International Education Conference Spotlights Globalization.

With the start of the new millennium just months away, Los Angeles has clearly emerged as a global capital. It has become known, worldwide, as a leader in science and technology, and a vibrant center of the world's information, communication and entertainment industries.

Recognizing this, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, recently hosted, along with the London School of Economics and Political Science, an international conference to explore the globalization of media, culture and economy.

The program, "Managing The Global," brought together faculty from both schools, who are developing a joint degree program in global media and communications, as well as others who discussed issues such as the global convergence within the communications industries, emergence of a new kind of global information economics, the continued expansion of Hollywood's role in global entertainment and other issues.

"New communications technologies are reshaping our social, economic and cultural lives," said William Dutton, Associate Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. "Today's leaders must be well versed in the processes for creating, accessing and delivering communications services."

"They also must-understand how communication relates to corporate and organizational strategies, as well as the management and economics of the media," said Dutton, author of Society on the Line: Information Politics in the Digital Age.

The graduate program in Communication Management and Communication at Annenberg is designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully understand the consequences and management of this globalization of information, technology and culture.

The Masters of Arts program offers areas of concentration in topics such as "Managing Global Communications," "Marketing Communication," and "Strategic and Corporate Communication Management."

"For those fascinated by the communication revolution, The Annenberg School for Communication offers a unique experience," Dutton said. "We're situated in the heart of the communication capital and, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, the new 'multimedia Mecca of the world'."

Los Angeles provides a unique and unparalleled laboratory in which to study and conduct research, he noted, and the Annenberg School has developed a rich array of teaching and research opportunities.

A hallmark of these programs is the close intermingling of professional practice, instruction and research which prepares managers and professionals for opportunities in public, corporate and not-for-profit organizations, as well as for key roles in the burgeoning multimedia and entertainment industries.

Information service providers, journalists, account executives, multimedia and telecommunications consultants, audience research specialists, training directors -- and anyone in executive and managerial positions who must manage communications resources for an organization or industry -- can help advance their careers through education they receive at Annenberg,

The Annenberg School for Communication was founded in the early 1970s with a gift from Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg. Its strategic location in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California places it at the center of much of the nation's and, indeed, the world's media activity and promotes a dynamic synergy created by multidisciplinary approaches to the study of communication. In 1994, two other units - - Communication Arts & Sciences and Journalism-- merged with the School, expanding and strengthening its faculty and programs.

The Annenberg School is now home to two academic units offering degree programs in Communication and Journalism. It supports instruction and research in journalism and media and in the social science, humanistic, and technological aspects of communication more generally -- all vital aspects of today's global society.

Prestigious faculty, whose areas of expertise focus on the continuing revolution in today's information, communication, and entertainment media, prepare students to take leadership roles locally, nationally and internationally in this multifaceted field. Programs of study integrate theoretical and applied elements -- combining academic research with practical, professional application -- and students explore areas of interest both broadly and in depth.

Students in both the Communication and Journalism School receive hands-on experience with a wide range of communication technologies. Resources include the Annenberg Resource Center, which contains research and instructional materials in various formats; the Annenberg Online Program; the CommLab; the Annenberg TV Newsroom; a communication research laboratory; and a professionally staffed broadcast and communication studio with state-of-the-art editing equipment.

The school serves as a center for discussion among scholars and professionals involved in communication industries, government, media firms, education, and research. Many conferences and workshops are held at the school, focusing on issues of the day as well as concerns basic to the processes and effects of human communication.

Internship and employment opportunities abound in Los Angeles, one of the world's major media capitals, and staff and faculty work closely with students in matching interests with available positions. Communication and journalism alumni fill key management and production posts in all of the communication and information industries -- television, advertising, telephony, multimedia, public relations, publishing, and others-- as well as in government, education and nonprofit agencies throughout the world. The Annenberg School provides career planning and development services for communication and journalism students, and it maintains excellent relations with the entertainment, corporate and public interest sectors.

USC's Annenberg School for Communication describes itself as being at the forefront of academic and professional study and research encompassing the various categories and contexts of communication. Programs of study are structured but flexible, innovative but experientially anchored, challenging but energizing, multidisciplinary and international in scope but focused and practical. Annenberg scholars, both students and faculty, are defining the field for the next century.