CALIFORNIA BRIEFING
What’s in a name change?
A lot of significance if it involves bringing attention to the study of journalism, USC leaders said at a campus ceremony Wednesday.
So with trumpets blaring and a new banner unfurled, the USC Annenberg School for Communication formally became the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Journalism courses in print and other media have long been taught at the 2,000-student school, along with classes in media studies, public relations and communication.
The expanded name will underline that tradition and give a boost to journalism at a time when the news industry faces financial and technological challenges, according to the school’s dean, Ernest J. Wilson III.
USC wants to “publicly support the future of the profession,” he said.
USC President Steven B. Sample attended the ceremony, along with philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, whose family and family foundation have been major donors to the school.
“Journalism will no longer be the little stepchild. It’s right up there with communication,” said Annenberg, who had advocated the name change
-- Larry Gordon
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