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 6/8/2012
Featured Stories
Los Angeles Times featured an educational site developed with USC grant money and run by Kim Thomas-Barrios, executive director of the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative, and novelist Jervey Tervalon. The site, Literature for Life, connects L.A. authors and artists with teachers to inspire urban students. Participating authors include Aimee Bender of the USC Dornsife College and Los Angeles Times food writer Jonathan Gold. The site targets roughly a dozen schools in the USC neighborhood, though its material is available to anyone for free. "I would have liked to have seen depictions of children who looked like me, in stories, when I was growing up. I never did," Thomas-Barrios said.
PBS News' "MediaShift" reported that USC-based news outlets are giving students experience while benefiting the community. Sites like Neon Tommy and Intersections: The South Los Angeles Reporting Project offer opportunities to write news of great benefit to both community and students, said Carola Weil of the Annenberg School. "We're thinking about this more as service learning. They are a required component of being a college student," she said. Marc Cooper of the Annenberg School noted that Neon Tommy is currently a finalist for 16 Los Angeles Press Club Awards, competing with major media outlets. Willa Seidenberg of the Annenberg School added that Intersections "changed the culture of the school and increased the amount of reporting done in South L.A."
SmartPlanet featured a collaboration between the USC Annenberg School's Innovation Lab and French telecom company Orange. The yearlong partnership will allow USC students to experiment hands-on with transmedia — storytelling tools that use several media platforms. "Orange has been one of the first major telecoms interested in new forms of media and storytelling," said Jonathan Taplin of the Annenberg School. USC research will help Orange launch a transmedia project in 2012. The story noted that Henry Jenkins of the Annenberg School recently presented his knowledge of transmedia at a French conference, and that his book "Convergence Culture" is a major reference for Sorbonne University students.
La Jornada (Mexico) featured Re-mix, a meeting of museum representatives organized and supported in part by the USC Fisher Museum of Art, home of USC's International Museum Institute. The meeting's goal is to explore the roles of regional and national museums in the Americas. Selma Holo, director of both the institute and the Fisher Museum, said that the meeting brings large-museum directors together with those at smaller museums, increasing collaboration and communication. She added that participants hope to shake up the system, because in the museum field the power to shape the conversation is held in too few hands.
Experts Quoted
The New York Times quoted Lee Epstein of the USC Gould School about the public's perception of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) cited Ken Murray of the Keck School of USC on how doctors view end-of-life care.
Yahoo! Sports quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School about the relationships between sports business magnates.
NPR's "Talk of the Nation" interviewed David Treuer of the USC Dornsife College about Native American identity. Indian Country Today highlighted the interview.
KPCC-FM's "Patt Morrison" interviewed Michael Cousineau of the Keck School of USC about associations between obesity and poverty.
Gannett News Service quoted Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about California's Latino primary candidates.
CBS News Billings, Mont., affiliate KTVQ-TV cited Jeffrey Cole of the USC Annenberg School regarding Internet use by senior citizens.
News at a Glance
Los Angeles Times mentioned that the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission approved a lease with USC. The news was covered by another Los Angeles Times story, Associated Press and City News Service.
Fast Company highlighted Hollywood, Health and Society, a program of the USC Annenberg School's Norman Lear Center that fosters collaboration between the entertainment industry and medical professionals.
Fox & Hounds Daily cited the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll finding that California voters would oppose a high-speed rail plan if given another chance to vote on it.
The Sacramento Bee cited a study by Patricia Burch of the USC Rossier School and a colleague, finding that students receiving help from online tutors were less likely to improve in math and reading than those who worked with traditional tutors.
Truthdig ran a column by Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School about the presidential election and the failed attempt to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
The Modesto Bee stated that USC recently purchased bike racks to create parking for 1,300 bikes.
San Francisco Business Times noted that USC purchased Bay Area classical music station KDFC-FM. The Bay Citizen also covered the story.
The National (United Arab Emirates) mentioned that filmmaker George Lucas is a USC alumnus.
Scientific American ran a column by USC student Inaki Pedroarena-Leal about USC Dornsife College's Guam and Palau Program.
GalleyCat featured a summer reading flowchart created by Teach.com, a site supported by the USC Rossier School MAT@USC online master's degree program.
Politico mentioned that actress and USC student America Ferrera is working to encourage young Latinos to register and vote.
NPR San Francisco affiliate KALW-FM ran a story produced as a project for the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, which are administered by the USC Annenberg School.