USC Annenberg News

New study to explore media diversity in Southern California

Sat, 19 May 2012 01:11:56 GMT

A project exploring diversity and accessibility of media within the greater Los Angeles area is underway at USC Annenberg. Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the study is using a national panel of experts to discover new approaches to measuring participation and diversity in communication and media.

Following up on the Federal Communications Commission report released last summer titled “The Information Needs of Communities,” which included extensive research conducted by a team of USC Annenberg scholars, the project will consider methodologies to measure and create public policy that recognize how emerging technologies, shifting markets and increasingly diverse communities affect access to local news and information.

“This project builds on the recommendations made in the earlier report regarding diversity in and of media,” said Carola Weil, USC Annenberg’s director of international and strategic partnerships. “We are combining scholarship and evidence-based research with real-world experiences and information, to provide a deeper understanding of diversity in a digital, distributed media environment, and consider how different communities use ethnic, local, mainstream and public media.” A summary report of the findings from a two-day meeting as well as contributions by individual experts on alternative approaches to the question of measuring participation in media writ large is expected to be released by the summer of 2012.

The study is one of 11 being conducted at leading universities, in an effort to take action on the FCC’s report, the most comprehensive look at media policy in a generation. Knight Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York are dedicating more than $800,000 to help implement the report’s recommendations, including projects to examine how tax law is affecting nonprofit media, to create a plan for state-specific C-Spans and to develop reliable metrics on media philanthropy.

“As America grows, diversity becomes ever more central,” said Eric Newton, Knight Foundation’s senior adviser to the president. “The great Bob Maynard put it this way: Our goal is to give all Americans front door access to the truth.”

USC Annenberg oversees several projects in its diverse, local community that provide information in the public interest. Some of the projects serving as models for investigation and replication are Metamorphosis, Alhambra Source, the Boyle Heights Beat, Intersections South L.A., Neon Tommy, and Mobile Voices/Voces Móviles.

“We take very seriously our role and responsibility as an innovator and pioneer in community-based journalism,” said USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III. “We are excited to play a role in giving greater voice to communities in shaping the future of news.”

USC Annenberg and LSE celebrate 10th anniversary of Global Communication degree partnership

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:07:09 GMT

By Jackson DeMos

Scholars from Los Angeles and London kicked off the Global Communication 10th Anniversary Celebration at USC Annenberg on May 17 by analyzing the roles global universities — and their students and alumni — should play in the world's development of higher education.

USC alumnus and keynote speaker Craig Calhoun (pictured, below right) said it is more important for students to be open to learning about other cultures than to know facts and figures about specific countries. Calhoun is director-designate at the London School of Economics and Political Science, which partners with USC Annenberg to offer a joint master’s degree program in Global Communication. The schools are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their partnership with a three-day conference that includes panels, speeches, new scholarships, and a gala dinner and dance (view the agenda).

"I think the single most important thing in global knowledge is this capacity to learn and the knowledge that we need to keep learning over and over again in all of our interactions if we are going to work together and solve these big problems," Calhoun said. "And I’m counting on (students and recent alumni) to do a better job than all the other people my age did."

Prior to Calhoun's keynote address, USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett, LSE Pro-Director Stuart Corbridge and UCLA Provost Scott Waugh joined moderator Dean Ernest J. Wilson III on an opening panel titled "What Does it Mean to be a Global University?"

Provost Garrett said she is excited about the growth of great universities all over the world.

"Why would we do anything other than welcome the opportunity to have more educated people asking difficult questions and learning how to answer them in sophisticated ways?" she asked. "I think that is fantastic."

She said increased competition from new global universities is beneficial to all institutions because it pushes them to work harder, recruit better faculty, and strive for the best students.

"I do think, though, that as this happens we can play a very positive role in the growth of these great universities," she said. "We have long traditions in both (the United States and England) of academic freedom, of the kinds of values of gender and other kinds of equality that are absolutely necessary for any university to be a great research university."

Provost Waugh agreed, adding that American and British universities can help develop higher education in other parts of the world.

"The fact is that most of these countries, especially China, are picking up the American idea or concept of higher education and trying to build it out of scratch and they’re doing a superb job at it. We’ve already exported the idea and they are really building on it."

However, he said global universities have a responsibility to help build educational infrastructure in places such as Southeast Asia and Africa.

Corbridge said over time there will be a major increase in the number of first-rate universities around the world.

"I'm an optimist about the long-run access to elite higher education," he said.

USC Annenberg and KQED’s The California Report produce in-depth “20something” series on lives of young Californians

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:09:41 GMT

By Gretchen Parker

USC Annenberg has teamed up with KQED’s statewide radio service, The California Report, to produce an in-depth series titled “20something” that explores the intimate spaces of young people’s lives. The series debuts today, with new episodes airing each week for at least seven weeks.

The series, which includes Web content produced in collaboration with KQED and USC Annenberg’s Neon Tommy, explores the lives of young people who come from unique backgrounds that cut across religion, ethnicity, nationality, geography, legal status and education level. The stories aim to reveal young Californians – and their goals and dreams – in their own words.

The series can be heard live online at 4:30 p.m. PST Fridays at kqed.org/listen. Web content can be found at http://www.californiareport.org/20something and www.neontommy.com. KQED’s The California Report airs on more than 30 public radio station across the state; in Los Angeles, it airs from 10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays on KPCC 89.3 FM; in the Bay Area, it airs at 4:30 p.m. Fridays on KQED 88.5 FM.

The reporting was conducted by eight graduate students in journalism professor Sandy Tolan’s advanced radio documentary class and edited by Tolan and Victoria Mauleón, associate senior producer of The California Report. Reporters are Nicole Banner, Jake de Grazia, Raquel Estupinan, Tara Kangarlou, Michele Malkasian, Arezou Rezvani, Megan Sweas, and Yasser Zhang.

"These young journalists spent many hours over four months profiling young people as their lives unfolded over time,” Tolan said. “This documentary access made possible intimate portraits that you don't hear every day."

Those profiled include a Nigerian-born global activist, a student veteran struggling to adjust, a woman working at a high school for formerly incarcerated youth, a Chinese-American real estate entrepreneur, an Iranian American confronting the image of her community in the Beverly Hills diaspora and a 23-year-old Honduran student at UCLA who is gay and seeking political asylum.

"We're proud to be partnering with USC Annenberg on the '20something' project," Mauleón said. "The efforts of Sandy Tolan's students allow KQED's The California Report to provide listeners around the state with a rare glimpse inside the lives of the 'Twentysomething' generation. These are important stories about people who may shape the future of our state. It's a series everyone should hear."

The California Report plans to expand the series beyond its seven parts and broadcast pieces throughout the year.

“The ‘20something’ series brings to light the experiences of young Californians whose stories seldom, if ever, reach beyond their own neighborhoods,” said Geneva Overholser, director of USC Annenberg's School of Journalism. “Much of what we hear is harrowing, much is hopeful; all of it is deeply moving. I'm so proud of our students' truly exceptional work and grateful to Sandy Tolan for his stewardship.”

For the students, the series gave them the invaluable opportunity to produce professional work for statewide public radio.

“They got the opportunity to really zero in on one person – and get to know not only the craft of radio but also how better to interview people and how to reflect their truth for a public audience,” Tolan said. “By doing that, they started to understand the individual threads and the fabric that make up our community.”

And students quickly found the stories of their peers, although told from a young point of view, could appeal to a much broader audience.

“It really touches on all generations,” Banner, who just earned her journalism master’s degree, said of the series. Her story profiles a 23-year-old Inglewood man, and his mother, who together are trying to cope with the trauma he’s experienced from the violence he has seen in his community.

“People will get a bit more insight into the psyche of the 20-something and realize we’re dealing with a lot of the problems older adults are going through,” Banner said. “We have struggles and are dealing with social issues like everyone else. And we do have real ideas and plans for the world.”

Congratulations to the Class of 2012!

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:04:36 GMT

By Gretchen Parker and Jeremy Rosenberg

As part of the University of Southern California's 129th Commencement Ceremonies, USC Annenberg celebrated the conferral of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees to 872 students on May 11. (View photos here.)

Dean Ernest J. Wilson III reminded graduates of how important their roles in the new, connected world of communication will be.

"All of you – using your training and education as a base – are prepared not to be just bystanders in the transition to a new digital economy, where we can shine light into the dark corners and where we can communicate more effectively with our neighbors here and around the world. We don’t want you to be observing from the sidelines. We want you to lead these changes."

School of Communication

At the School of Communication ceremony, former California First Lady, author and journalist Maria Shriver (pictured with Dean Wilson) delivered a moving speech from the perspective of a professional communicator – and a mom. Her daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger (B.A. Communication '12) was in the audience of more than 500 graduates.

“I’m pausing to be in awe of this moment, that I’m standing at my first child’s graduation from college,” she said to her daughter, seated in a crowd of robes and mortar boards. Her voice choked, but she continued: “Katherine, I’m in awe of you – where are you? I’m in awe of the woman you are, your grace and courage and strength. I’m so proud of all of you, and what you’ve done to get here.”

She won laughs as she recalled her own graduation from Georgetown University, when her friends were drinking and celebrating (with champagne under their robes) – but she was worried. It took her until October to find a job in TV news after graduating in May.

She gave graduates straightforward advice they might not have heard from professors, parents and friends. At a time when everyone they know is asking them, “What’s next? Do you have a job? Where will you live?” graduates should pause, consider what they want to do with their lives and make deliberate choices, Shriver said.

The “What are you going to do next?” question dogs us our entire lives, she said.

“Even today at my age, people come up to me all the time asking, ‘Maria, What are you doing? What’s your job? Are you going back into television? What are you doing?’ It’s like what we’re doing at this precise moment doesn’t even exist. Everyone is focused on the next thing,” Shriver said.

The pressure won’t stop with landing the first job, so try not to get caught up in everyone’s expectations and find what you want to do most, she said.

“Today, I have one small wish for you. Before you go out and press that fast-forward button, I’m hoping – I’m praying – that you’ll have the courage to first press the pause button.”

By pausing, graduates will have a chance to reflect and move into their careers with purpose, Shriver said. USC Annenberg graduates have the opportunity to affect communication positively, and they should take advantage of it.

“You have the power, each and every one of you, to change the way we as a nation speak to one another – the way we write, the way we use our words. I truly believe you can change our national discourse for the better. You have the chance to change the way we talk to one other, what we read in newspapers and on the web and in magazines. You can help us change the channel. I hope each and every one of you dare to bring change to our community by changing the way we communicate.”

Rather than using “criticism and fault-finding,” graduates should work to change communication for the better. “Change it from nay-saying and name-calling to acceptance and appreciation. Change it from screaming to speaking… from dissembling and dishonesty to openness and explanation.”

“Show us the way, Annenberg graduates. Take us out to what I’ve been calling, ‘the open field.’ Go beyond, to what can only be imagined. I know you can do it, because a communications degree means nothing today unless you take it beyond where we are and into the unknown. And in order to do that, you’re going to have to learn how to listen and how to pause.”

Even during their work lives, which will be hectic, it will be important to take a breath and reflect on communicating inwardly as well as outwardly, Shriver said.

“Take the time to find out what’s important to you. Find out what you love, what’s real and true to you, so that it can infuse and inform your work and make it your own,” she said.

She was interrupted with applause when she cautioned grads to verify information before disseminating it.

“It’s up to you to decide if you want to pass on garbage, or if you want to check the facts,” Shriver said. “Pause before you hit the send button and forward a picture that could ruin somebody’s life. Pause before you write something nasty on somebody’s wall because you think it’s funny. Believe me, it isn’t.”

Shriver also won loud, supportive applause with this line: “Pause before forwarding the untrue and inflammatory tidbit that makes it so difficult for would-be public servants to serve, and for their families to exist in the public arena.”

Communication has so much power to do good, Shriver said. And with that power comes responsibility.

“So remember to pause and reflect – before you sign on with someone or some organization whose work you do not admire and don’t respect and you can’t stand up for. Who you work for is as important as what you do,” she said.

She urged graduates also to be thankful for the journey that brought them here – and to thank the people who made it possible. And she encouraged them to do that with pen and paper (and mentioned she’s never hired anyone who didn’t send a hand-written thank-you note after an interview).

The audience also appreciated this advice: “While you’re pausing, I hope you’ll do something refreshingly different and talk to your mother, your father or someone you care deeply about. Not text them – but actually talk to them with your mouth.”

Finally, Shriver left the group with the inspirational message to be courageous as they make their way.

“Wherever you go in live, however fast you’re going, remember this: When you’re in doubt, pause. Take a moment look at all of your options, check your intention, have a conversation with your heart. And then always take the high road.

“Fight to make a difference in this world. Fight for good. Fight for fairness. Fight on.”

School of Journalism

At the School of Journalism ceremony, ABC News anchor Christiane Amanpour, who also delivered the address for the USC main commencement ceremony, told the crowd of more than 300 journalism and public relations graduates: “I feel very at home here with all of you journalists.”

She praised graduates ’ enthusiasm and said they were right to be “boisterous and curious and eager to set off on adventure.”

Citing her own experiences in Bosnia, Rwanda and elsewhere, Amanpour beseeched the audience to never confuse objectivity with neutrality, or hard-sought fact with the chatter of under-informed opinion.

She urged humility and stressed responsibility among all of the graduates – public relations and journalism alike – as they rise to positions of power.

Amanpour also made sure the crowd knew that her profession has a bright future. “There is a great, great need for wonderful journalists who have been trained at a great school. I am massively hopeful. There are jobs – some of them may be less traditional than before,” she said, adding: “I want you to go out there with a great sense of optimism and can-do.”

The importance of journalism as a career can’t be overstated, she said. “You actually cannot have a robust and healthy democracy without a healthy and robust journalism profession.”

Amanpour rallied the students by passing along lessons and observations gained during her highly acclaimed career.

“I learned,” Amanpour said, “that this is the most noble profession known to humankind.”

Students live tweet Milken Institute Global Conference

Mon, 07 May 2012 20:11:58 GMT

By Jeremy Rosenberg

Six M.A. in Strategic Public Relations students played key roles in summarizing, analyzing and distributing comprehensive real-time social media content during the 2012 Milken Institute Global Conference.

The students – variously dubbed "Annenberg Ambassadors" and the "Annenberg Tweetforce" – sent out thousands of 140-characters-or-less dispatches on behalf of the Global Conference. The annual event, held this year April 30-May 2, took place at the Beverly Hilton hotel and was organized by the Milken Institute, a Santa Monica-based think tank. View photos here.

"The Annenberg students were incredible performers at the Milken Institute Global Conference," said Conrad Kiechel, the Milken Institute's director of communications. "Their hard work, engagement and creativity enabled us to tweet from all 130 panels during the three days."

The Global Conference brought together hundreds of world-renowned panelists and moderators from fields such as business, finance, energy, education, health, technology, public policy and philanthropy along with 3,000 or so audience members.

"I am incredibly amazed at the level of discussions I was part of and extremely honored to have been part of this experience," said Stephanie Lavayen, a Strategic Public Relations master's candidate scheduled to receive her degree this week.

Lavayen tweeted sessions regarding emerging global markets and also the future of the U.S. economy. She said she found tweeting the remarks of former President Bill Clinton to be particularly memorable. "The Global Conference not only elevated my awareness and understanding of the many complex issues facing our nation and the world," Lavayen said, "but left me with the desire to continue growing my knowledge about world issues and contemplating solutions."

Added Lavayen: "It was one of the most memorable experiences I had during my time at USC and I know I will remember it the rest of my life."

The opportunity for Lavayen and fellow Trojans Niku Ward, Jacques Dubois, Lauren Gelbach, Kendall Klinger and Brenna Clairr O'Tierney to participate in the Global Conference stemmed from a lunchtime conversation held in early March between Kiechel and Jerry Swerling, a USC Annenberg professor and director of the school's Public Relations Studies program.

Two other USC Annenberg students, Trevor Steele and Cara Lasala, were also involved in live-tweeting the conference. Steele was already involved with the Milken Institute and Lasala with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, a related organization located in the same building.

"I mentioned that, though we post videos of every panel at the Global Conference, I wanted to find ways to further unlock the incredible content," Kiechel said.

"The thought that immediately crossed my mind," Swerling said, "was, we should be able to solve that problem." So, a partnership was sealed and just seven weeks later, after divvying up sessions based on their respective areas of interest and experience, the Annenberg students were sitting and working in the same room as an abundance of CEOs, cabinet members, investors and other national and international movers-and-shakers. [A complete speakers list is here.]

"They were able to hear from some of the best minds in the world about the latest thinking in those areas of interest," Swerling said of the students. "On top of that, their tweeting put them squarely at the center of one of the hottest phenomenon in communication: the sharing of high-value information."

Public relations professor Matthew Le Veque joined the students and Swerling at the Global Conference. Le Veque at times sat next to the students at panels while he monitored their Twitter streams via his iPad.

"Self-publishing of real time content via social media platforms such as Twitter are part of the skill set used by modern public relations professionals," Le Veque said. "For students to move from the classroom environment to the real world environment and apply what they have learned is an invaluable part of their education process."

First-year Strategic Public Relations master's candidate O'Tierney hales from Anchorage, Alaska and maintains a longtime interest in energy issues. She's already spent a summer doing PR work for Shell Oil as well as worked on an account for a biofuels enterprise.

"They gave us a ton of responsibility and freedom, which I really appreciated," O'Tierney said of both the Milken Institute staff and the USC faculty. "Social media can go viral, so they took a big risk on us. I believe it paid off."

O'Tierney said she spent the three days of the Global Conference waking up at 4:45 a.m. and returning home at 8:00p.m. She attended Tweetforce morning planning sessions and evening debriefings – as well as 12 Global Conference sessions. She tweeted some 700 dispatches via the handle, @migcenergy.

Kiechel reported that the Institute sent out 5,379 tweets during the Global Conference; he estimated that more than 2/3 of those came from the Annenberg Tweetforce.

Some of O'Tierney and her fellow Ambassadors' tweets were used by the Huffington Post as part that site's Global Conference coverage. Others were re-tweeted across the Twittersphere.

Gelbach, a first-year Strategic Public Relations master's candidate from Warrensburg, Missouri, reported that the favorite tweet she sent out during the confab was: "@mikko: 500 of the Fortune 500 companies are hacked right now." She composed that tweet during the panel session, "Cybersecurity: When Hackers Attack."

Said Gelbach: "I liked how attention-grabbing it was and how it emphasized the need for companies to be proactive in their security measures."

O'Tierney said she was tweeting so much, and at such pace – 59 times during the one-hour session, "Economic Development: Heating Up the Arctic" – that at one point Twitter temporary locked her out, figuring her to be a possible spammer.

Undeterred, the resourceful grad student composed her tweets in a word document. Once social media access was restored, she then sent out the backlog. This, O'Tierney said, happened to other members of the Tweetforce as well. Chalk up another, albeit unanticipated, learning opportunity.

"I feel like I have a better handle – no pun intended – on Twitter now," O'Tierney said. Laughing, she added, "And writing in 140 characters is now something I dream about."

Read the Annenberg students' tweets via the Milken Institute Global Conference's sub-handles: @migcind, @migcind2; @migchealth; @migcfinance; @migcfinance2; @migcmedia; @migcenergy; @migcregions; and @migcregions2.

Photos
Strategic Public Relations

Kun’s “Trouble In Paradise” relates LA music history through story of social and political turmoil

Wed, 02 May 2012 23:03:59 GMT

Communication and journalism professor Josh Kun has curated with The Grammy Museum the first large-scale exhibit on Los Angeles music by an LA museum. “Trouble In Paradise: Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975” has been unveiled in conjunction with the Getty initiative Pacific Standard Time.

The exhibit, which will be open until June 3, is the culmination of nearly a year of work by Kun to research and collect artifacts and ephemera. He had the help of USC Annenberg students in his Fall 2011 class COMM 400: Music and Los Angeles, which was dedicated to the topics of the exhibit.

The showcase features iconic images, album art, handbills, concert posters, newsreels, rare filmed interviews clips of artists and a digital jukebox loaded with nearly 100 songs from the period. There is an entire room dedicated to the impact of cars, music and radio, as well as art by Ed Ruscha, Henry Diltz, and Robert Landau.

“Trouble in Paradise” focuses on the tensions between the myths of Southern California as a sunny paradise and the realities of social struggle here post-World War II.

“We’re focusing on the broken myths and promises of LA in those years,” Kun said. “We focus on things like the Watts riots, the Sunset Strip riots and the Chicano civil rights movement – key cultural and political upheavals.”

So, while The Beach Boys were part of LA’s music in that period, Kun’s goal is to educate museum-goers about the layers of culture, politics and popular art going on beyond “Surfin’ USA.”

“My hope is that people get a very different understanding of post-World War II LA through its music. That they come away understanding the multilayered aspects of life in Los Angeles in that period,” Kun said. “I hope they come out thinking not only of the Beach Boys but understanding that at the very same time they were putting out records, so were leading African-American artists and Latino artists. These were worlds happening at exactly the same time.”

Genres of music highlighted in the exhibit include surf rock, jazz, R&B, Laurel Canyon folk rock, the Sunset Strip rock scene and the East L.A. Chicano sound, all of which helped shape the most diverse and influential music scenes in America.

See coverage of the exhibit by The Associated Press here
And KPCC’s story here
Find details about the exhibit here

Universal Pictures partners with PR class to engage fans in centennial celebration

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:59:59 GMT

Universal Pictures partnered with USC Annenberg to develop ideas to celebrate the Studio’s 100th anniversary.

Now, one of the USC students’ ideas is taking off on April 30 with the first-ever inflight film festival to commemorate the Studio’s legacy and 100 years in moviemaking. Universal Pictures is teaming up with American Airlines to welcome customers onboard Flight 1 and Flight 22 with this special in-air transcontinental film festival featuring two of Universal’s beloved films, Field of Dreams and Seabiscuit.

To prepare the students for the task of creating potential activities for the Studio’s 100th anniversary, senior executives from Universal Pictures presented professor Matthew Le Veque’s graduate class at USC Annenberg with the centennial’s overarching themes and objectives. The 17 students from Le Veque’s Social, Digital and Mass Media Strategies class were then asked to brainstorm and create campaign ideas in the spirit of Universal’s fans.

“The partnership with USC was a great way for us to create an initiative that was authentic and appealed to our fans,” said Rick Finkelstein, Universal Pictures Vice Chairman and COO. “We’re excited to share Universal’s special day with select American Airlines customers. This is a fun and interesting way for us to engage and bring fans together, while celebrating our anniversary. We’re grateful to the students at USC and American Airlines for helping us highlight our 100 years in moviemaking with this unique opportunity and partnership.”

As a toast to Universal’s special day, customers onboard select American Airlines flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be invited to sit back and enjoy the films. Gift bags will be distributed at the gates of participating flights prior to departure, giving customers a coupon for a free 15-minute inflight internet session, headphones and classic movie candy.

Fans will have a chance to be one of 10 winners, randomly selected from qualifying tweets. Winners will receive an in-air Universal Centennial Blu-ray prize pack. Anyone can join in for a chance to win by using the hashtag #Universal100 in their tweets from April 30 through May 1.

“The Universal Studios 100th Anniversary partnership, in which our students were challenged to come up with creative strategies and tactics for an extraordinary event, is a perfect example of the real world opportunities we seek for our USC Annenberg students,” said Jerry Swerling, director of the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center at USC Annenberg. “We are thrilled that Universal Pictures is using one of our students’ ideas and are grateful for this opportunity.”

This first-ever in-air film festival is just one of the many activities the Studio has planned during its yearlong celebration. Initiatives like this are designed to bring special memories back to longtime movie lovers and fans, and to engage new audiences with Universal’s extraordinary library of films. For more information regarding Universal’s Centennial year, visit http://Universal100th.com.

Real-Time Diplomacy: Politics and Power in the Social Media Era

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:51:55 GMT

USC Center on Public Diplomacy Director Philip Seib’s new book, Real-Time Diplomacy: Politics and Power in the Social Media Era (Palgrave Macmillan), offers insights into one of the most important challenges of the 21st century: How can policymakers shift away from being mere spectators and address the political realities of a social-media-oriented society?

Seib (pictured, left) considers this question in the context of the events in the Arab world that began in 2011.

“The 2011 uprisings in the Middle East proved that democracy retains its appeal, even to people who have long lived without it,” Seib said. “They also illustrated how, in a high-speed, media-centric world, conventional diplomacy has become an anachronism. Not only do events move quickly, but so too does public reaction to those events. The cushion of time that enabled policymakers to judiciously gather information and weigh alternatives is gone.”

Real-Time Diplomacy analyzes the essential, but often unhappy, marriage between diplomacy and new media, evaluating media's reach and influence, and determining how policy makers might take advantage of media's real-time capabilities rather than being driven by them.

In Real-Time Diplomacy, Seib asks a vital question: How can any policymaker keep afloat in the flood of information coming from a vast number of sources?

And, as the events of 2011 illustrate, power can emanate from the public, and so developing and maintaining ties with publics around the world is an essential element of foreign policy.

Seib is a professor at USC Annenberg and is director of USC's Center on Public Diplomacy. He is the author and editor of many books, including Headline Diplomacy, The Global Journalist, Beyond the Front Lines, The Al Jazeera Effect, and Toward a New Public Diplomacy.

Real-Time Diplomacy: Politics and Power in the Social Media Era