Technology and Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Research Team Travels to Mekong Sub-Region

From August 6 – 15, 2010, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy Research Director Mark Latonero and Research Associate Erin Kamler will visit Thailand and Cambodia to conduct initial research for CCLP's Technology and Trafficking In Persons (TIP) initiative. This trip developed out of the enthusiasm garnered at the June 3rd meeting in Washington, D.C., in which CCLP convened members of the State Department, the NGO community, academics and leaders in the technology field to brainstorm finding innovative technological solutions to combat this global problem…….

CCLP & State Department launch exploration of ways to use Technology to combat Human Trafficking

State Department and Congressional policymakers, along with nongovernmental organization and technology industry leaders convened in Washington, D.C. Thursday, June 3, 2010 to explore new ways communication technology might be used in global efforts to combat human trafficking. The meeting held at the USC Washington, D.C. Center was organized by USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy in partnership with assistance from the U.S. Department of State. Geoffrey Cowan, CCLP director and USC University Professor, co-chaired the gathering with Alec Ross, Secretary of State Clinton's senior adviser for innovation (pictured right). Ross opened the meeting with remarks about 21st Century……

For fast, cheap cell phones, go to the Third World

MUMBAI — If you want cheaper, faster, better mobile phone service, many travelers know they should go to Africa or Asia. But the price bar keeps getting lower. For example, here in India, Samsung is marketing a US$37 handset – less than the monthly phone bill most Americans pay. The new phones weigh only two ounces, but they have twelve hours of talk and 650 hours of standby battery power between charges. Or you can listen to FM radio on your phone for 23 hours before you need to recharge…….

Why does anyone really want to buy NBC?

WASHINGTON – Any day now, if published reports are accurate, cable giant Comcast will celebrate Thanksgiving not by dining on turkey but by feasting on peacock: Comcast is set to acquire NBC from General Electric. However, reports in the past few weeks touching on the financial performance and prospects of NBC Television raise an interesting question: Why does anyone really want to buy NBC? And why does Comcast, in particular, really want to buy NBC?……

Will YouTube be the Craigslist of TV News?

BOSTON — Watch that space: YouTube video news is here, tailored just for you, featuring news of your microlocal neighborhood, just for you. If you haven't seen it, YouTube News Near You is an automated microlocal news service, with software detecting a your location and matching it with video news stories from that neighborhood. Turn on, tune in, and drop out of the six o'clock local TV news. So far the story selection is pretty limited. Think of YouTube's new local news service as 2009's version of the "Camel News Caravan," NBC's 15-minute nightly newscast of the early 1950's, hop……