PROFESSOR

Diane Winston

Diane Winston

Knight Chair in Media and Religion

Diane Winston holds the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. A national authority on religion and the media, her expertise includes religion, politics and the news media as well as religion and the entertainment media. A journalist and a scholar, Winston's current research interests are media coverage of Islam, religion and new media, and the place of religion in American identity.

TEAM MEMBERS

Paige Brettingen

Paige Brettingen

Multimedia Journalist

Paige Jarvie Brettingen is a native Chicagoan who now calls L.A. home (but will always be a Cubs fan). She received her bachelors in communication from Northwestern University and her masters in journalism from the University of Southern California. Her stories have been featured on MSN.com, Huffington Post, The National Catholic Reporter, KPCC, Takepart.com and Global Post. During her time at USC, she served as managing editor for Neon Tommy– the nation's largest student-produced news website.
Gabs

Gabrielle Canon

Print Journalism

Gabrielle Canon is a Renaissance Scholar and graduate from the University of Southern California. Her work has been featured in several publications including the LA Weekly, Huffington Post, and The Deli. While her focus is on print journalism, she has worked in television, produced short documentaries, and was the Assistant Producer for “The Insighters,” a syndicated talk radio program that focuses on domestic politics, the environment, and international affairs.
Paresh Dave

Paresh Dave

Political, Business and Sports Reporting

Paresh Dave is a life-long Californian passionate about technology and baseball, among other subjects. His award-winning work has been published by the Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, GlobalPost.com, IrishCentral.com, Southern California Public Radio and American Public Media. At the University of Southern California, he shaped the early years of Neon Tommy, the nation's largest student-produced news website.
Megan O'Neil

Megan O'Neil

Specialized Journalism

Megan O'Neil is a Los Angeles-based journalist and graduate of the M.A. specialized journalism program at USC Annenberg. Her areas of coverage include business, immigration, and international trade in the Americas. A Spanish speaker, O'Neil has been published in the Los Angeles Times, the Bakersfield Californian, and numerous community publications.
Vino

Sarah Parvini

Digital Journalism and Online Media

Sarah Parvini is a multimedia journalist based in Los Angeles, Calif. Her work has been featured in various news outlets, including the L.A. Times, The Washington Post and GlobalPost. A self-proclaimed future foreign correspondent, Sarah’s goal as a journalist is to pursue narratives of the human experience—looking for the people involved, the details and the deeper story—and to use those experiences as a vehicle to uncover larger issues.
Shweta Saraswat

Shweta Saraswat

Documentary and Broadcast Journalism

Shweta Saraswat wrote for four small newspapers and worked at two local news stations before finding her niche in long-form video production. As Supervising Producer of the newsmagazine show Impact at USC, Shweta produces short documentaries focusing on colorful, character-driven storytelling. Her recent work includes a documentary on Khmer classical dance in Long Beach as well as pieces for The National Catholic Reporter, Global Post, On Being and KNBC.
Aaron

Aaron Schrank

Print Journalism

Aaron Schrank is a print and audio journalist based in Los Angeles. He's currently the executive producer of the University of Southern California's Annenberg Radio News. As a freelance reporter, his work has appeared in/on outlets including: American Public Media’s Marketplace, Public Radio International's The World, GlobalPost, KPCC, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, KCET and The Santa Monica Daily Press, among others.
Omar Shamout

Omar Shamout

Online Journalism

Omar Shamout is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. He graduated from Occidental College in 2003 and worked in the entertainment industry for eight years before entering USC Annenberg's Master's in Journalism program. Omar has reported for Annenberg Digital News' Neon Tommy and is currently the on-air host of Annenberg Radio News. He has published articles on LATimes.com, KCET.org, KPCC.org, GlogbalPost.com, Religiondispatches.org and SoccerbyIves.net, among others.
Tricia Tongco

Tricia Tongco

Print Journalism

Tricia Tongco worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art then at the social media site Goodreads before returning to school for a master's in journalism from USC Annenberg. Her interests include: arts and cultural reporting, feature writing and radio documentary. She currently creates social media marketing campaigns for the Center for Health Reporting, and before that she interned in the Features department at GOOD. Last summer, she produced a weekly radio show on youth issues for the Children's Radio Foundation in South Africa.