USC Annenberg: 2013-14 Year in Review

It’s been quite a year for the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. From the Sochi Olympics to lessons in Google Glass, from new leadership and a new Master’s Degree program to the construction of a brand new building to be opened in the fall, here’s a look back at some of the media coverage of the school in 2013-14:

August 2013: USC Annenberg kicks off a semester of journalism forums with a discussion about storytelling with Google Glass.

September 2013: USC Annenberg Communication Professor Sarah Banet-Weiser is named the new director of the USC Annenberg School of Communication, effective July 2014.

“I'm looking forward to continuing to build the department in all areas of the field – from health communication to organizational communication to rhetoric to new and digital technologies and other subfields. We have great opportunities and resources here at USC Annenberg, and I am honored to be asked to help continue building our department in the years to come,” said Banet-Weiser.

October 2013: The USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center is featured on American Public Media's Marketplace radio program after receiving a $500,000 grant from The California Endowment. Deadline also publishes an article about the award.

Also this month, former Los Angeles Times National Editor Roger Smith is appointed Managing Editor the California HealthCare Foundation's Center for Health Reporting at USC Annenberg, USC Annenberg Professor Gabriel Kahn is published in The Wall Street Journal, Professor Jonathan Taplin is published in Variety, and a video produced by two USC Annenberg students is featured on Buzzfeed.

November 2013: USC Annenberg's Institute of Sports, Media and Society hosts the three day Sports & the LGBT Experience Conference in partnership with the USC Annenberg Normal Lear Center and the USC Student Affairs LGBT Resource Center.

USC Annenberg Professor Richard Reeves is quoted by Fox News, the New York Post, The Huffington Post and the Washington Examiner in discussion of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

December 2013: Thanks to a school-wide collaboration with Adobe, more than 2,400 USC Annenberg students are able to download the entire Adobe Creative Cloud for no-cost, while USC Annenberg professors begin integrating the Adobe Creative Cloud into their classrooms. 

Also this month, Professor Dmitri Williams is quoted in The New York Times.

January 2014: USC Annenberg releases the first edition of the “Annenberg Agenda” Magazine, featuring cutting-edge content from faculty and alumni.

"USC Annenberg is a world-class institution filled with world-class scholars, writers, researchers and thinkers," said Jeremy Rosenberg, Assistant Dean of Public Affairs and Special Events. "The information we can convey in a 40-page magazine is the tip of the iceberg."

February 2014: USC Annenberg is the only journalism school in the country with credentialed student journalists reporting from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Journalism Master’s students Lawrence Murray and Kimiya Shokoohi were selected by USC Annenberg Journalism Professor Alan Abrahamson to provide coverage of the games in Sochi from Feb. 7-23.

LA Observed, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and more provide coverage of the selection of an investigative reporting team from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as the 2014 USC Annenberg Selden Ring Award winners.

March 2014: Journalist Willow Bay, senior editor at The Huffington Post with broadcast experience at ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and more is named the new director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, effective July 2014.

“I’m honored to join Dean Wilson and the world-class faculty and staff at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, which has educated and inspired some of the most prestigious and talented professionals in the field,” said Bay.

Bay's appointment was covered by the The New York Times, LA Times, Variety, Southern California Public Radio and more.

Mashable’s coverage of the “Glass Journalism” class to be offered at USC Annenberg in the fall receives thousands of shares and retweets.

This month, USC Annenberg also surpasses the $100 million fundraising mark in its $150 million fundraising campaign, kicked off in Fall 2012.

April 2014: In April, USC Annenberg receives a visit from iconic whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, along with fellow whistleblowers Jesselyn Radack and Thomas Drake, who spoke about patriotism, national security and human rights to a full house at USC Annenberg.

May 2014: The year comes to an end with the USC Annenberg Class of 2014 graduation. There were 975 Bachelor’s, Master's and Doctoral degrees in Communication, Journalism and Public Relations conferred at two ceremonies. The 2014 USC Annenberg graduating class included a Los Angeles Times business fellow, a Google Journalism Fellow, and commencement addresses by music producer T Bone Burnett and Southern California Public Radio President Bill Davis. The announcement of the 2014 USC Annenberg Communications ceremony speaker as Burnett received coverage by Variety and The Chicago Tribune.

Olivia Niland is a senior journalism major and has written for USC Annenberg for three years. Off-campus, she has interned for outlets including Mashable, NBC Los Angeles and The Hollywood Reporter, and recently spent a semester studying journalism in London...

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