Nichole Banducci was with her family when wildfire flames, fanned by Santa Ana winds, raced over the Santa Monica Mountains. As the deadly Woolsey Fire descended into Malibu in the early morning of Nov. 9, 2018, Banducci, her husband Brian, in-laws and three children prepared to evacuate. They loaded their dog, cat, rabbits and belongings into two cars, a van, a truck and their 1964 Shasta Oasis trailer, and headed out. Less than an hour later, flames ravaged Banducci’s Malibu Park neighborhood, destroying her home. The loss Banducci experienced with the Woolsey Fire not only challenged her physically and emotionally, but also served as a point of inspiration. Now, the wellness advocate and educator will debut a new online program in early 2020 called “Fortify Against Stress” that she developed to equip others with the tools they need to improve their well-being.

Ever since Amanda Brunak ’20 set foot on the USC campus, she’s made the most out of her time here. A public relations major, Brunak became the director of PR for The Buzz, a student-run TV program, as a sophomore. In Spring 2019, she participated in the Maymester program, visiting top media companies in New York City.

Interested in getting into broadcasting — either as an anchor or a producer? Making a podcast? Writing news stories? Creating immersive videos or multi-platform digital media? Check out what you can do in USC Annenberg’s Media Center. This cutting-edge production facility is housed in Wallis Annenberg Hall on USC’s campus. Open to journalism, communication and public relations students, as well as students across the USC campus. The first Thursday of each semester is an Open House from noon–5 p.m. Please join us on January 16, 2020.

Growing up in the post-revolutionary Iran of the early 1980s, Mandana Mellano wasn’t exposed to advertising, particularly Western advertising, until she and her family traveled outside their hometown of Tehran when she was six. Vacationing in Istanbul, she marveled at the “amazing world” of billboards and television spots. “I think the complexity of living in a society that is very much controlled had a lot to do with my wanting to study sociology and communication as a whole,” said Mellano, who graduated in 2001 with a master’s in communication management. “It created the spark.”

The start of a new decade brings with it the hope that the entertainment industry’s track record for hiring female directors has finally changed. New research, out today, reveals that 10.6% of the directors of 2019’s top movies were women — the highest percentage in more than a decade.

How Humans of New York created an activist community through participatory storytelling.

Street photographer Brandon Stanton started Humans of New York (HONY) in 2009 with the aim of gathering 10,000 photographs of New Yorkers framed against an interactive map of the city. To put his subjects at ease, Stanton frequently made conversation...

In 2017, New Scientist published a story about how long it would take for artificial intelligence (AI) to surpass human intelligence. The article was shared through a tweet that read: “AI will be able to beat us at everything by 2060, say experts.”

“Probably closer...

With more than half of Americans listening to podcasts and an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue expected by 2021, USC Annenberg and the Sacks Family Foundation are investing in the future of podcasting. Leveraging this explosive growth, the Luminary Fellowship program hopes to infuse the podcast industry with fresh voices and perspectives.