MEDIA IMPACT PROJECT
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  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT US
    • WHAT WE DO
    • OUR TEAM
    • OUR PARTNERS
  • PROJECTS
    • CULTURAL AUDITS >
      • What is a cultural audit?
      • Charitable Giving
      • Criminal Justice
      • Health Equity
      • Poverty Narratives
    • ENTERTAINMENT >
      • Climate & Sustainability
      • Domestic Workers
      • Gun Safety
      • Ideology & Entertainment
      • Immigration
    • DOCUMENTARY FILM >
      • America Divided
      • Food, Inc.
      • The Social Dilemma
      • Waiting for Superman
    • INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH >
      • Africa Narrative
      • Film & TV Diplomacy
    • JOURNALISM >
      • Case Studies
      • Impact Journalism
      • Science Journalism
      • Virtual Reality
    • SCIENCE & EVALUATION OF MEDIA IMPACT >
      • Narrative Change Strategy
      • Pop Culture for Social Change
      • Resources
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • PRESS & EVENTS
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT

pROVING THAT
MEDIA MATTERS

Learn More
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.  

USC Lear Center

Our Latest News

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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.
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Evidence for Audience Impact

Funders interested in narrative change often ask variations of the question: How do we really know what strategies are working? Our latest report summarizes 20 years of evidence for the audience impact of entertainment with support from the California Health Care Foundation.

Read the report.

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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

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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.


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Data for Good!

We are partnering with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health to study how fat representation in film and TV -- particularly in medical dramas -- have impacted society’s perspectives and discussion of fat people. The study is funded by the Nielsen Foundation's Data for Good program.

Read more.

PRESS: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Extrapolations Impact on Viewers

Extrapolations is Apple TV+'s  new groundbreaking anthology series about the life-altering choices that must be made in a changing climate. In partnership with Rare and Good Energy, we will measure the impact of this important series in the first quantitative study of a major scripted climate storyline in nearly two decades.

Stay tuned!

Cultural Audits
Cultural Audits
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Entertainment & Ideology
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International Research
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Journalism
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Documentary Film
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Science/Evaluation of Media Impact
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Hollywood, Health & Society Research (outside link)

Our Blog

April 27, 2022
The Rise of Sopranos Criminology
By Shawn Van Valkenburgh
The Sopranos is enjoying a renaissance as it is discovered by younger audiences. Why this series, compared to others like Mad Men?

September 20, 2021
Utah senator, Paris Hilton use reporter Jessica Miller’s work to change state’s troubled-teen industry
By Anjanette Delgado
The strory behind a new law involves a journalist, two lawmakers in two states, a celebrity influencer, an activist group and an impact producer all working on the same issue.

March 16, 2021
Narratives as a tool: shifting mindsets at scale
By The Behavioral Insights Team
We partnered with BIT to study narratives of poverty, prosperity and opportunity. Our research found that narratives can drive and support meaningful, equitable change. 

Read More Posts
The Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project researches how entertainment and news influence our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and actions. We work with researchers, the film and TV industry, nonprofits, and news organizations, and share our research with the public. We are part of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.