USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center

06/04/2026

The thin line between entertainment and politics continues to blur. In this BBC profile on reality TV star Spencer Pratt's LA mayoral campaign, Lear Center Director Marty Kaplan reflects on modern political campaigns and the competition for attention in an entertainment-driven media environment. Politics has been taken over by entertainment, he says, which could give Pratt an edge.

Link to the article in the comments.

06/02/2026

In accepting the Walter Cronkite Award, CBS News's Scott Pelley offered a powerful defense of journalism and its role in serving the public. Today, perhaps more than ever, his remarks are worth hearing.

05/29/2026

New Lear Center research examines how scripted entertainment portrays the “future of medicine,” including clinical trials, AI, stem cells, and emerging medical technologies.

The report combines interviews with health experts and TV creatives alongside large-scale analyses of English- and Spanish-language scripted entertainment.

Among the findings:
• Only 2.45% of scripts mentioned future-of-medicine themes
• Clinical trials were often portrayed through mistrust or harm
• Writers expressed strong interest in more nuanced medical storytelling

The findings point to both challenges and opportunities for entertainment creators, advocates, and researchers interested in public trust and health communication.

Link to the report in the comments.

05/28/2026

Stories about medicine can shape how audiences understand health, healthcare, and even their own medical decisions.

At this year’s ATX Television Festival, Hollywood, Health & Society, Director Kate Langrall Folb joins this conversation presented by The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health on the real-world impact of medical accuracy on TV.

The panel explores how medically grounded storytelling can increase awareness, build trust, and influence viewers’ relationships with the healthcare system.

📍 May 28, at 2pm

Also featuring:
Scott Wolf (Doc)
Amy Yasbeck (The John Ritter Foundation)
David Gould (Fire Country)
Moderated by Dr. George Arnaoutakis

ATX TV Festival and The John Ritter Foundation to present a conversation on the importance of medical accuracy on TV, exploring the real-life impact that medical series have on the viewer's relationship to the healthcare system and to their own personal health, including awareness, education, and pr...

05/22/2026

Monday at the Cannes Film Festival, Lear Center Managing Director Johanna Blakley joined panelists from World Bank Group and University of Pennsylvania for a discussion on the measurable impact of storytelling, hosted by The Impact Lounge

The conversation explored how storytelling can help audiences connect emotionally to complex issues, and why entertainment remains one of the most powerful tools for shaping culture and public understanding.

Thank you to our fellow panelists and everyone who joined the discussion.

05/18/2026

Managing Director Johanna Blakley joined a conversation at The Impact Lounge during Sundance 2026 on how research and evidence can help move impact investment in entertainment beyond intuition. She also shared insights from the USC Norman Lear Center’s latest research on HBO Max’s The Pitt and what evaluations of TV and film can reveal about real-world social outcomes.

The panel included Victor Hugo Orozco Olvera of the World Bank and Cecilia W’emedi of Women in Film, and was moderated by Felipe Estefan.

Watch the full conversation on our YouTube page (link in bio).

05/14/2026

The Lear Center is heading to Cannes! 🎬🏆🌴🎥

On Monday, May 18, Lear Center Managing Director Johanna Blakley will join panelists from the World Bank Group and University of Pennsylvania for Entertainment as Catalyst: How Storytelling Drives Measurable Social Impact, an event hosted by The Impact Lounge.

Drawing on global research spanning more than 200,000 films across 20+ countries, the panel will explore how storytelling can shape social norms, influence health outcomes, and drive scalable social impact.

More info in comments.

05/07/2026

Can entertainment companies stay “neutral” in today’s political climate?

In a new Status article on Disney, Jimmy Kimmel, and political pressure campaigns, Lear Center Director Marty Kaplan argues that the stakes have fundamentally changed: “Yes, it used to be that you didn’t want to alienate half your audience… Now, there’s more of a sense that the stakes are so high for democracy that not taking a stand is not acceptable.”

The story explores how media companies increasingly find themselves pulled into broader political and cultural battles, and the growing challenge of balancing brand protection, public trust, free expression, and consumer expectations.

Kaplan also notes that consumer-facing brands are especially vulnerable to today’s nonstop political and cultural storms.

Read the full article here (paywall): https://www.status.news/p/josh-damaro-disney-jimmy-kimmel-donald-trump

04/24/2026

Expert-informed narratives strengthen storytelling and raise standards industry-wide, says Kate Folb, Director of our Hollywood, Health & Society program:

“Because [The Pitt] is so incredibly accurate, other medical shows and even daytime soap operas have told us they feel like they really have to up their game."

Read the full article (link in the comments).

04/24/2026

If climate stories only show disaster…
do we start to believe nothing can change?

Director of Research Erica Rosenthal shares how storytelling can move audiences from fear to action.

Link in comments.