At USC Annenberg, we don't just cover the news, we make it. "Quoted: USC Annenberg in the News" gathers a selection of the week's news stories featuring and written by Annenberg's leaders, faculty, staff and others.
TMZ Rice Video Puts Gossip Site In Front Again on Sports
Professor Dan Durbin was quoted in a Bloomberg story about gossip site TMZ releasing the violent video footage of football player Ray Rice abusing his fiancée.
The National Football League claimed they had not seen the video prior to TMZ’s leak, but Durbin argued that “nobody wanted to look at the video from the interior of the elevator until TMZ made them look at it.”
The article pointed out that TMZ’s growing habit of beating traditional media to breaking stories seems to reflect a change in the rules of the news cycle, and Durbin agreed.
“You can no longer look at them as some sort of cockroach at the side of the street that you can step on outside your house. They are controlling the house,” said Durbin.
A political junkie takes helm at 'Meet the Press'
USA Today quoted Annenberg Professor Judy Muller in a story on new ‘Meet the Press’ host Chuck Todd.
Muller said that the show needs to undergo a transformation of sorts. Comparing it to John Stewart and John Oliver, she said Todd and the show should do deeper research and work toward “making the comfortable uncomfortable.”
“What [Todd] brings to the table is savvy political insider knowledge, but he's got to blow up the table,” Muller said. “This show, like other Sunday shows, is like watching a dinosaur race.”
Meet the Real-Life McDreamy: The Doctor Behind 'Grey's Anatomy'
The Hollywood Reporter recently published a story from Steven Giannotta, a neurosurgeon at USC’s Keck Medical Center and the inspiration for Dr. Derek Shepherd – or “McDreamy” – on the ABC medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.”
He credits Annenberg’s Hollywood, Health & Society program with his connection to the show. The program allows Hollywood writers and producers to get in touch with medical experts who can provide information for health-related storylines. “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Shonda Rhimes used the program to connect with Giannotta because she was “eager to probe the realities of life as a neurosurgeon and the pressures of the hospital operating room.”
Heard of Bethany Mota? She's one of ABC's newest stars
Karen North, director of the Digital Social Media program, was quoted by Marketplace in a story about Bethany Mota, a teenage YouTube star who will compete on the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars.”
While Mota is unknown to a lot of people, North attributes the casting choice to the type of demographic the show wants to attract.
“Right now everybody’s looking to integrate stars from YouTube into traditional television, and the primary reason is to bring in a younger audience,” North said.
Professor Marty Kaplan wrote an article for Jewish Journal about how brands such as Amazon, Uber, Yelp and Hillary Clinton have become difficult to support based on economic and political decisions.
Kaplan cited Amazon’s price war with publisher Hachette and questioned “why [he’s] in a relationship with a bully.”
Additionally, Hillary Clinton’s recent review of Henry Kissinger’s book, “World Order,” in which she calls him a “friend” and “vouches for his ‘astute observations,’” reminded Kaplan that “she is, after all, a politician.”
He concluded that “if recent years have taught us anything, it’s that loving any brand is a losing proposition, in politics no less than in commerce.”
“Unfortunately, the business that brands are in is persuading us to confuse their power with our love,” Kaplan added.
In Obama Speech, Echoes of the Lyndon Johnson Era
In an article for Defense One, Professor Philip Seib said that President Obama's speech on Wednesday was reminiscent of the Lyndon Johnson era.
From the "false promise of air power," to “Iraqization" -- which Seib suggested will be a direct descendant of “Vietnamization" -- Seib said the speech lacked necessary arguments, such as having "Arabs do more to clean up their own mess for a change."
"The speech was nicely written, if you care about presidential syntax," Seib said. "But it reflected no sense of history. We have been down this path before."
