socially, politically," Sloane said. The book's essayists include faculty members from the Price School and the USC Dornsife College.
Al Jazeera ran an op-ed by Morteza Dehghani of the USC Institute for Creative Technologies and a colleague, about nuclear energy being a "sacred value" for Iran. They wrote that Western opposition to nuclear power is perceived as a violation of Iran's sovereignty. Dehghani and colleagues studied Iranian attitudes toward nuclear power in 2010. "For about 14 percent of these Iranians, offering material incentives and imposing sanctions backfired: their resistance to ending Iran's nuclear program strengthened and they expressed anger at the mere offer of a tradeoff," Dehghani and colleague wrote.
Experts Quoted
Los Angeles Times quoted Heidi Rummel of the USC Gould School about the Trayvon Martin shooting case.
Forbes quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School about the sale of Dodger Stadium.
KQED-FM's "The California Report" interviewed Katharine Strunk of the USC Rossier School about lawmakers reconsidering a teacher layoff at Miramonte Elementary School.
KPCC-FM interviewed David Carter of the USC Marshall School about NBA revenue and whether the league would ever allow sponsorship logos on its jerseys.
ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV interviewed Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney.
NPR News San Diego affiliate KPBS-FM interviewed David Carter of the USC Marshall School about the new owner of the San Diego Padres.
News at a Glance
Los Angeles Times reported that Brighde Mullins of the USC Dornsife College, director of USC's Master of Professional Writing Program, has been named a Guggenheim Foundation 2012 fellow in drama.
Los Angeles Times highlighted the recent Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, presented by the USC Thornton School and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in partnership with The Colburn School and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Los Angeles Times reported that David Treuer of the USC Dornsife College would be interviewed on Public Radio International's "The Tavis Smiley Show" about his book, "Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life." Publishers Weekly also ran a story.
Los Angeles Times mentioned that avant-garde composer John Cage studied under composer Arnold Schoenberg at USC.
Poynter mentioned that the USC Annenberg School's Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting was recently won by journalists Michael Berens and Ken Armstrong for their study of fatal methadone overdoses.