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The MEDIA IMPACT PROJECT is the research and evaluation arm of The Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. We are a hub for collecting, developing and sharing approaches for measuring the impact of media in order to better understand the role that media plays in changing knowledge, attitudes and behavior among individuals and communities.
We study stories -- in film, TV, documentaries, games, art and news -- and their impact on audiences. And we help media makers, cultural change organizations and foundations understand audiences and how to engage them. |
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Asian Representation in Streaming
Our study with Gold House dives into depictions of Asian characters in scripted streaming. There is progress in casting Asian actors beyond tokenized characters, but these roles emphasize proximity to whiteness over authentic cultural specificity.
Read the report. |
End-of-Life Issues Lacking on TV
We collaborated with End Well to study end-of-life depictions on television. Through a character and keyword analysis, we found that scripted TV skews heavily toward violent death, with over 80% of television deaths caused by violence.
Read the study. |
Shifting Narrative Change into Gear
Funders interested in narrative change often ask variations of the question: How do we really know what strategies are working? Our latest report distills 25 best practices that make narrative change efforts more likely to be successful.
Read the report. |
Evaluating NBCU Creative Lab
Our research team is conducting an evaluation of NBCUniversal’s Creative Impact Lab, an innovative social impact program helping creatives from under-resourced communities break into the industry.
Read more. |
Trigger Warning: Guide for Creatives
Trigger Warning: Gun Guidelines for the Media is a new resource guide created by Hollywood, Health & Society to better understand the presence of gun use in the entertainment industry. The guide also includes data from our Shooting Straight study, among many others.
Read the guide. PRESS: Hollywood Reporter | Variety | Deadline Hollywood | Reuters | USC |
Forbes' List of Climate Leaders
Our Media Impact Project Research Director Erica Rosenthal, and Hollywood, Health & Society Director Kate Folb are both on Forbes’ list of 68 Climate Leaders Changing the FIlm and TV Industry!
Check out the work we do in climate/sustainability here. |
