(Left to Right): Shweta Saraswat, Omar Shamout, Aaron Schrank, Tricia Tongco, Gabrielle Canon, Paige Brettingen, Sarah Parvini, John Adams, Diane Winston (professor), Nick Street, Paresh Dave, Leora Batnitzky, Megan O'Neil
PROFESSOR
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
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
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
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
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