The pandemic gave birth to a new form of creativity — restricted by quarantine, born of loneliness, and inspired by fear. We saw it in ourselves, our friends and our artists.
No one captured the zeitgeist of our year-long isolation better than Bo Burnham with his Netflix special, “Inside.” For a millennial who has been open about his mental health problems, the pandemic provided the...
The Annenberg Center for Collaborative Communication (ANNCCC) enables scholars to think and work across institutional, geographic and disciplinary divides. Jointly established by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication , the center’s faculty and doctoral students seek to... Read more
Faculty Lead
Christopher Holmes Smith (founding faculty lead), 2014–2021Research Assistants
Lindsey Hart , Fall 2014 Alissa Arnold , Fall 2014 Daisy Ramirez , 2015 Claudia Klett , 2016–2018Co-Directors
Lauren Bickford (founding co-director), 2016–2018 Celestine Yeh (founding co-director), 2016–2018 Briana Grubb , 2018–2019 Andie Wright 2018–2019... Read moreAt the Health Equity and Media Collaborative , we conduct community-engaged research, leveraging communication science, new media and technology to address pernicious public health challenges. We amplify the voices, expertise and innovation of African American, Latino/a and other youth of color to address health disparities and fight for health equity... Read more
In light of the recent conversations around racism experienced by Black members of the USC community, spearheaded by the @blackatusc Instagram account and reinforced by the country’s Black Lives Matter movement, our organization stands as an active proponent of the movement to create a more equitable community at USC. It... Read more
With the social upheaval in 2020, the importance of brand purpose has never been greater. Purpose is a powerful tool that helps companies build deep consumer connections.
In a study conducted by Accenture, 62 percent of consumers stated their purchasing decisions are driven by a company's authenticity. Consumers have access to reliable information on how companies operate, produce...
A global health and economic concern is, ironically, a catalyst for humor and entertainment, reminding brands that deigning social media advents as irreverent or not offering messages in an entertaining way means losing a strategic tactic to stay relevant.
Social media has evolved from a conduit to peers into a platform for entertainment, and the predilection for funny or entertaining...
The first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was identified on January 20, 2020. Six weeks later, it was reclassified as a pandemic and the first statewide stay-at-home orders were issued in California on March 18. Since then, the U.S. has become deeply mired in a public health and economic crisis. Due to the magnitude of the problem, any effective solution requires collaboration across multiple...