The USC Capital Campus will soon be home to a state-of-the-art multimedia production studio — made possible by a $5-million grant from USC Life Trustee Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation. The new studio will position USC Annenberg students and Trojans at the epicenter of media, communications and public discourse in Washington, D.C.
Open to all USC students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, the multimedia center will be designed for flexibility with optimization for video and audio streaming on platforms like YouTube and Spotify. The street-level Wallis Annenberg Studio with its wrap-around window will offer a front-row seat as USC multimedia storytellers cover breaking news, debates, elections, interview national and global leaders, and conduct live broadcasts.
Located in the heart of Dupont Circle, the USC Capital Campus was established by USC President Carol Folt in 2023 as a vibrant campus for experts, researchers and students to learn and listen, connect and share views on the national stage. The founding vision for the 60,000-square-foot building included a leading-edge multimedia studio space that would further amplify these conversations.
“USC was a first mover when selecting this beautiful building to be our new home in the nation’s capital,” Folt said. “We immediately envisioned a ground floor multimedia studio. It has been such a pleasure to work with Dean Bay of the Annenberg School to bring this vision to life. The Wallis Annenberg Studio will be a hub for direct engagement between our students and opinion leaders and policy makers. Also, it furthers USC’s mission to be a part of the civic life of the nation’s capital and be a powerful force to serve the public good.”
The new facility will mirror the successful model of Wallis Annenberg Hall’s Media Center on USC’s Los Angeles campus, where students work under the mentorship of faculty and industry professionals — including newsroom leaders, network producers, editors, and multiplatform storytellers.
“There is no better time — or place — for our students to engage with the policies and people shaping our world,” said Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “The Annenberg Foundation’s bold investment will empower students to develop their skills as intellectually rigorous, ethically grounded storytellers who produce content that informs, inspires and drives critical conversations.”
The multimedia studio builds on USC Annenberg’s strong tradition of curricular and experiential education programs in D.C., including an immersive Maymester course, in which students engage with senior leaders across government, NGOs, and global organizations. More than a production space, the Wallis Annenberg Studio will be a home base for all USC students in D.C., providing a professional launchpad for careers in media, journalism, public policy and global communications.
The new space also reflects the enduring legacy of the Annenberg family. Walter H. Annenberg established the USC Annenberg School and was a strong advocate for education and public service through philanthropic endeavors focused on bolstering civic engagement and public policy. A close ally of multiple U.S. presidents, Annenberg served as ambassador to the Court of St. James from 1969 to 1974, strengthening U.S.-U.K. relations during a critical period of the Cold War.
USC’s longest serving trustee is Walter’s daughter, Wallis Annenberg. Chairman of the board, president and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation since 2009, she has continued to advance a wide range of causes through innovative and creative philanthropy, including preservation and promotion of the arts, conservation, education, affordable housing, food insecurity, aging and longevity, access to health care, animal welfare, and social justice. Wallis received one of the nation’s highest honors — a Presidential Medal — the National Humanities Medal, from the White House last year.
“At this time, it makes perfect sense to support the School of Communication and Journalism in establishing a state-of-the-art multimedia hub for students and the community in our nation’s capital — where the debates and discussions are robust and key decisions impacting all of our lives are made,” Wallis Annenberg said. “The Annenberg Foundation has long worked to advance communications in our nation and around the globe, and this new multimedia production studio will serve as a vehicle for both.”
The Wallis Annenberg Studio will join the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service and the USC Shoah Foundation in anchoring the USC Capital Campus. Over the last two years, the USC Capital Campus has hosted hundreds of events, convening leading experts from academia, think tanks, foundations, and civic and business organizations to advance new ideas for solving important national and global challenges.