‘Abbott Elementary,’ ‘Reservation Dogs’ Among Shows Fêted at Sentinel Awards
Hollywood, Health & Society’s Sentinel Awards returned as an in-person gala honoring shows whose storylines tackled powerful topics. Hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, the awards recognized Reservation Dogs (FX), Abbott Elementary (ABC), Hacks (HBO), The White Lotus (HBO) Fraggle Rock (Apple TV) and Harlem (Amazon Prime) as well as six other series for accurately handling issues including racism, mental health and abortion.
Most TV, Films Ignore the Climate Crisis
Only 2.8% of some 37,000 TV and film scripts mention climate change or anything about it, according to a new study by our Media Impact Project sponsored by Good Energy. And in a survey of 2,000 Americans, few can identify a scripted TV show or film addressing the climate crisis. But people who are most alarmed about it are also more hopeful about solutions and want to see these stories in entertainment.

Why Immigrant Stories Matter
Our third study with Define American finds that the depiction of immigration on TV has shifted in both positive and negative ways since our 2020 collaboration. Our researchers combined a content analysis of immigrant characters across two seasons of TV with an impact study of the audiences of four shows with prominent immigrant characters. Define American's new report shows how nuanced portrayals in entertainment correlate with real-life shifts in audience attitudes, beliefs and behavior toward immigrant communities.

Can TV Journalism Combat Disinformation?
Disinformation threatens democracy. It corrupts public discourse, poisons civil society and normalizes hate and violence. To counter it, the 2023 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Television Journalism, administered by the Lear Center will honor the best practices of local and national news aimed at combating disinformation and defending democratic norms and institutions. Given biennially by USC Annenberg since 2001, the awards are open to TV stations, station groups, networks, news programs, news specials and individuals, including – for the first time – entry by students and emerging journalists.

Sports Journalists in Pop Culture
A special edition of The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC) Journal presents the first comprehensive study of the depiction of sports journalists in popular culture, including film, television and fiction. IJPC, a project of the Lear Center, is directed by USC Annenberg School of Journalism professor Joe Saltzman.