Billionaires buying newspapers, whether for vanity or public service, may be the best hope for the future of journalism.

When you put your eye to the viewfinder, aim a microphone or press play on the recorder, your only thought is to get the story — accurately. This year at the 60th Annual Los Angeles Press Club’s SoCal Journalism Awards on June 24, a slew of USC Annenberg students, alumni and even one of our esteemed professors got a bonus — honor and recognition for a job well done.

“When I first started interrogating Google’s output, it was incredibly unpopular,” Safiya Noble said. “I got a lot of pushback from people in academia and people in industry who said, ‘Google is the peoples’ company.”

The Center for Health Journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism has awarded $30,000 in reporting grants from its new Impact Fund to help California journalists undertake ambitious explanatory and investigative reporting about health issues in the state’s underserved communities.

Murray Fromson, renowned international news reporter, beloved professor emeritus of journalism and esteemed former director of USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism, died on June 9 at the age of 88. An award-winning journalist and a dedicated mentor to hundreds of students, Fromson was a staunch advocate for freedom of the press and journalism ethics, fighting tirelessly for journalists worldwide who often put their lives on the line to ensure a well-informed public.

Films like Crazy Rich Asians, The Spy Who Dumped Me, BlacKkKlansman, and The Happytime Murders are poised to provide a much-needed dose of diversity to theaters this summer. But as audiences look to critical reviews to determine if these movies are worth the ticket price, what perspectives are available? A new study reveals that the film reviewers are unlikely to be as diverse as the casts they are critiquing.

USC research shows it’s usually faster to drive in the morning rush hour than it is at night. But why?

A lot has happened on the Korean peninsula in the last few weeks. South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for the first time; Kim took some serious steps toward denuclearization; and Kim and President Trump agreed to talk, but Trump abruptly canceled the historic meeting. Diplomats are now scuttling to put the summit back on track.