CommLine Online: July 22, 2010
News
USC Annenberg announces 9 new faculty members
Gabriel Kahn
(pictured, left),
a veteran journalist who most recently served as The Wall Street Journal’s LA bureau chief, next month will join a team of USC Annenberg faculty leading a new initiative to broaden students’ business savvy and grasp of economics – a key proficiency they will apply to careers in the rapidly evolving fields of journalism and communication.
Kahn is one of four new hires who will join nine current Annenberg faculty working to deepen the school’s focus on student comprehension of economics and the multi-layered connections to the communication revolution.
Kahn has worked as a newspaper correspondent and editor for two decades, including 10 years at the Journal, where he also served as the deputy Hong Kong bureau chief and deputy Southern Europe bureau chief, based in Rome. In 1998, he launched and edited Italy Daily, in collaboration with the International Herald Tribune. He has reported from more than a dozen countries.
“There is an acute need for journalism and communication students to have a stronger skill set in economics and business, no matter what field they pursue,” said Kahn, whose job at The Wall Street Journal called for distilling a broad set of financial issues on a global scale.
“I was attracted to Annenberg’s commitment to making economic literacy a deeper focus throughout the school. This job offers the opportunity to become involved in mapping out and understanding the changing nature of the media business and the news business in particular, and I’m eager to be part of that,” Kahn said.
Additional new faculty focused on the economic literacy initiative will be:
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Lian Jian : An information economist who studies the economics of online information systems, her research includes an econometric study of feedback strategy by eBay users and a data-driven study of why people stop contributing to Wikipedia. She also focuses on the innovation of new business models of online content production.
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Paolo Sigismondi : His research and teaching interests focus on the phenomena of globalization forged by new technologies and economic forces such as multinational corporations, especially media, advertising and entertainment conglomerates and their impact on society. He has more than a decade of experience working in the global media and entertainment industry.
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Ergin Bayrak : An economist whose current research and teaching interests are the economics of media and communication industries, the economics of radio spectrum, economic literacy and entrepreneurship, and the economics of innovation.
“Our goal is to be one of the world leaders in economic literacy and analysis among media schools globally," said Dean Ernest J. Wilson III. "The addition of these new faculty members demonstrates USC Annenberg’s continuing commitment to providing our students the curriculum, programs and learning opportunities necessary for success in the rapidly changing fields of communication and journalism.”
In addition, the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism is strengthening its public relations and communication tracts by adding faculty members who focus on entrepreneurship, social networking, political communication and the connection between online media and social change.
These new faculty include:
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Burghardt Tenderich : An expert in social networking, he was formerly the executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at the University of California at Berkeley, where he lectured on technology innovation. He has 20 years of experience in marketing and communication in the information technology and internet industries, both in the United States and in Europe.
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Kjerstin Thorson : A political communication specialist, Thorson focuses on the role of digital media in political persuasion, methods of mobilizing young people through social media and the resulting changes to the nature of citizenship. Her recent research focused on how online communication affected the 2008 presidential election.
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Yu Hong : A China specialist whose research focuses on the political economy of global communication and China’s information and communications industries. She is examining China's efforts of economic restructuring in relation to the development of information and communication technology industries.
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Mathew Curtis : A former marketing and statistical consultant for business entrepreneurs, his research focuses on persuasion and influence and examining how people compare themselves to others as a way of understanding their role in work and social settings. He has extensively researched linguistics, including the effects of language in jury instructions.
USC Annenberg continues to expand its program in entertainment communication, with the key hire of a seasoned, award-winning entertainment journalist.
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Mary Murphy : A news producer and on-screen correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, she also contributes to USA Weekend Magazine, The New York Post and The Hollywood Reporter. She was a senior reporter at TV Guide for 20 years and is co-author of Blood Cold, an investigation of the Robert Blake murder scandal.
USC Annenberg announces Health Journalism Grants of $55,000 to fund coverage of underserved communities
The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism announced 20 journalism awards totaling $55,000 to support investigative and explanatory reporting projects on America’s underserved communities, whose stories are often ignored or overlooked.
More than 80 journalists nationwide competed this year for the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism grants as well as the National Health Journalism Fellowships – both programs of the school’s California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships. As part of the program, which is funded by a generous grant from The California Endowment, 20 journalism fellows gather this week in Los Angeles for six days of workshops, seminars and field trips that explore community health issues.
USC Annenberg’s five Dennis A. Hunt grantees will receive grants ranging from $3,000 to $8,000 to fund ambitious investigative or explanative reporting projects on critical community health issues. These include: the impact of industrial contamination on workers and neighborhoods; the marketing messages that contribute to childhood obesity; barriers to dental care; the underlying causes of health disparities in border communities and barriers to health care in urban environments.
“The topics for these projects are crucial issues for our society. We are grateful that the Hunt Fund guarantees that they will continue to be covered despite the weakening of our traditional news organizations,” said Geneva Overholser, director of USC Annenberg's School of Journalism.
The Hunt fund honors the legacy of Dennis A. Hunt (pictured, right), a visionary communication leader at The California Endowment who was dedicated to improving and supporting high-quality reporting on the health of communities. Hunt died in a car crash in 2007 at the age of 60.
"We are very pleased that Dennis' interest in promoting healthier communities lives on through this memorial fund," the Hunt family said in a statement. “We look forward to important work from a stellar group of journalists."
"Each of these grants will support in-depth journalism that explores how our surroundings have a profound impact on our health," said Mary Lou Fulton, program manager, communication and media grants, at The California Endowment. "We are so pleased to be able to honor Dennis' leadership in health journalism by supporting this type of storytelling that he valued so highly."
The 15 other National Fellows will receive grants of $2,000 to support projects on pressing health issues in their communities ranging from diabetes to pesticide-related health effects.
Michelle Levander , director of the USC Annenberg/California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, said: “We are inspired by the great project ideas from this year’s National Fellows and Hunt grantees. Their work will make a substantive contribution to community health journalism. We are also so pleased to have this opportunity to honor the memory and contributions to journalism of Dennis Hunt, whose vision led to the founding of our program.”
2010 HUNT GRANT RECIPIENTS
Christina Hernandez, a freelance writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, will receive a $5,000 grant to examine a troubled health care system in a New Jersey city and local attempts to find solutions.
Kari Lydersen, a freelance writer in Chicago, will receive $8,000 to produce stories for the Chicago Reader, The Progressive and The Christian Science Monitor on the health effects of the goods movement industry on workers and residents.
Maureen O’Hagan, a staff reporter for The Seattle Times in Seattle, will receive $3,000 for a project exploring the role food marketing has played in the childhood obesity epidemic and efforts to combat it.
Mary Otto, a freelance writer for the Washington Post and editor-in-chief of Street Sense, will receive $5,000 to explore the impact of untreated dental disease in Maryland and community health reform efforts to address it.
Emily Ramshaw, an assistant managing editor and investigative reporter at The Texas Tribune in Austin, will receive $4,000 to analyze efforts to improve public health in colonias -- 2,300 unincorporated and isolated border towns.
2010 NATIONAL HEALTH JOURNALISM FELLOWS
Alicia DeLeon-Torres, a freelance journalist in San Diego, will produce stories on Filipino American gangs and problem gambling in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities for The Filipino Press.
Pedro F. Frisneda, health editor of El Diario/La Prensa in New York City, will explore several serious threats to the health of Latinos in the United States: disparities in health care access and outcomes; obesity and diabetes; and HIV/AIDS.
Joy Horowitz, a freelance journalist in Los Angeles, will explore the connection between the use pesticides and the high rate of Parkinson's disease in California’s Central Valley for Sierra magazine.
Danielle Ivory, a reporter for the Huffington Post Investigative Fund in Washington, D.C., will examine how the overwhelmed and problem-plagued Medicaid system can serve millions more Americans with its expanded role under health care reform.
Lisa Jones, a freelance writer in Boulder, Colorado, will write pieces for High Country News and Indian Country Today that explore the health impact of the construction of the Garrison Dam on residents of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.
Alison Knezevich, a state government reporter for The Charleston Gazette, will explore prescription drug abuse in West Virginia, a state hard hit by an epidemic of painkiller abuse.
Heather May, a reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune, will look at why children in some racially diverse neighborhoods in Salt Lake County are more likely than their neighbors to be born with birth defects, die from prematurity or SIDS or be hospitalized for asthma.
Gregory Mellen Jr., an editor at the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, will use personal stories to explore mental illness and treatment in the city’s Cambodian refugee community.
Linda Carolina Pérez, a health and education reporter for Mundo Hispánico in Atlanta will explore the challenges to accessing health care for Latino immigrants.
Rochelle Sharp, a freelance reporter in Boston, will look at the reasons for women's declining life expectancy in some U.S. counties for the New England Center for Investigative Reporting.
Elizabeth Simpson , the medical reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, will examine the contributing factors to infant mortality in African American neighborhoods throughout the Hampton Roads region.
Carol Smith, a Seattle-based reporter for InvestigateWest, will take a look at the health of predominantly minority communities that live and work along the Duwamish River in Seattle.
Frank Sotomayor, a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, will look at the reasons for the shortage of donor organs in southern California for La Opinion, Nguoi Viet Daily News and LA Beez.
Mark Taylor, a freelance writer based in Munster, Indiana, will produce a series of stories for the Post-Tribune that will examine the high rates of disease, infant deaths and chronic health conditions in Gary, Indiana’s poorer neighborhoods.
Daniela Velazquez, an online producer and multimedia reporter at Tampa Bay Online in Tampa, will examine the social and environmental factors that affect the everyday choices people make, with a particular emphasis on obstacles to healthy eating and exercising habits.
About USC Annenberg’s California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships
Since hosting its first seminars in 2005, The Fellowships program has educated more than 400 journalists on the craft and content of health journalism. The program also provides grants to foster coverage of health issues through its Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism and its National Health Journalism Fellowship. Last spring, it launched ReportingonHealth.org, an online community of journalists committed to improving the craft by sharing ideas and resources.
The California Endowment funds the program. The California Endowment is a private, statewide health foundation that was created in 1996 as a result of Blue Cross of California's creation of WellPoint Health Networks, a for-profit corporation. This conversion set the groundwork for its mission: to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The California Endowment's multicultural approach to health is reinforced through investments made in local communities. Its work involves a dual focus: grant making and policy and advocacy.
The Dennis A. Hunt Health Journalism Fund is a project of the Fellowships, which Hunt was instrumental in establishing during his tenure at The Endowment. The fund is financed by memorial contributions from Hunt’s friends and colleagues, as well as The Endowment and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Grants were offered for the first time in 2009 and also will be offered in 2011. A panel of judges that included veteran health reporters, editors, health policy experts and health communications leaders selected the five winners.
Kun invited to participate at the 2010 Scholarly Communication Institute at UVA
Journalism professor Josh Kun was invited to be a participant of the 2010 Scholarly Communication Institute at the University of Virginia, which will take place from July 14-16.The theme of this year's institute is Experimental Approaches to New-Model Scholarly Communication.
The three-day gathering of scholars and publishers will explore forms of publication that take advantage of new affordances of digital technologies, both for research and for representing knowledge. The meeting will gather scholars experimenting with new venues for the dissemination and assessment of scholarship online. The goal of this Institute will be to identify the publishing needs of such scholars and to articulate the new forms of scholarly publishing—beyond digital versions of analog monographs and journals— suitable for their work.
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Alumnus De La Rosa wins NAHJ election
Manuel De La Rosa (B.A. Journalism ’91) recently won his election for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Vice President for Broadcast.
De La Rosa, a reporter at KIII-TV in Corpus Christi, won the election at the convention in June. He will serve as the VP of Broadcast for a two-year term.
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USC Center on Public Diplomacy kicks off summer institute; video conversations from Shanghai features Spanish Pavilion
The USC Center on Public Diplomacy will kick off its 2010 Summer Institute in Public Diplomacy on July 19, and it will run through July 30.
The Summer Institute is a two-week intensive course designed to immerse participants in the study of public diplomacy. The program combines traditional classroom instruction with hands-on exercises.
“The significance of public diplomacy has grown exponentially during the past decade,” said CPD Director Philip Seib. “We will be building the future of public diplomacy during the Summer Institute.”
Also, CPD released another CPD Video Conversation from Shanghai Expo, which involves the Shanghai research team posting weekly video blogs highlighting select countries and their pavilions during the world expo.
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Grad student Barkett lands summer internship at White House
By Jonathan Arkin
Jacqueline Barkett (Master's Public Diplomacy ‘11, B.A. Communication ‘09) is in the middle of a summer internship working in the White House.
Barkett, who is interning in the Office of Presidential Correspondence, said the work directly correlates to her master's program in Public Diplomacy.
“Public diplomacy is all about the way one learns to communicate policy messages to a variety of audiences,” said Barkett, describing the thousands of letters, e-mails and phone calls she sees President Barack Obama receive every day at the Office of Presidential Correspondence, which is given the charge to respond to each of them. “At the front lines of communication with citizens, this office provides interns with a unique view of the thoughts, hopes, and concerns of the American people.”
Of the many classes Barkett took while at Annenberg, she said, two of her favorites were ‘Soft Power, Hard Power, Smart Power’ with Ma’ia Cross and ‘Media and Politics’ (PubD 580) with communication professor Thomas Hollihan, the latter fully preparing her for a presidential summer semester.
“I really enjoyed (Hollihan’s) class because it gave an in-depth analysis of national campaigns, whether they are local or presidential and how the media is used within campaigns,” Barkett said, adding as a third favorite a strategic and practical class well known to students of public diplomacy at Annenberg. “In terms of developing real life approaches to solving issues, (Communication) Professor (Nicholas) Cull’s ‘Cultural Diplomacy’ class provided the perfect instruction to facilitate new policy proposals.”
And Hollihan, whose expertise on globalization stems partly from his work on the Annenberg Research Network on Globalization and Communication, said that Barkett represented public diplomacy’s more positive future.
“The class in which Jackie participated provides an in-depth and systemic focus on the role of the media in US politics,” said Hollihan, who added that his course draws students from many different Annenberg degree programs including Global Communication, Communication Management, Strategic Public Relations, Policy, Planning and Development and Public Diplomacy. “Many of my students were outstanding, including Jackie. Students such as these give me hope that the next generation will have the insights and values to fix some of the problems that the present generation helped create.”
The grandness of it all has not been lost on the young graduate student, who focused on both Chinese and Arabic languages while at USC and already knows the value of public outreach in forming a strong diplomatic identity at all levels of involvement – as well as how public service can be used as an effective social tool.
“This internship is a very rewarding experience that stresses the importance of public service within our internship experience,” Barkett said. “This public service promotes leadership and a way to meet all the other interns.”
The other interns may not have visited 40 countries as Barkett has, but they do exercise regularly, inspiring her to do the same.
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“When I am not interning I try to run every day,” Barkett said. “Everyone in DC works out so it is fun to run around all the sites, also to ride bikes around D.C. The best part about D.C., and my graduate program, is being with so many other students that are so well-achieved and have such interesting opinions and future career goals.”
Barkett will be speaking at a media and terrorism conference in Dublin with another Annenberg colleague of hers – Justin Rashid, who is also in the program – followed by a conference in Britain dealing with issues of security and human rights; furthermore, when she returns to Los Angeles, Barkett will continue taking Arabic classes and has applied to do an internship with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for the fall focusing on issues regarding terrorism.
“I would like to go to law school once I complete my program and need to start studying for the LSAT as soon as I get back to L.A.,” Barkett said of her well-planned year ahead. “What excites me most about my future is that my interests in security, justice and the Middle East will never get old because it is such a huge puzzle.”
But first, Barkett has a memorable summer to look forward to as she works in the administrative seat of the federal government.
“Washington D.C. is such an incredible city because it is immersed in history and everyone in the city is trying to make history,” Barkett said. “The pulse of the city is quick and filled with interesting people who are all politically savvy. The city fosters development, involvement and awareness and D.C. is the perfect place to complete a summer internship.”
Barkett, a La Jolla native, found out about the White House Internship Program from one of her friends who had previously completed a summer there.
“After they told me it was one of the most exciting experiences they have done I decided to apply for the summer internship,” Barkett said. “The White House Internship is very competitive and I am very fortunate to have received this opportunity especially during such an interesting time in politics.”
Haddad Scholarship goes to undergrad Puro
By Jonathan Arkin
The inaugural winner of the Annette M. Haddad Memorial Scholarship, Larissa Puro (pictured, B.A. Print Journalism ’11), is tempering her excitement with a measure of admiration for the journalist in whose name the award is given.
“The first thing I did was jump up and down and call my parents,” Puro said. “It's a great honor to not only have been selected, but to have received this gift in recognition of such a hardworking and impressive journalist.”
Haddad, the scholarship’s namesake, was an active USC alumna and mentor until her 2009 death from cancer. She held several reportorial and editorial positions with The Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, United Press International – and The Daily Trojan, where Puro also worked.
“Annette's story has deeply touched me and I am truly honored to be the recipient,” Puro said. “Though we walked the same halls 20 years apart, I
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as an aspiring journalist, young woman and fellow Trojan — strongly identify with what I know of her.”
Haddad’s sister Christine and brother George established the scholarship in 2010 to honor the life and accomplishments of their high-achieving sister while assisting female journalism students demonstrating financial need.
“The scholarship has a real impact as it helps Larissa pursue her degree in print journalism,” said Josh Larsen, Annenberg’s Director of Development. “Because of the assistance she receives from this award, Larissa is able to immerse herself in her student experience, taking full advantage of the opportunities available to her. Even more importantly, we are privileged to recognize Larissa's leadership and integrity in memory of (Haddad).”
Puro wrote to Christine and George Haddad this summer, saying she decided to venture outside her “comfort zone of steno pads and deadlines” by interning at the Los Angeles magazine's website. She spends two days a week there “building intricate feature pages,” writing blog posts and exploring LA for web extras, in addition to web managing and writing for The Institute for Photographic Empowerment and the USC Institute for Global Health.
“It's no easy task to pursue journalism at this time,” Puro said. “My classmates and I are continually warned about the tough road ahead and it seems we face an obstacle at every turn – a failing job market, the lack of financial security, an endless pursuit of marketable skills and above all, the unfaltering sense of unease that hangs over our future.”
She said her new passions, designing websites and blogging, arose out of a curiosity born in the hallways of Annenberg and at the Institute for Multimedia Literacy, where she will be working on an honors thesis she hopes will reignite young American’s interest in daily news.
“This year will be my last at USC and I find myself reflecting on my great fortune of attending Annenberg,” Puro said. “This scholarship couldn't have come at a better time for my family and me. I feel I now understand the meaning of the Trojan family and am grateful to be a member of the especially supportive Annenberg community.”
She said she hopes to continue learning more about web development and perhaps start a web design side-business.
“I, like most journalism students, have taken on a handful of unpaid internships and freelance jobs," she said. "It is a relief to receive a scholarship that can help offset all the hours of financially unrecognized work I have done.”
More than 200 journalists from across Southern California attended Haddad’s memorial last summer, a testament to the admiration of her colleagues. This year, some were looking forward to meeting Puro.
“It’s fitting, given Annette’s wide range of responsibilities in both print and web journalism, that Larissa also has a tremendous interest in online reporting and graphics,” said David Colker, a Times staff writer. “We’re arranging for Larissa to visit the newsroom next month so she can meet some of Annette’s former colleagues. Now if she comes to the newsroom, gives a hearty laugh, and points out areas where we could be doing more online and in print, we'll know she’s not just an award-winner but also a reincarnation.”
Puro hopes not to disappoint.
“I look forward to meeting Annette's friends and colleagues at the Times and learning more about her and her work,” said Puro, who will also be meeting Haddad’s sister in August.
Public Diplomacy student Burnham lands in Vietnam for a summer to remember
By Jonathan Arkin
The old U.S. embassy in the former Saigon is long gone, replaced by a gleaming new American consulate where Annenberg student Candace Burnham (Public Diplomacy ’10) will spend what she expects will be an eventful summer.
“Vietnam is an even more fascinating place to conduct public diplomacy than I anticipated,” said Burnham a few days after she started work at the consulate in what is now called Ho Chi Minh City. “With the political climate, the Consulate must be very measured in its outreach efforts. The focus is more on good, old-fashioned relationship building than using the latest social media technology.”
The Redding, California native and Berklee College of Music graduate earned her first post-undergraduate degree with a Master of Education in Administration of Higher Education from Suffolk University – so she certainly feels confident in a well-rounded preparation; but when Burnham initially applied for the Master of Public Diplomacy program, she pictured herself in a slightly different place for her internships.
“I imagined I'd be spending my summer internship at The Hague or the United Nations – someplace that seems really glamorous when you don't know a lot about it,” Burnham said, adding that as she took classes and gained a better understanding of public diplomacy, her focus shifted. “I became very interested in working for the Department of State as a Foreign Service officer, so I applied for their summer internship program to get a better sense of what the career is like. When applying, they allow students to list their top two Bureau choices and then their top two offices or locations within those bureaus. My first choice was to go to New Delhi – I studied Hindi during the fall 2009 semester and liked the idea of being in a big, busy embassy.”
Burnham’s second choice was Vietnam, and as she didn't list a preference of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, she landed the latter.
“I thought it would be a fascinating political climate to see public diplomacy at work,” she said. “Both of my top choices are what the Department of State considers ‘hardship posts’ for various reasons. Sure, Madrid or London would be fantastic places to spend my summer, but I thought I'd get a very ‘real’ look at foreign service life at a less common post.”
Burnham, who was notified at the end of December that she was selected for the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, received the news directly – and earlier than expected to her surprise and delight – from the Deputy Principal Officer.
“When I found out, I was shocked and elated: I felt like I won the lottery,” Burnham said of her having been chosen – of 9,000 hopefuls in the applicant pool, only 11 per cent received assignments from the Department of State, according to its Twitter feed. “So far, I am more than happy with my assignment. Everyone here at the consulate and embassy has worked really hard to get everything set for me. There is so much coordination – from getting a visa to housing assignments, and I'm grateful that everyone has been so enthusiastic, responsive and helpful. I really couldn't have dreamed up a better situation.”
For the internship, Burnham works mostly in the Consulate's Information Resource Center, a place she said is for people “to come in and conduct research on the U.S.,” and she will also be assisting with local media outreach and with the Consulate's educational exchange programs – like the Fulbright and International Visitors Leadership Program. She was just selected by the Department of State to be the
2010-2011 Foreign Affairs Campus Coordinator for USC. She will organize speaker programs and forums for students that feature
guests from the Department of State.
She said that the training she received at Annenberg gave her very specific preparation for a summer full of public diplomacy.
“The classes I've taken so far and the faculty have prepared me well for this internship, especially since I didn't have any international relations or communications coursework before coming to USC,” said Burnham, who took the Global Issues and Public Diplomacy course with communication professor, CPD Fellow and director of the Annenberg Public Diplomacy program, Nicholas Cull. “Dr. Cull's class forced me to change the way I think and react. The way the course is structured, students have to be on their toes at all times. It's exhausting, but has fundamentally influenced how I approach teamwork and crisis situations.”
Her instructors, all public diplomacy professionals, also saw in Burnham something that would ensure a productive post-Annenberg career.
“Candace is a terrific student who has really excelled in the public diplomacy program at USC,” said Cull, her professor in PUBD 504. “She is consistently professional and a great communicator. She shone both in her individual work and as part of a team during her simulation exercises in the often grueling class…I always knew she'd go far, and her internship in Vietnam is bearing this out!”
Even outside of Annenberg, faculty members saw in Burnham a capable, productive student of diplomacy and international relations.
“Candace Burnham was fully engaged throughout my course on democracy,” International Relations professor Gerardo Munck said, commending Burnham for being “really serious and capable” – qualities he said were important in the context of public diplomacy work. “Not only did she bring ideas from the readings to bear on our class discussions – she also did a wonderful job of bringing a public diplomacy angle in at opportune times.”
Burnham said that Munck’s class, ‘Global Democratization,’ helped her reframe how she understands public diplomacy – particularly in terms of how it fits into the larger goals of U.S. foreign policy – and that Annenberg’s Diplomat-in-Residence, Visiting Scholar Robert Banks, mentored her through the application process and proved “profoundly generous with his time” as he helped edit her letter of application, providing guidance she said was invaluable and a major factor in her being selected for an internship.
“Dr. Banks taught me how to turn a critical eye to how public diplomacy is conducted and how to see whether or not our efforts are targeted appropriately and ‘moving the needle’ of public opinion,” Burnham said.
Banks, who teaches the ‘Public Diplomacy Evaluation’ class, had high praise for Burnham’s work ethic and future in the business of observing and executing public diplomacy.
“Having a student like Candace in your class provides real value added,” said Banks. “She is smart, committed, serious and 'brings it ' every day. I'm sure she'll do a terrific job in Ho Chi Minh City.”
Before she started working at the consulate, Burnham spent a couple weeks in Cambodia visiting Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, the capstone in a summer that added quite a few stamps in her passport.
“Before this summer, I had done a little international traveling, but never in a million years did I think I'd have a chance to see Angkor Wat,” Burnham said. “It was a magical experience.”
And how does she view the city once called Saigon – the former “Paris of the Orient” that became the stage for the final moments of the war that divided then reunified the country of Vietnam?
“Ho Chi Minh City is different than I expected,” Burnham said after a busy day. “It's still developing, but is surprisingly cosmopolitan in many respects. It's fast paced and vibrant, very charming.”
And to carry on the theme of Annenberg’s international innovation efforts, Burnham said she is considering work on a Vietnam version of the think-tank TED project, bringing Vietnamese in touch with the latest discussion on new technologies and communication.
“It's not official or authorized yet, we are still trying to work out whether or not the consulate wants to do it,” said Burnham of working on variations of TED in Vietnam. “The TED translation project has created a wealth of videos with Vietnamese subtitles – another great resource that we can incorporate into existing programs.”
And just recently, Burnham told Commline, she has confirmed that she will be participating in the Mission Speaker Program, where she will present short talks on various aspect of American culture.
Quite a Saigon summer, indeed.
Published and Presented
USC Annenberg scholars convene at AEJMC Conference in Denver
More than a dozen USC Annenberg faculty and doctoral students will play an important role in the 2010 Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication Convention from Aug. 4-7 in Denver.
Research topics to be presented or discussed include gender equity, journalism schools as news providers, mobile advertising, the fate of public relations, online learning, the future of news and reimagining antiquity’s historians as journalists.
"This is definitely a really rich opportunity for all of us at Annenberg to see what’s going on at our sister schools and to share our own ideas and best practices," said School of Journalism director Geneva Overholser (pictured, below right), who will speak on three panels. "I’m very excited to be able to talk about journalism schools as news providers. We’re real leaders on that front."
The following USC Annenberg scholars will moderate sessions, serve as panelists or present papers during the convention (in chronological order):
Tuesday, Aug. 3
1-5 p.m. Director of the School of Journalism Geneva Overholser will serve as a panelist at the workshop “Examining Gender Equity – from the College Classroom to the Corporate Boardroom” hosted by the Commission on the Status of Women. (Session 012)
3:30-7:30 p.m. Director of the School of Journalism Geneva Overholser will serve as a panelist at the workshop titled “Journalism Schools as News Providers: Challenges and Opportunities” held by the Civic & Citizen Journalism Interest Group and Newspaper Division. She will participate in “Part 1 – What is Changing and Why.” (Session 016)
Wednesday, Aug. 4
8:15-9:45 a.m. Research Associate from the Center for the Digital Future Liuning (Matt) Zhou will present a paper titled “A Comparative Study of American and Chinese Young Consumers’ Acceptance of Mobile Advertising: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.” The paper, which he co-wrote with Hongwei Yang of Appalachian State University and Hui Liu of Beijing International Studies University, will be presented at the session titled “Going Mobile” in the Advertising Division. (Session 024)
3:15-4:45 p.m. Associate Director of the School of Journalism Patricia Dean will serve as a panelist at the session “The New Convergence: Innovations in Industry and Academic Collaborations” held by the Radio-Television Journalism and Visual Communication Divisions. (Session 082)
5-6:30 p.m. Director of the USC Annenberg Strategic Communication & PR Center Jerry Swerling (pictured, right) will serve as a panelist at the session “Policy Advisor or Chief Communicator? Deciding PR’s Fate” held by the Public Relations and Mass Communication and Society Divisions. (Session 090)
Thursday, Aug. 5
8:15-9:45 a.m. Director of the School of Journalism Geneva Overholser will serve as a panelist at “Exploring Innovative Partnerships Between J-Schools and News Organizations” held by Scripps Howard Foundation and AEJMC Council of Affiliates. (Session 126)
1:30-3 p.m. Assistant Director of the School of Journalism Laura Castañeda (pictured, left) will present a paper titled “Disruption and Innovation: Online Learning and Degrees at Accredited Journalism Schools and Programs” from the Scholastic Journalism Division of the Scholar-to-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session. (Session 144)
5-6:30 p.m. Research Associate from the Center for the Digital Future Liuning (Matt) Zhou will present a paper titled “An Exploratory Study on Factors Affecting American Young Consumers’ Acceptance of Mobile Advertising: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach” co-written by Hongwei Yang of Appalachian State University. The Scholar-to-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session is held by the Public Relations Division, Entertainment Studies Interest Group and Cultural and Critical Studies. (Session 168)
Friday, Aug. 6
8:15-9:15 a.m. Doctoral student Poong Oh will present a paper titled “Another Condition for Successful Deliberation: A Mathematical Approach” from the Refereed Paper Research Session held by the Communication Theory and Methodology Division. (Session 223)
8:15-9:45 a.m. Journalism professor Andrew Lih and Center for Communication Leadership & Policy senior fellows Adam Clayton Powell III and David Westphal lead a panel discussion called “Wikipedia and the Future of News,” the changing state of the news media. Breakfast will be served. (Session 238)
8:15-9:45 a.m. Director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC) and Journalism Professor Joe Saltzman (pictured, right) will present a paper titled “Herodotus as an Ancient Journalist: Reimagining Antiquity’s Historians as Journalists” which was accepted by the History Division at a scholar-to-scholar History Division Refereed Paper Poster Session. Saltzman will also be at the USC Annenberg table for the entire conference in the exhibition hall discussing the new IJPC Online Database, the seven IJPC video compilations and promoting the peer-reviewed IJPC Journal. (Session 225)
8:15-9:45 a.m. Communication professor Stacy Smith (pictured, left) will present a paper titled “Female Characters and Financial Performance in 100 Top-Grossing Films in 2007” which was accepted by the Mass Communication & Society Division at a scholar-to-scholar Refereed Paper Poster Session. (Session 225)
1:45-3:15 p.m. Doctoral student Andrew Schrock will present his second-place student paper “Are You What You Tweet? Warranting Trustworthiness on Twitter” at the Refereed Paper Research Session Understanding the Digital World: Trust, Relationships and Social Media – Top Student Papers Session. The session is hosted by THE Communication Technology Division and Graduate Education Interest Group. (Session 249)
1:45-3:15 p.m. Journalism and communication professor Félix Gutiérrez will moderate the research session AEJMC Scholars Program Showcase. (Session 260)
K.C. Cole gives "Anarchy as management style?" commentary (Marketplace)
Journalism professor K.C. Cole gave a July 13 commentary titled "Anarchy as management style?" for Marketplace.
"The museum of art and science Frank created has since been copied in hundreds of countries, produced some half-dozen MacArthur 'genius' fellows and influenced science curriculum in all 50 states. A success by any measure you like. And yet, I've often heard how Frank's 'loosy goosy' management style could never fly today. Anarchy is out. Organization and accountability are in," she said.
"Biological evolution, after all, has produced millions of successful species through random tries, countless failures and fast adaptation. It's unpredictable, messy and prolific. Not a bad business model all in all," she continued.
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Reeves' "Daring Young Men" named best history book of the year
Journalism professor Richard Reeves' book "Daring Young Men" has been named the "Best History Book" of the past year by the Book of the Month Club. The book is also on the required reading list issued annually by the Air Force Chief of Staff.
Reeves will also be the keynote speaker of the annual meeting of the Air Force Association in Washington on September 14.
Additionally, Reeves penned a July 7 article titled “Nation made by immigrants” for The MetroWest Daily News.
“So it was ever thus here in the New World. The immigration debate goes on 234 years later,” he wrote in the article. “In 1776, there were a little over 2 million people in Great Britain's American colonies. More were needed to fill the land and grow the economy. Since then, the land of the free has alternately welcomed and despised immigrants - depending on whether we needed their work, and on where they came from.”
“Time marched on and we needed new labor, welcoming (economically) and rejecting (socially and politically) Germans, Irish, Slavs, Italians, Jews, Orientals, Latinos, South Asians. And African-Americans. And in each case we tried to get rid of them when they were no longer so useful,” he wrote.
“We are more than a nation of immigrants. We are a nation made by immigrants, foreigners who were needed for their labor and skills - and youth - but were often hated because they were not like us until they were us,” he continued.
Read the article
Sigal pens articles for The Guardian UK, GI Newsletter
Professor emeritus Clancy Sigal wrote an article titled “A General’s Gift to the Peace Movement” for the GI Newsletter of MilitaryProject.org.
“Disgraced General Stanley McChrystal deserves a medal from America’s nonexistent anti-war movement. In his infamous Rolling Stone interview he was only telling the angry truth by confessing his utter helplessness in managing the lost Afghan war,” he wrote in the article.
“The real scoop isn’t in how General Stan and his cadre of politicized aides dissed Obama, after all it gave the president an opening to cheaply win points for what he doesn’t often show, decisiveness. The bigger story is, as quite deliberately blurted by McChrystal’s chief of operations general Bill Mayville, ‘(The war) is not going to look like a win or taste like a win. This is going to end in an argument,’” he wrote.
Sigal also wrote a July 8 article titled “The Death of Activism” for the Guardian UK.
“The current atmosphere around here reminds me of the Eisenhower 50s, when the twin gods of the underworld, senator Joe McCarthy and FBI chief J Edgar Hoover, ruled the mass mind. You could go to jail for shooting off your mouth,” he wrote in the article.
“A big difference between then and now is that our collective lifeboat was rising due to a buoyant postwar economy. But now our lifeboat is springing leaks. The Obama government's zombie-like inaction in the jobless crisis means that a lot of us are catching, or soon will catch, more of the misery contagion that is devastating the poorer parts of Los Angeles County. Instead of acknowledging the shared pain, each of us individually is pushing to get into the upended lifeboat, struggling to stay afloat, frantic to hold on to what we've got,” he continued.
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Quoted
Jeffrey Cole on mobile technology in America, Center for the Digital Future survey cited (Washington Post, RedOrbit, AP)
Cooper on Oliver Stone’s documentary (LA Times)
De la Pena on immersive journalism (MediaShift)
Gross pens two editions of "Larry's List" (Truthdig)
July 6
July 20
Gross pens July 6 “Larry’s List” (Truthdig)
Jenkins mentioned to speak at Comic-Con (G4)
Kahn's appointment at USC Annenberg highlighted (LA Observed)
Kaplan on Fiorina’s fundraising efforts in comparison to Boxer (LA Times, Washington Post); fired USDA worker (LA Times)
Reeves noted as appearing as a commentator in the PBS documentary “Turmoil & Triumph”; gave talk and discussed his book “Daring Young Men (The Wall Street Journal, SF Chronicle, The New York Post)
Seib on Al Jazeera Effect (Addis Neger - Ethiopia)
Winston on NYT and the Catholic Church (GetReligion); Prop 8 findings (USA Today)
Grad Student Silverstein's article published on Jezebel (Jezebel)
Norman Lear Center study on local news highlighted (Reason.com)