Going beyond the plate to explore issues of community, identity and food justice.

The volume of questions about women’s participation in music has spiked over the past few years. As the Grammy Awards approach this month, a new study asks: Has being louder made things better?

The USC Annenberg Office of Communication and Marketing, led by Associate Dean for Communication and Marketing Emily Cavalcanti, has won four regional 2020 Awards of Excellence from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Manuel Castells, University Professor and Wallis Annenberg Chair in Communication Technology and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, has been appointed minister of universities for the newly formed government of Spain. He will oversee policymaking and funding for Spain’s 50 public universities.

Nichole Banducci was with her family when wildfire flames, fanned by Santa Ana winds, raced over the Santa Monica Mountains. As the deadly Woolsey Fire descended into Malibu in the early morning of Nov. 9, 2018, Banducci, her husband Brian, in-laws and three children prepared to evacuate. They loaded their dog, cat, rabbits and belongings into two cars, a van, a truck and their 1964 Shasta Oasis trailer, and headed out. Less than an hour later, flames ravaged Banducci’s Malibu Park neighborhood, destroying her home. The loss Banducci experienced with the Woolsey Fire not only challenged her physically and emotionally, but also served as a point of inspiration. Now, the wellness advocate and educator will debut a new online program in early 2020 called “Fortify Against Stress” that she developed to equip others with the tools they need to improve their well-being.

Ever since Amanda Brunak ’20 set foot on the USC campus, she’s made the most out of her time here. A public relations major, Brunak became the director of PR for The Buzz, a student-run TV program, as a sophomore. In Spring 2019, she participated in the Maymester program, visiting top media companies in New York City.

Interested in getting into broadcasting — either as an anchor or a producer? Making a podcast? Writing news stories? Creating immersive videos or multi-platform digital media? Check out what you can do in USC Annenberg’s Media Center. This cutting-edge production facility is housed in Wallis Annenberg Hall on USC’s campus. Open to journalism, communication and public relations students, as well as students across the USC campus. The first Thursday of each semester is an Open House from noon–5 p.m. Please join us on January 16, 2020.

Growing up in the post-revolutionary Iran of the early 1980s, Mandana Mellano wasn’t exposed to advertising, particularly Western advertising, until she and her family traveled outside their hometown of Tehran when she was six. Vacationing in Istanbul, she marveled at the “amazing world” of billboards and television spots. “I think the complexity of living in a society that is very much controlled had a lot to do with my wanting to study sociology and communication as a whole,” said Mellano, who graduated in 2001 with a master’s in communication management. “It created the spark.”