USC Media and Public Relations

Featured Stories

Univision Los Angeles affiliate KMEX-DT featured the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI), noting that it has sent hundreds of students to the most prestigious universities in the country. The story reported that the program's success has led to its expansion. Lizette Zarate, NAI curriculum and instruction specialist, said that the program offers students additional classes on Saturdays as well as SAT prep, with the goal of giving them the opportunity to attend college. Mirna Garrido, president of NAI's parent leadership team, said that parental involvement is essential. The story noted that 696 students have gone to college with the program's help.

The Hollywood Reporter ranked the USC School of Cinematic Arts No. 1 on its list of Top 25 Film Schools. "It's been quite a year," said Elizabeth Daley, dean of the School of Cinematic Arts. The story reported that USC alumni made films earning a total of $7 billion. The School of Cinematic Arts offers degrees in film, TV, animation and interactive media, and counts among its alumni filmmakers George Lucas, Ron Howard and Jon Landau.

National Geographic highlighted the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the home of the USC football team, including it in a list of venues that have hosted the Olympics but are known today for other uses. The story noted that the Coliseum has been home to the Trojans since 1923, and was a venue for the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games.

Daily Mail (U.K.) featured research by Veronica Setiawan of the Keck School of USC finding that women who give birth at age 40 or older have a decreased risk of endometrial cancer compared with those who give birth to their last child before 25. The risk begins to decrease after age 30. "The size of this study definitively shows that late age at last birth is a significant protective factor," Setiawan said. The study was also covered by NBC News' "Today," Asian News International, Press Trust of India (India), Fox News Radio, Marie Claire, International Business Times, QMI Agency (Canada), Polish Press Agency (Poland), Kompas (Indonesia), GlobalPost, LiveScience and Newser.

Daily Mail (U.K.) featured a study by B. Kyu Kim of the USC Marshall School and a colleague, finding that male gift shoppers exposed to sexy images in catalogs were more impatient, and more willing to buy right away. The research found that men exposed to such images thought that waiting for a three-month Amazon gift certificate seemed longer than did men in a control group. The findings suggest that marketers should rely less on deals with future rewards than on immediate promotions. Asian News International also covered the story.

LAist featured an exhibition of DreamWorks animated films that will be held at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "We are honored to host this extensive exhibit displaying the best of contemporary animation," said Elizabeth Daley, dean of the School of Cinematic Arts.

The Huffington Post featured "Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox" by Lois Banner of the USC Dornsife College. The story noted that the biography covers Monroe's lesbian affairs, which the star struggled to understand. "How could she be the world's heterosexual sex goddess and desire women?" Banner wrote. "The adult Marilyn was haunted by these questions."

The Huffington Post ran a column written by Nake Kamrany of the USC Dornsife College, USC student Jessica Greenhalgh and USC student Justin McGinnis on American health care policy. "The first step to reducing the cost is to recognize that healthcare is not a political ideology, but rather an issue of humanity," they wrote. "Healthcare must be removed from the political process in order to eliminate the stronghold of lobbyist and monopolists, who are largely responsible for the towering cost of U.S. healthcare."

ABC News Beaumont, Texas affiliate KBMT-TV featured a study by Marguerite DeLiema of the USC Davis School and colleagues, finding that 40 percent of Spanish-speaking elders reported being abused or neglected in the last year; less than 2 percent reported the abuse to authorities. Science Codex also covered the research.

NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran a column by Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about the role timing played in getting the tax-limiting Proposition 13 passed — and how the same could be true of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative. Ideological beliefs about how government should be run led to the passage of Proposition 13, Jeffe wrote. The fight over the governor's initiative "has ideological overtones — and they're also about the size and role of government," she added.