Research and Impact

The annual report from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reveals that little has changed for women in music and explores why that might be the case.

2018 saw an outcry from artists, executives and other music industry professionals over the lack of women in music. Has 2019 brought change? A new report provides an update on the status of women making popular songs, and the barriers facing female songwriters and producers.

A report released on Thursday by the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center Media Impact Project reveals that Americans seldom see mentions of Africa or Africans on popular television shows or in the news; and when they do, the portrayals are often negative and stereotyped.

Sheila Murphy, professor of communication, created a study to test ways to motivate women to get screening for cervical cancer. Trained in social psychology, Murphy specializes in identifying the individual, interpersonal, community, ethnic and cultural factors that shape people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices.

5 minutes with Christina Dunbar-Hester

For much of her academic career, Christina Dunbar-Hester has explored how ideas of diversity and identity manifest themselves in technological fields. Rather than larger firms, she has been particularly drawn to smaller communities and subcultures in tech. Her first book, Low Power to the People: Pirates, Protest and Politics in FM Radio Activism, examines how activists helped convince the federal government to grant more broadcast licenses to small community radio stations.

Paula, a 59-year-old mother of two in Southern California, is getting out of a cooking rut with VeggieBook, a free mobile app we created that users can view in English or Spanish. It gives her customized recipes and food tips.

Cyntoia Brown, whose conviction for murder and 60-year prison sentence in Tennessee drew widespread public attention following USC Annenberg professor Daniel H. Birman’s documentary film focusing on her case, has been granted clemency and will be released from prison later this year.

A new study reveals a dramatic improvement in black directors working across the 100 top-grossing films, though there has been little change for other industry positions.

Black Panther or BlacKkKlansman could take home a Golden Globe on Sunday, but they are also signs that 2018 delivered some much-needed change to Hollywood. For the first time in over a decade, Hollywood studios hired a greater percentage of black directors to helm top-performing films. A new study out today sheds light on the phenomenon and documents areas where progress is still needed.

The telenovela-style comedy Jane the Virgin, which airs on the CW, centered several of their fourth-season storylines around immigration — specifically, the undocumented status of Jane’s grandmother. According to USC Annenberg researchers, that show’s nuanced, accurate handling of immigration is the exception, not the rule in Hollywood. Far more common are stories that perpetuate false, negative stereotypes about immigrants.