About Annenberg Radio News

Staff Bios

Jessica Flores

Jessica Flores is the executive producer of award-winning Annenberg Radio News at the University of Southern California, where she is pursuing her master's in broadcast journalism. During her graduate career, she was selected among journalism students nationwide to report with the New York Times in Arizona, and she gained an internship with CBS News in London. At CBS, she hit the ground running, conducting on-camera interviews for the Early Show and Evening News. Previously, she spent two years working for Google and took her expertise in online optimization and search trends to the transforming journalism landscape. Flores graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in political science and communication in 2007. She has been honored with a California Chicano News Media Association Scholarship and was part of news teams awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists and Los Angeles Press Club.

Emily Frost

Emily Frost is passionate about public radio; she plans to further develop her radio reporting and production skills, while integrating her past experiences in online media. Frost is interested in covering arts, culture and urban affairs through long-form audio documentaries and interactive web experiences.

Stephanie Guzman

Stephanie Guzman earned a bachelor's degree in English and theology from Loyola Marymount University. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in online journalism. Guzman has worked for various news organizations at the University of Southern California, and she has also interned at National Public Radio's morning edition. After graduate school, Guzman plans to move to a green city and get a job. She also plans to put her theology degree to good use and report on religion. Guzman wants to learn Spanish so she can report on the border, and she also wants to use multimedia so the next generation cares enough to learn about both.

Stephanie McNeal

Stephanie McNeal is a senior at the University of Southern California, where is she double majoring in broadcast/digital journalism and international relations. She is originally from beautiful San Diego, California. In addition to reporting for Annenberg Radio News, she anchors the Wednesday newscast for Annenberg Television News, reports for Neon Tommy and writes a column for examiner.com about college life in Los Angeles. She has interned at KFMB in San Diego, KNBC in Los Angeles and BronxNet and Talent Resources in New York City. She was awarded the 2010 Richard Drake Slocum scholarship for her reporting work at Annenberg Television News. McNeal would like to work as a reporter who gets to travel all over the world, write meaningful stories and impact people's lives.

Chris Foy

Chris Foy was born and raised in Southern California. At the University of Southern California, he is studying print journalism. Foy is also working as a volunteer at Annenberg Television News. In his spare time, Foy enjoys playing the electric guitar and listening to music a bit too loudly during his daily commute.

Sarah Erickson

Whitney Blaine

Whitney Blaine is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in political science. An avid fan of the news, politics and sports, Blaine enjoys reporting and writing on those interests. She has worked for the University of Southern California's Annenberg Television News, KXSC sports radio, and she has been a correspondent on the Daily News' Inside USC blog as well as USCFootball.Com. Currently, she is a stringer for the Associated Press and managing editor of Élevée magazine. Upon graduation, she hopes to find a position in print journalism.

Travis Cochran

Julia Deng

Julia Deng is a freshman from New York double majoring in broadcast and digital journalism and political science. In addition to working as an Annenberg Radio News reporter, Deng writes for Neon Tommy and spends her Monday and Wednesday afternoons at the Annenberg Television News assignment desk. Her involvement in journalism has spanned print, broadcast and digital media, and has most recently brought her to South Africa, where she interned at Cape Town Television News and led the production of a package exploring the Hangberg eviction crisis. In 2009, Julia was selected from 1,783 nominees nationwide as a winner of the NCTE Achievement Award in Writing. When she is not in the Annenberg basement, Julia can be found tracking down underground bands and expanding her collage of The New Yorker cartoons.

Trenise Ferreira

Trenise Ferreira is a third year broadcast journalism and cinematic arts student at the University of Southern California. She is originally from the Bay Area. When she is not reporting for Annenberg Radio News, she co-hosts a sports radio show called "USC Cold Hard Facts." Ferreira is also the author of the book "Seven-Oh!-Seven: Livin' the Dream," the first book in her "Seven-Oh!-Seven" series.

Tanner Keith

Tanner Keith is a senior at the University of Southern California. She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended Wake Forest University for two years prior to transferring to the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She is majoring in broadcast journalism and aspires to become a sports reporter or an entertainment correspondent. After two years of studying to become an orthopaedic surgeon, she realized her true passion was journalism, so she picked up her life and moved out to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dreams. She hopes to one day return back home to her southern roots.

Mark Shore

Britt Thorson

Britt Thorson is a senior majoring in broadcast and digital journalism and minoring in cinematic arts. A Seattle native, she has worked at both Annenberg Radio News and Annenberg Television News since her freshman year. She has also interned at various magazines, public relations firms, advisement agencies and film production companies. During her junior year, Thorson was able to study journalism abroad in London and fell in love with the city. She hopes to work in the entertainment industry, possibly as a film critic - and would love to return to London to live one day.

Liz Warden

Liz Warden is a senior majoring in print journalism and minoring in international relations at the University of Southern California. This is her second semester reporting for Annenberg Radio News. Although she loves writing print stories, she wanted to try out broadcast again this semester. Next year, Warden will be throwing out the reporter's notebook and will be joining an AmeriCorps program called City Year. There, she will be working full time as a mentor in an urban Los Angeles middle school. After that, she plans on joining the Peace Corps and then returning to the University of Southern California to study public diplomacy in graduate school.

Candice Winters

Candice Winters is a senior, and she will graduate in May with a double major in broadcast journalism and cinema television critical studies. Making the most of her four years at the University of Southern California, Winters went abroad to London through Annenberg's journalism program and could not have asked for a better experience. Winters also writes for Los Angeles-based publication 'Campus Circle' and is a freelance production assistant for the entertainment department at KTLA 5 The CW. As a current intern at Focus Features, Winters hopes to pursue a career in film development, though she will always hold close all that journalism and Annenberg have instilled in her.

Christine Trang

Born and raised in Southern California, Christine Trang earned her bachelor's degree in sociology with an emphasis in law and society from the University of California, Riverside. Now, Trang is a second year graduate student at the University of Southern California, where she is studying online journalism. She has interned at TravelAge West, a publication written to help travel agents, and The Daily Breeze, where she wrote weekly business profiles. Last year, Trang reported briefly for Neon Tommy and Intersections: The South Los Angeles Report. Currently, she is creating radio documentaries, freelancing for Culver City Patch and producing for Annenberg Radio News.

Megan Rose Dickey

Megan Rose Dickey, born and raised in San Francisco, is a senior majoring in broadcast and digital Journalism. She first discovered her love for reporting the truth when she first wrote for her high school newspaper The Lowell. In 2007, the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Dickey with the James Madison Freedom of Information Award for her dedication to sound news reporting and her understanding of journalistic integrity. Dickey recently co-directed and produced a ping-pongumentary or, rather, a documentary about the underground world of table tennis in Los Angeles. She is also interested in covering issues of diversity, gender, sexuality and consumer technology. In her spare time, Dickey enjoys sporadically laughing and breaking a sweat while dancing to what she calls "bass-bumping jams."

Smitha Bondade

Smitha Bondade graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2010 with a bachelor's degree in communication and a minor in cinema television. She is currently attending graduate school at the University of Southern California to pursue a master's in communication management at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. During her undergraduate years, she interned with KTLA for two semesters, working both in the web department and entertainment department. She learned how to upload news content onto the KTLA website, provide interview questions for Sam Rubin's guests, research various entertainment-related projects and snag a few seconds on television! She also interned with KXSC, USC's student-run radio station, where she helped out with music-related events at Ground Zero. Her goal is to continue to inform the public of the latest news, updates and alerts, be it through television or radio. Her hobbies include dancing, baking and playing tennis!

Melissa Butler

Dave Dulberg

Stephanie Frishberg

Stephanie Frishberg is currently a senior at the University of Southern California, majoring in broadcast and digital journalism, with a minor in theater. Frishberg is a news reporter for both Annenberg Television News and Annenberg Radio News this semester. Her previous positions at Annenberg Television News have included working the assignment desk and working as a video journalist. Frishberg has also had several internships. She most recently worked as a web editor and photographer for KHOU, the CBS affiliate news station in Houston. She has also worked for the Los Angeles Bureau of CNBC, the E! News Bureau and Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Visit Stephanie’'s web site at Stephfrishberg.wordpress.com.

Laurel Galanter

Laurel Galanter is from Southern California, and she is a print journalism major. Though she majors in print, she likes exploring different mediums that help get news across to the masses, which is what attracted her to journalism in the first place. Galanter also likes that journalism allows her to be creative.

Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith is currently a junior majoring in broadcast and digital Journalism at the University of Southern California. Due to her passion for sports, she is also minoring in sports media studies. Prior to radio, Smith has worked for Annenberg Television News with positions ranging from the newsroom to the studio. Currently, Smith works for AEG as an Intern in the digital media department. In the future, she intends to work as a sideline reporter for a sports network. To keep up with Smith, follow her on Twitter.

Ashley Michelle Williams

Ashley Michelle Williams is a senior at the University of Southern California. She is pursuing broadcast and digital journalism, as well as a double minor in international relations and Spanish. Through her voice and her writing, she hopes to bring positive changes in society! She feels that journalism is the perfect avenue for her to fulfill this goal. Originally from Michigan, Williams started at the age of 14 as a television talk show host, show creator, executive producer and crew member for her high school’s television station. During her college career, she has obtained great internship opportunities with Dateline NBC, People Magazine, NBC Network News, CNN International-Madrid, ABC Good Morning America and, most recently, BBC Mundo. Additionally, she has been granted many leadership positions for the University of Southern California’s television and radio stations, newspaper and USC Trojan Debate Squad. She has also obtained a full academic scholarship from the USC Trojan Debate Squad, and the Pat Tobin Scholarship from the Black Journalists Association of Southern California. After college, Ashley would like to pursue a career in network news.

Karl Nickenig

Willa Seidenberg

Willa Seidenberg was a broadcast journalist for more than 20 years before she came to the University of Southern California at the beginning of 2000. She entered as a faculty advisor for Annenberg TV News, USC's television news operation. She is now faculty advisor and director of Annenberg Radio News. Seidenberg started her news career as a public radio reporter, anchor and producer, with stints at WYSO-FM, WBUR-FM and WGBH-FM. She covered the landmark Woburn Toxic Waste Trial in Boston, and she contributed stories to National Public Radio. She began writing television news in 1987 at WBZ-TV in Boston, and she later moved to KCAL-TV in Los Angeles. She is the co-author of the oral history/photo project: A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War (published in 1992), which she produced with photographer William Short. A Matter of Conscience continues to be exhibited nationally, along with Seidenberg and Short's second oral history/photo project called Memories of the American War: Stories From Viet Nam.

Billy Higgins

Think of Billy Higgins as the Goldsmith/Tom of Annenberg Radio News. If you have a question about Adobe Audition or the radio booth mixing console, Higgins is your man. In 2003, he graduated from the USC, where he majored in Cinema and minored in Music Recording. He received his master's degree in Communication Management in summer 2010. He has been a part of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism's Multimedia Technologies team since the end of 2005. Outside of USC, Higgins has been a part-time freelance assistant editor, production assistant, and script supervisor in Hollywood. He has also been a student intern at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light + Magic in Marin County and at Illingworth & Rodkin Acoustics in his hometown of Petaluma, CA. In addition to Annenberg Radio News, Higgins helps support Annenberg TV News, Impact, the Digital Lab and other technical operations at the Annenberg school. He also does work for USC Recreational Sports as webmaster for the USC Song Girls, Spirit Leaders and Traveler. On top of that, he is trying to create a feature film. In his free time, he sleeps.

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