USC Media and Public Relations

Los Angeles Times featured the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found that President Obama’s support in California has dropped since 2008. Obama’s lead in that year was 24 points over Sen. John McCain; his lead over former Gov. Mitt Romney is 14 points. In May 2012, the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll indicated that Obama’s support among “decline to state” voters was 58 percent to 34 percent. The recent poll also found that only 46 percent of California voters support Proposition 30; that 63 percent of voters support changing California’s “three strikes” law; that 46 percent of voters oppose Proposition 32, which would change California’s campaign finance system; and that the fight over Proposition 37, which would regulate labeling on genetically modified foods, was in a dead heat. Los Angeles Times also reported that the poll found only 46 percent of California voters today would support Proposition 187, a 1994 measure that would have barred illegal immigrants from public schools and hospitals. “Californians seem to be sending a message to the federal government that reasonable people ought to be able to find a solution to this problem, somewhere in between the ideological opposites of amnesty and self-deportation,” said Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College. The poll was also covered by Press Trust of India (India), Reuters, United Press International, The Atlantic, two San Francisco Chronicle stories (second link here), The Washington Times, The Huffington Post, The Sacramento Bee, KPCC-FM, ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV, The Orange County Register, The Press-Enterprise, Hispanic Business and CBS News Santa Maria, Calif., affiliate KCOY-TV.

CNN ran an op-ed by Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School on what makes a president great. Reeves, a presidential biographer, wrote that the determining factor is how a president responds to crisis. “The presidency is a reactive job and we judge the presidents by their handling of one or two big crises, usually unforeseen,” he wrote.

KPCC-FM featured “Mission: Admission,” a Facebook game created by the USC Rossier School’s Pullias Center and the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab, with the goal of helping underserved high school students navigate college admissions. In the game, players control avatars and juggle a busy calendar to fill out college applications on time and meet various admissions requirements. “We really want to teach them strategies and give them a safe place to fail,” said Zoe Corwin of the USC Rossier School. Jose Climaco, a senior at the Foshay Learning Center, was one of the students recruited to test the game. He said the game taught him a lot about strategy and planning. The project was also featured by AllFacebook.

The Huffington Post ran a column by Philip Seib of the USC Annenberg School about Middle East diplomacy. Seib wrote that the U.S. needs to balance two approaches to the Middle East: unabashed hard power when it comes to terrorists like al-Qaida, and diplomatic finesse when it comes to the Middle Eastern public. That requires improving the people’s lives, he added. “Helping to build the foundation for that kind of life should be the driving force for American public diplomacy,” Seib wrote.

The New York Times quoted Josh Kun of the USC Annenberg School about the importance of the song “Hava Nagila” in Jewish culture.

Los Angeles Times quoted USC Marshall School Dean James Ellis about Chevrolet making a Hot Wheels version of the Camaro.

Los Angeles Times quoted Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about former Gov. Mitt Romney’s team of advisers.

Los Angeles Times quoted James Ferris of the USC Price School about NFL players wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness.

PBS News New York affiliate WNET-TV’s “Moyers & Company” interviewed Martin Kaplan of the USC Annenberg School about the four presidential debates.

The Chronicle of Higher Education included USC in a list of the top producers of U.S. Fulbright students for 2012-2013.

The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned a USC laboratory experiment that appeared in the “Journal of Visualized Experiments,” the world’s first science video journal.

The New York Times noted that an essay by Martin Kaplan of the USC Annenberg School is included in the boxed set of Norman Lear’s TV series “All in the Family.”

The Grand Rapids Press covered a performance by Norman Krieger of the USC Thornton School with the Grand Rapids Symphony.

City News Service highlighted a talk by Lois Banner of the USC Dornsife College, author of “Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox,” about Marilyn Monroe.

Truthdig ran a column by Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School about the final days of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Los Angeles Times ran a story sponsored by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, which are administered by the USC Annenberg School.