California Attorney General highlights CCLP research on role of mobile technology in human trafficking

California Attorney General Kamala Harris (pictured, above center with Clothilde Hewlett, and Geoffrey Cowan) urged law enforcement officials, NGOs, and researchers in the fight against human trafficking to "dedicate [themselves] to the adoption of technology" at her Human Trafficking Leadership Symposium on November 16, 2012 at the University of Southern California. The symposium coincided with the release of her new report, "The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012." The report highlights CCLP's work in the area, including its research on online classified sites' facilitation of trafficking. It notes CCLP's finding that "the efficiency and anonymity of social networking sites……

Business Leaders on the Silver Screen

Robert Redford, center, stars in the 1972 film "The Candidate" This blog first appeared on the Bloomberg Businessweek website. Thanksgiving is Hollywood's Holiday, when the cinema capital of the world releases its very best films as close to the end of the year as possible. And for two very good reasons. The first is obvious: There's just so much turkey or family you can eat or take, so what else is there to do? The second is more serious, recency: getting the best nominees released as close as possible to the Academy Awards' votes for the year's best films. In……

Voting, California-style

By Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais This blog first appeared on the Los Angeles Times website on November 23, 2012. If we want to 'fix' voting in America, the Golden State could be the model. The lessons of the 2012 election are still being learned, but here's one we already know: We need to do more to increase voter participation. In many battleground states, the intense and highly partisan presidential campaign bumped up turnout percentages from 2008. But in most states, where the outcome of the presidential contest was predictable, voter participation fell from the historically high levels……

NEA challenged by artists working in new formats, small screens

WASHINGTON – The National Endowment for the Arts is racing to keep up with artists who are creating in new formats and for smaller screens, according to speakers at a CCLP forum here on Friday. And that means the agency must prepare to review programs and proposals in new ways. "One of the challenges all of us face is keeping up with what is going on," said Alyce Myatt, NEA's Director of Media Arts, adding that is due both to the proliferation of formats and to a greater volume of arts being created. But one challenge is the migration……

USC Annenberg report reveals mobile as new battleground in fight against sex trafficking

November 13, 2012 – Mobile phones and devices are now being used to traffic minors for commercial sex in the United States. They are among numerous digital channels – including popular social networking sites and online classifieds – facilitating the exploitation of children, according to a newly published report from the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The Rise of Mobile and the Diffusion of Technology-Facilitated Trafficking is the latest CCLP research report on the intersection of technology and human trafficking, and the follow-up to CCLP's……

Gallup survey: Cell phones now exceed radio, TV in Zimbabwe

WASHINGTON – Far more households in Zimbabwe have cell phones than have radio or television, according to a Gallup survey released here this morning. And mobile telephones have become a primary source of news and information, exceeding even radio and TV in that country's urban areas. Report briefing available here:gallup-zimbabwe-brief.pdf Power point presentation: Media-Use-in-Zimbabwe-Deck-11-7-12-FINAL-FINAL.pdf According to the survey, 76% of Zimbabwe's households now have a cell phone, while only 60% have a radio and fewer than half have a television set. And in cities, almost everyone has access to a mobile phone – 97% of households – and 86%……

Monumental crowds drawn to witness election 2012 results at USC’s Ronald Tutor Campus Center

With far more than 500 guests throughout the evening, USC's community gathered around the election night coverage on Tuesday inside the Ronald Tutor Campus Center mirroring the anticipation felt across the nation. Students on hand to experience the event echoed the youth vote indicating that apathy amongst younger voters is often over estimated…….

John Huey

Advisory Board Member John Huey is the former Editor-in-Chief of Time Inc.'s U.S. magazines, websites, and other digital content, including TIME, People, FORTUNE, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, and Real Simple. Before becoming Time Inc.'s sixth editor-in-chief in 2006, Huey served as editorial director of Time Inc. since July 2001. Before that, Huey was editor of the FORTUNE Group since February 2001. Previously, he was managing editor of FORTUNE since 1995. In 1997, while running FORTUNE, Huey was named Advertising Age's Editor of the Year. In 1998, he was named Adweek's Editor of the Year; and, under his leadership, FORTUNE was……