How “Next Generation Public Diplomacy” Will Build US-China Trust: New Report by USC Annenberg and Peking University

The United States and China are more closely connected than ever before, but surveys show that trust between the two countries has declined in the last three years. At a time when global collaborations are crucial for tackling issues like climate change, how can the US and China build trust despite differences in values, politics, and communication styles? The Millenials offer hope: "While majorities of Americans and Chinese see the other country in a negative light, half of those under age 30 have a favorable impression of the other country," states the report just released by the USC Annenberg School……Continue Reading How “Next Generation Public Diplomacy” Will Build US-China Trust: New Report by USC Annenberg and Peking University

GenX: Misunderstood and Underestimated – Guest Post by Mike Brooks

The 2008 financial crisis had–and continues to have–varying impacts on the generations. Baby Boomers, many approaching or reaching retirement age, simply have their eye on getting over the finish line. Millennials, just starting off financially and with little to no assets or liabilities, have seen their financial lives stall before even getting started. GenX however has the most difficult road of all…….Continue Reading GenX: Misunderstood and Underestimated – Guest Post by Mike Brooks

Geneva Overholser Discusses Pulitzer Prizes, NSA surveillance reporting on PBS NewsHour

Geneva Overholser, former USC Annenberg Journalism School Director and now a senior fellow at USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, was featured on PBS NewsHour in an interview with anchor Gwen Ifill on the Pulitzer Prize awards for coverage of the NSA's extensive surveillance programs broken by the release of classified documents by Edward Snowden. The Pulitzer board's decision to award the Prize to the The Washington Post and The Guardian has fueled the debate over where journalists should draw the line when reporting on national security and government surveillance. Overholser said in the interview that although the……Continue Reading Geneva Overholser Discusses Pulitzer Prizes, NSA surveillance reporting on PBS NewsHour

Cell phones used as medical instruments in Africa, Asia; US may change regulatory policy

Cell phones are being used as medical instruments in underdeveloped nations, extending highly cost-effective health care to underserved villages and rural areas. A team led by Daniel Fletcher, a Bioengineering Professor at the University of California at Berkeley has developed inexpensive conversions of cell phones into medical instruments, using clip-on lenses that cost one dollar or less. Fletcher's team has on-the-ground tests in Cameroon screening for parasitic worm infections and in Thailand screening for retinal diseases. "By attaching a simple set of lenses to a Nokia phone borrowed from my sister," wrote Fletcher, "we were able to image blood cells,……Continue Reading Cell phones used as medical instruments in Africa, Asia; US may change regulatory policy

Todd Purdum Discusses New Book on Civil Rights Act at CCLP

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a ground-breaking law in the United States' history that paved the way towards ending discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex or religion. On Thursday, April 10, the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy hosted a reception and book signing with veteran political reporter Todd Purdum, whose new book, An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, details the fascinating story behind the passage of the Civil Rights Act. July 2, 1964:……Continue Reading Todd Purdum Discusses New Book on Civil Rights Act at CCLP

Startups wonder: When will they stop the presses?

"Most U.S. print newspapers will be gone in 5 years." – USC Center for the Digital Future, Dec. 14, 2011 "We'll continue to have a newspaper 7 days a week for many years to come…" – Mark Thompson, CEO, New York Times, March 26, 2014 So how many more years will newspaper presses keep rolling? I know. This is a bit of a fool's errand. It's impossible to know. But it's also an important question – both a marker of the media revolution's course and an imponderable that news startups wrestle with as they imagine their futures. I found myself……Continue Reading Startups wonder: When will they stop the presses?