The same people that fought for the 1994 passage of California's three-strikes law are leading a campaign to reform the legislation, writes Joe Domanick, journalism professor and senior fellow at USC Annenberg's Institute for Justice and Journalism, in a Sept. 21 Los Angeles Times Magazine cover story. The law, called "the toughest" in the nation by Newsweek , requires a minimum 25-year sentence for criminals convicted of three felonies. But high-profile critics of the law, including the grandfather of Polly Klaus, claim the law imprisons thousands for petty crimes. Read the article»

USC Annenberg and the Armory Center for the Arts exhibit the work of photographer Howard Buffett from September 20 to December 16. "Tapestry of Life" is a collection of Buffett's photographs depicting human hardship around the world. "In these remarkable and haunting pictures . . . you will see the faces of despair and fear, but you will also see great beauty framed by determination and optimism," writes journalist Tom Brokaw of the collection. Full story» Visit Buffett Images Web site»

Broadcasters’ Public Files should be made truly public as well as truly accessible, according to a proposal from the USC Annenberg Local News Initiative to the Federal Communications Commission. In a filing at the FCC, USC Annenberg's Local News Initiative proposed that broadcasters, who have long been required by law to keep Public Files, should make them truly public by placing them on the Internet. "The FCC has long required that this information be made public," said Adam Clayton Powell III (pictured), visiting professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the director of research of the USC Annenberg Local News Initiative. "This merely brings broadcasting into the 21st century, mirroring the requirements faced by every major corporation regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Journalism professor Judy Muller and her broadcast team were honored by the Asian American Journalists Association for their outstanding television coverage of Asian American issues. The award, given during the UNITY 2004 Convention held Aug. 4-8 in Washington, D.C., honored Muller for her work as ABC News' "Nightline" correspondent for "Casualties of War." Visit the AAJA Web site » Muller's ABC bio »

USC Annenberg students and alumni are among the top athletes representing the United States and other nations at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Alumna Lisa Leslie (pictured) led the USA to its third consecutive gold medal in women's basketball. Blythe Hartley ( more ), a junior Communication major, won the bronze medal for Canada in the Women's Synchronized 10m Diving competition. Swim team co-captain Lindsay Benko (Class of 1999) earned a silver medal as a member of the Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay team. Other Annenberg Olympians include volleyball player Donald Suxho (Class of 2000) and senior Sofia Konoukh , a member of the Russian women’s water polo team.

Veteran journalist Michelle Levander has been tapped to direct a new fellowship program for medical, health care and health care justice reporting. The USC Annenberg/California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships , for print, broadcast and Internet journalists in California, focuses on the craft and the content of health care journalism.

Manuel Castells , holder of the Wallis Annenberg Chair in Communication Technology and Society, has received the Ithiel de Sola Pool Award from the American Political Science Association . The award, presented only once every three years, honors "a scholar exploring the implications of research on issues of politics in a global society." Previous recipients include Robert Putnam from Harvard University and Kathleen Hall Jamieson from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School. Castells received the award and delivered an address at the annual convention of the APSA in Chicago on Sept. 2. More about the award»

Robert Niles, the award-winning online journalist and editor, has been named the new editor of USC Annenberg’s Online Journalism Review. Niles most recently served as senior web producer and staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, where he was a regular contributor to the paper’s Tech Times and Calendar sections. Previously, he served as executive producer of the Rocky Mountain News Web site. He has also worked for the Omaha World Herald and the Bloomington (IN) Herald Times. "Robert Niles is one of those very innovative journalists who have moved to the horizons of new media, and even beyond, to create a journalism for the 21st century," says Michael Parks, the former Los Angeles Times editor who now directs USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism.