Contact: Geoffrey Baum, (213) 821-1491
Contact: Geoffrey Baum, 213-821-1491
LOS ANGELES, November 20, 2006 – New tools and resources for young voters to participate in local and national elections have been unveiled with the relaunch of
PopandPolitics.com.
Pop and Politics is a nonprofit news source and new media training center that is now based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. Started by journalist
Farai Chideya, PopandPolitics.com has been providing coverage since the '96 elections. The project has won awards ranging from "Cool Site of the Day" to being part of PoliticsOnline.com's survey of the "Top 25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics."
“The depth and breadth of USC Annenberg’s commitment to growing the next generation of journalists fit perfectly with Pop and Politics’ dual mission” of providing content for 18-29 year olds and training student journalists in New Media, said Chideya, who is now host of NPR’s
News & Notes. “We look forward to bringing the vital voices of young Americans into civic discourse. Political and cultural reporting has to be relevant to this generation in order for them to pay attention. By helping to train the next generation of journalists, Pop and Politics ensures that we reach this demographic.”
“Farai Chideya is a talented journalist and a visionary who understands the power of new media to reach Americans 18-29,” said
Michael Parks, director of USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism. “Good journalism is critical to our democracy and we are pleased to partner with Pop and Politics to develop an important source of news and information for young voters and to provide students an opportunity to share their work with a broad audience.”
New PopandPolitcs.com site features like “
Decoder” debuted with coverage of the 2006 midterm elections. According to Chideya, “This is really a test run for election 2008. We want to see what kinds of information works best, in which formats, so we can give a comprehensive nonpartisan voter guide for the next presidential election.”
Pop and Politics promotes “Content Democracy,” giving young Americans a voice in current debates. The new site takes advantage of today’s technology tools to enable readers to become contributors, and to express themselves on the site’s blog. Pop and Politics’ training program provides hands-on multimedia journalism training through USC Annenberg. Student work is featured both on the blog, and in the “
In Depth,” which includes longer articles and multimedia essays.
“Our work provides models for increasing news consumption among young Americans, and, in tandem, increasing voting and civic participation,” said
John Tomasic, Pop and Politics managing editor.
Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation's leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,900 students, USC Annenberg offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism, communication, and public relations.
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