USC Annenberg offers more than 15 sports-related courses across the communication, journalism and public relations fields. Courses are taught by top faculty scholars as well as sports media professionals who work in the industry and teach at the same time. Our faculty are continually working to develop new courses on emerging topics.

CMGT 546: Sports Media and Society
History and evolution of sports media industry; traditional, new and alternative sports media; globalization of sports; sports promotions and personalities.

COMM 381 – Issues in Contemporary Sport
Explores social, political and ethical issues in elite sports and how issues are addressed through popular media; examination includes the relationship between sports and politics.

COMM 383m – Sports, Communication and Culture
Rhetorical and critical approaches to sports and public discourse; application to sports organizations, the news and popular media; representations of gender and race in sports.

COMM 387 – Sports and Social Change
Application of critical, sociological and rhetorical theories to sports events and sport media; examination of the role of sports in enacting social change.

COMM 444 – Critical Theories of Sport
Focuses on critical theories that examine social and political roles of sport in society and how these roles play out in media and broadcast platforms.

JOUR 350 – Introduction to Sports Media
Highlight norms, routines of content, including print, broadcast, video. Focus on opportunities, constraints posed by roles of reporters, fans, players, publicists, agents, leagues, teams.

JOUR 380 – Sports, Business and Media in Today’s Society
An inside look at the symbiotic relationship of sports and the media — from the interdependence of sports and media, to the coverage of sports in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. The economic and ethical issues involved, the conflicts of interest, the history and current status of sports coverage in American media today.

JOUR 432 – Sports Commentary
Techniques of reporting and writing sports columns and commentary for print, video, radio and Web-based media.

JOUR 441 – Sports Reporting
News and feature coverage of sporting events, including social and economic factors influencing sports in America.

JOUR 478 – Politics of Sports Writing
Critical examination of different styles of sports writing. Focus on the social context of sports writing and the relationship between sports and politics.

JOUR 479 – Storytelling for Action Sports
Learn how to cover action sports with cutting-edge technology. In-class lectures and industry guest speakers focus on topics such as gender, race and history.

JOUR 480 – Sports and Media Technology
Examine and analyze the ever-changing technology sector of the sports business and sports media world. Identify emerging technologies being developed in the sports industry and how they are being utilized to enhance the fan experience.

JOUR 481 – The Athlete, Sports Media and Popular Culture
Analysis of the images of the athlete and sports media helps us understand how sports dramatically affects such social issues as race, class and gender.

JOUR 510 – Special Assignment Reporting: Sports
Beat reporting with a deep dive into research, source development, and writing/reporting skills. Focus on current trends, history, major actors and key issues.

JOUR 571 – 21st Century Sports Storytelling
Seminar in how to report and write sports: news, previews, profiles, features, columns.

JOUR 574 – Sports and Society
Develop and refine print and multimedia skills to work as a sports journalist. Gain perspective, context and background in how sports intersect with society.

PR 453 – Public Relations Strategies for Working with Athletes
Sports Public Relations isn't only getting press for a team or player; it's managing communications among influencers. Complements overview course giving students advanced look at practitioners' role with professional athletes.

PR 454 – Sports Public Relations
Introduction to the field of sports information and promotion, including lectures, media assignments, role-playing, and presentations by sports professionals.

Through our student-run media organization, Annenberg Media, students produce compelling and informative stories that include regular sports coverage. Students can work with Annenberg Media and other student-run programs in USC Annenberg’s state-of-the-art Media Center. 

Sports SCene, for example, focuses on USC sports. Learn more here.

USC Annenberg’s Institute of Sports, Media and Society promotes academic programs, international research initiatives and professional engagement in the competitive world of sports and media. Clinical Professor of Communication Daniel Durbin founded and directs the institute, which hosts two sports and social change programs each year. These events bring together scholars as well as professionals from the world of sports and sports management to discuss important issues around sports and culture. The institute also houses the world’s only oral history project of African-American Major League Baseball players who played in the 25 years after MLB’s color barrier was broken.