USC Center on Communication Leadership & Policy

Millenials "will cause seismic shifts in the nation's financial sector," writes senior fellow Morley Winograd in a new study he co-authored with Michael Hais.

Geneva Overholser's latest blog post about Jill Abramson, Dean Baquet, national-security reporting, and women in journalism:

Informal Diplomacy Can Bring Results, Geoffrey Cowan Explains at Central European University in Budapest

CCLP director Geoffrey Cowan gave a talk at Central European University in Budapest on May 21 to discuss the famous "shirt-sleeves" summit at Sunnylands between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting the diplomatic power of such informal meetings.

"Although the meeting between Obama and Jinping was not official, they did come to an important environmental agreement to phase out harmful hydrofluorocarbons (greenhouse gases)," reports CEU.

"There's something about the importance of this kind of informal meeting and maybe we don't do enough of it," said Cowan. "It's the 'gift of time' - to have the time and space to do things differently."

Recycled Cartons Create Genius Desks That Double As Backpacks For Needy Kids In India

"Learning luxuries aren't available for many children attending school in India. Even something as simple as a desk is a beneficial tool millions of Indian children don't have the privilege of using in the world's second largest country.

But a chair to sit in and a hard surface to write on isn't just about comfort. Resting on dirt floors with hunched backs for several hours each day leads to disadvantaged eyesight, bad posture and poor handwriting.

That's why the team at Aarambh, a New Bombay-based nonprofit servicing marginalized families in urban slum and rural communities, created the Help Desk.

As seen in the video uploaded to DDB Worldwide's YouTube channel, Help Desks are made from discarded cartons from corporate housing, retail outlets and recyclers. Crafters stenciled out and cut the desk's design from a pattern, which also conveniently folds up into a briefcase-like school bag the student can use to carry his or her belongings."

Some 'data journalism' out there is just 'datum journalism':

I tweeted this a few days ago:

"OK, I need to write this: I'm getting depressed because of the abysmal quality of many pieces in the new #dataJournalism orgs."

Perhaps I was exaggerating, but I'm seeing too much shoddy stuff in websites like Vox.com and FiveThirtyEight. They do publish interesting stories, but a very visible portion of their output is dubious.

A fascinating report on digital innovation (or lack thereof) in newsrooms:

http://www.goatmustbefed.com/

"Many U.S. newsrooms are not taking advantage of the emerging low-cost digital tools that enable journalists to report and present their work in innovative ways. Editors and producers cling to familiar methods and practices even when they know better, more engaging digital alternatives are available, often for free."

"Journalism awards and well-attended conferences create a sense that the adoption of data reporting and digital tools is broader than it really is."

CCLP director Geoffrey Cowan was recently honored with the 2014 Alumni Award from Choate Rosemary Hall. Congratulations, Geoff! "Geoff Cowan '60 is being honored for his distinguished career promoting the greater good through communications, including his influence in the fields of law and public policy, broadcasting and journalism, and the humanities and higher education."

Social Media Are Undervalued in Counterterrorism

"• The war in Syria is creating "a new generation of globally-committed terrorists, similar to what resulted from the influx of violent extremists to Afghanistan in the 1980s."

• Africa is home to increasingly significant terrorist activity, as exemplified by Nigeria-based Boko Haram.

• Social media are proving to be valuable tools for terrorist groups' internal communication and for reaching larger audiences around the world."

Rising Temperatures

1991-2012 average temperature compared with 1901-1960 average

Today in Vienna, our senior fellow Geneva Overholser moderated an event on Open Journalism hosted by the OSCE.

The event is the first in "a series of meetings among experts, policymakers and regulators touching on the practice and terminology of Open Journalism, legal issues, accountability and regulatory challenges."

“Open journalism is characterized by its interactive, participative and networked features, which allow for a diverse range of perspectives at different levels in the news production process.”

Dr. Tarlach McGonagle, senior researcher for the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam

“At present there is no legal framework and no international standards regulating open journalism and user-generated content (UGC).

Barbara Trionfi, Press Freedom Manager, International Press Institute

Beyond 'Screen Time:' What Minecraft Teaches Kids

"The best educational interventions are those that meet youth where they are and use the energy associated with that space to encourage learning.