10 Battle Rock: The Struggle Over A One-Room School in America's Vanishing West , by journalism professor Bill Celis , was named to two year-end "best of" book lists. The book was named a "must read" by the American School Board Journal , the magazine of the National School Boards Association. It was also included in the 27th annual "Best of the Southwest" list compiled by the Tucson-Pima County Library. Battle Rock (PublicAffairs, 2002) chronicles the growth of the rural West during the 1990s, and tells the story of rising conflict at a Colorado one-room school between rural residents and their new urban neighbors. ASBJ review» Tucson-Pima County Library review» Barnes & Noble book page»

9 School faculty were featured prominently in two recent TV-news stories. Associate dean Joe Saltzman commented about an adult-themed reality series for a December 23 segment on KCBS 2 Los Angeles. "There will always be discretion when it comes to commercial television," Saltzman said. "And that line is about as close as we're gonna be." Marty Kaplan , associate dean and director of the Norman Lear Center, appeared January 3 on a CBS Evening News story about American pop culture. Kaplan called 2003 "the year that the entertainment industry tanked."

6 The invasiveness of online pop-up ads prompted graduate journalism student Eugene Lee to write an op-ed, "Popping Off on Pop-Ups," which was published in the December 27 Los Angeles Times . "At home, on my computer, I should be the one playing God, choosing what I see and don't see," Lee wrote. "With pop-ups, I feel I've lost that sense of control and power." Lee originally penned the piece for Professor Bryce Nelson 's Media and Society class. Read the article»

USC Annenberg communication professor and International Communication Association fellow Peter Monge has been awarded the 2003 National Communication Association Book Award in Organizational Communication for Theories of Communication Networks (Oxford University Press, 2003), which he co-wrote with Noshir Contractor . Buy the book» Visit the NCA web site»

3 Manuel Castells (pictured, left) and Jay Harris (pictured, right) were honored in a December 2 endowed chair dedication ceremony. USC trustee and alumna Wallis Annenberg (pictured, second from left) said, "Professors Castells and Harris join a roster of leaders here at Annenberg who are truly worthy of the title 'world-class scholars.'" USC President Steven Sample (pictured, second from right) praised the passion, intelligence, and vision of Wallis Annenberg, calling her "one of the university's most ardent supporters and champions." Castells holds the Wallis Annenberg Chair in Communication Technology and Society; Harris holds the Wallis Annenberg Chair in Journalism and Communication. Watch the video» Read Dean Cowan's welcoming remarks» Read President Sample's remarks» Read Professor Harris's remarks»

5 Zeus Ayter , a senior broadcast journalism student at USC Annenberg, has been named the 2003-04 recipient of the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship . The annual scholarship is funded by an endowment established by the Los Angeles Lakers in memory of legendary sports broadcaster Chick Hearn, who died last year. The scholarship includes a broadcast journalism internship at Fox Sports Net, providing the recipient with the opportunity to gain hands-on broadcast production experience by working on Lakers telecasts and assisting with the production of live pre-game programming. Ayter, pictured above with USC Annenberg associate dean Joe Saltzman and Hearn's widow, Marge Hearn , is from Cupertino, Calif. More» Ayter appears on Fox Sports West pre-game show. Watch the video»

1 Eastern Broadcasting Corporation, the Taiwan-based media conglomerate that operates ETTV networks, has pledged $500,000 to fund scholarships and support research at USC Annenberg. Corporation chairman Gary Wang (pictured, left) joined Dean Geoffrey Cowan (pictured, right) on November 20 to announce the establishment of the ETTV Scholarships in Communication program at a campus ceremony. The program will aid students enrolled in USC Annenberg's Communication Management degree program, with selected students receiving a $5,000 award per semester ($10,000 per year). More»

39A recent hiring surge in the U.S. labor market has not led to increased wages for Latinos and other workers, according to a report issued June 16 by USC Annenberg's Pew Hispanic Center . The report shows that the median weekly wage for Hispanics has declined in all but one of the past eight quarters. Consequently, median wages for Latinos have lost ground in comparison with the national median wage. The outlook for immigrants is worse. "The unemployment rate for native-born Hispanics, particularly for the fast-growing second generation, remains high and shows no indication of dropping," says Pew Hispanic Center director Robert Suro (pictured). San Diego Tribune coverage» Read the report» Pew Hispanic Center Web site»