Joe Saltzman
Professor of Journalism Communication
Program: Journalism (B.A.) Journalism (M.S)
Phone: (310) 377-8883
Email: saltzman@usc.edu
Office: ASC 102B
Joe Saltzman is a professor of journalism and communication at USC Annenberg and an expert in the image of the journalist in popular culture.
Saltzman received his B.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California and his M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. After working for several years as a newspaper reporter and editor, Saltzman joined CBS television in Los Angeles in 1964 and for the next ten years produced documentaries, news magazine shows, and daily news shows, winning more than fifty awards including the Columbia University-duPont broadcast journalism award (the broadcasting equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize), four Emmys, four Golden Mikes, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Silver Gavel, and one of the first NAACP Image awards.
Saltzman was among the first broadcast documentarians to produce, write and report on important social issues, including Black on Black, a historic ninety-minute program with no written narration on what it is like to be an African-American in urban America in 1967, acknowledged to be the first documentary of its kind on television; Rape, a 30-minute 1970 program on the crime, the first documentary on the subject for television, which resulted in changes in California law; The Unhappy Hunting Ground, a 90-minute documentary on the urbanization of Native Americans, one of the few documentaries ever made on the subject; The Very Personal Death of Elizabeth Holt-Hartford, a 30-minute program on what is like to get old in America, The Junior High School (Part One, “Heaven Hell or Purgatory” and Part Two, “From ‘A’ to Zoo”), a two-hour program on education in America in 1970, said by one critic to be the “best documentary ever made on education in America”; and Why Me? acknowledged to be the first documentary on breast cancer in 1974 that resulted in thousands of lives being saved and advocated changes in the treatment of breast cancer in America. DVDs or mp4 copies of the Saltzman documentaries are now available. Click on the individual documentaries to go to the Youtube links for viewing.
In 1974, he created the broadcasting sequence in the USC School of Journalism. During his tenure at USC, Saltzman, who has won three teaching awards, has remained an active journalist producing medical documentaries, functioning as a senior investigative producer for Entertainment Tonight, and writing articles, reviews, columns and opinion pieces for hundreds of magazines and newspapers. He has been researching the image of the journalist in popular culture for nearly two decades years and is considered a worldwide expert in the field.
Saltzman, who was awarded the 2005 Journalism Alumni Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the Alumni Association’s highest alumni honor, was named the 2010 national Journalism and Mass Communication Teacher of the Year by the Scripps Howard Foundation. The Scripps Howard Foundation’s National Journalism Awards are considered among the most prestigious awards in American journalism. He received a $10,000 cash prize and the Charles E. Scripps Award at the keynote session during the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication convention in St. Louis in August 2010. He also was recognized at the Scripps Howard Foundation’s National Journalism Awards dinner in Cincinnati in May 2010.
Saltzman received the 2017 Outstanding Service Award from the USC Association of Trojan Leagues, an honor given to one outstanding USC professor each year. Saltzman is the 21st recipient of the award and one of the few to be chosen unanimously.
Saltzman was a winner in the 2020 Transformative Teaching of Media and Journalism History contest. He was one of the winner's of the Jinx Coleman Broussard Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Media History. Saltzman was invited to share his innovative way of teaching history at the 2020 AEJMC convention in August.
Book discussion on Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture by Matthew C. Ehrlich and Joe Saltzman. Professor Joe Saltzman talked about the way journalists are portrayed in popular culture. This interview, recorded at the University of Southern California, is part of Book TV’s college series. It aired on Sunday, May 24 at 10:40 pm.
For a conversation with Saltzman conducted by Norman Corwin, click here.
For Henry Jenkins’ three-part interview with Saltzman, click below:
June 28, 2010 (Part One)
June 29, 2010 (Part Two)
July 2, 2010 (Part Three)
Annenberg Research Seminar: The Image of the Gay Journalist in Popular Culture
The Leonard Lopate Show: Projections: Journalism on Film. We take a look at how journalism and reporters have been depicted on film over the decades with Professor Joe Saltzman, director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture Project
Journalists in film and literature – Audio Interview with IJPC Director Joe Saltzman.
Reflections: Richard Baker, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Book That Changed My Life – 2015
Five Minutes with Joe Saltzman – August 3, 2015
AEJMC 2015 Panel honoring Professor Joe Saltzman
IJPC Database Review by Paulette D. Kilmer, American Journalism, 2016
Televising Watts: Joe Saltzman's "Black on Black" (1968) by Joshua Glick.
PUBLICATIONS
Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture
Written by Matthew C. Ehrlich, professor of journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Joe Saltzman, professor of journalism and communication at the University of Southern California. Publication date: April, 2015. University of Illinois Press.
Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film
by Joe Saltzman, professor of journalism and communication at USC Annenberg. Publication date: 2000. Norman Lear Press.
'Richard Jewell’ is only the latest film to depict a female journalist trading sex for scoops, The Conversation 2019 and published in more than two dozen newspapers including the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Houston Chronicle, the San Francisco Chronicle-SF Gate, San Antonio Express, Albany Times-Union, Idaho Press-Tribune and several syndicated news networks.
"It Can't Happen Here -- And then it did." The Conversation 2020 and published in periodicals around the world, June, 2020. For almost a century, popular culture has perpetuated the notion that only journalists working in foreign countries were in danger. But now images of American journalists reporting in United States being attacked, arrested and imprisoned happened during the 2020 protest marches.
Analyzing the Images of the Journalist in Popular Culture: A Unique Method of Studying the Public's Perception of Its Journalists and the News Media
“A long-neglected, fertile field for research virtually untapped by journalism and mass communication scholars” by Joe Saltzman, Professor of Journalism, Director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC), A Project of the Norman Lear Center, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California. By analyzing the images of the journalist in popular culture over the centuries, the researcher can offer a new perspective on the history of journalism as well as the delicate relationship between the public and its news media. The anger and lack of confidence most of the public has in the news media today is partly based on real-life examples they have seen and heard, but much of the image of the journalist is based on images burned into the public memory from movies, TV and fiction. These images of the journalist have an enormous influence on how the public perceives and judges the news media and they have a profound effect on public opinion and consequently, the public’s support of the effectiveness and freedom of the news media. Many of these images come from age-old sources, long forgotten yet still relevant in the 21st century. Variations of this paper were delivered at the “Media History and History in the Media” conference at the University of Wales, March 31-April 1, 2005 at Gregynog, Wales, and at the Association for Education for Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) in San Antonio, Texas, August 12, 2005.Volume Nine, Fall 2020 - Spring 2021
The 21st Century Image of Journalist in Hallmark Films, 2000-2020 by Joe Saltzman. The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC) Journal, Vol. 9, Fall 2020 - Spring 2021, pp. 74-113.
A number of surprises emerged in this first analysis of the 21st-century image of the journalist in Hallmark films. The great majority of journalists depicted in 360 films were positive images and since a majority of Hallmark viewers get their concept of a journalist from news organizations and social media friendly to their belief system, these images contradicted most of what they have been told about mainstream newsgatherers. A large portion of the major characters were strong females and while White journalists made up the majority depicted, Black and Asian characters showed up in more frequent numbers than comparative films and TV programs featuring journalists. They were also as powerful and positive as their White counterparts. Hispanics, however, were disproportionally underrepresented. The negative journalists – usually paparazzi and tabloid journalists – were usually minor characters found in mystery series and were either murdered, sent to prison, or tried to redeem themselves at the end of the film.
Video Compilations for research and classroom use only:
(DVDs or mp4 files available upon request -- see ijpc.org)
The Image of the Journalist in Silent Film
The Image of the Journalist in Silent Film, 1890 to 1929, Parts One and Two, contains a total of 3,462 silent films with 21 appendices totaling more than 10,900 pages. It was published in the IJPC Journal, Volumes Seven and Eight.
In Part One: 1890 to 1919, a total of 1,937 films, with each character and event identified and all of the table information encoded, were annotated and put into eleven appendices – Appendix 1, 1890-1909 (104 pages); Appendix 2, 1910 (83 pages); Appendix 3, 1911 (92 pages); Appendix 4,1912 (179 pages); Appendix 5, 1913 (280 pages); Appendix 6, 1914 (617 pages); Appendix 7, 1915 (771 pages); Appendix 8, 1916 (788 pages); Appendix 9, 1917 (764 pages); Appendix 10, 1918 (471 pages); Appendix 11, 1919 (478 pages). Many of the films include jpegs of original reviews, advertisements and photographs showing journalists in action. Table of Contents. Video compilation: Part One: 1890-1919, excerpts from 56 films.
In Part Two: 1920-1929, a total of 1,514 films with each character and event identified and all of the table information encoded, were annotated and put into ten more appendices -- Appendix 12, 1920 (753 pages); Appendix 13, 1921 (702 pages); Appendix 14, 1922 789 pages); Appendix 15, 1923 (689 pages); Appendix 16, 1924 (538 pages); Appendix 17, 1925 (605 pages); Appendix 18, 1926 (573 pages); Appendix 19, 1927 (573 pages); Appendix 20, 1928 (620 pages); Appendix 21, 1929 (576 pages). Many of the films include jpegs of original reviews, advertisements and photographs showing journalists in action. Table of Contents. Video compilation: Part Two: 1920-1929, excerpts from 150 films.
In the endnotes, future researchers can also find a complete list of films dealing with specific journalists, such as cub reporters, female reporters or pack journalists.
A video compilation, The Image of the Journalist in Silent Film, 1890 to 1919, is now available in Mp4 files. The six-hour and 37-minute compilation includes excerpts from 56 silent films tracing the origins of the image of the journalist in motion pictures. For more information, visit the site.
The Image of the Washington Journalist in Movies and Television, 1932 to 2013, a two dual layer-disc, 8:20:00 video compilation with 126 movie and television clips tracing the history of the Washington journalist in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Image of the Public Relations Practitioner in Movies and Television, 1901 to 2011, a three dual layer-disc, 11:46:05 video compilation with 326 movie and television clips tracing the history of the public relations practitioner in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Image of the Gay Journalist in Movies and Television,1929 to 2009, a three-disc, 4:42:23 video compilation with 123 movie and television clips tracing the history of the gay journalist in the 20th and 21st centuries. Also included is a special supplement on The Image of the Gay Public Relations Practitioner in Movies and Television. 2009.
The Image of the War Correspondent in Movies and Television, 1931-2007, a two-disc, 225-minute compilation with 166 movie and television clips tracing the image of the war correspondent in films and television from 1931 to 2007. 2008.
Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies, a one-hour-and-50 minute video compilation for IJPC Associates members created to supplement the book edited by Howard Good.(Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2008). Good is a professor of journalism at SUNY New Paltz. He was a pioneering author of a series of books on the image of the journalist in films and novels including Outcasts: The Image of Journalists in Contemporary Films; Girl Reporter: Gender, Journalism, and the Movies; The Drunken Journalist: The Biography of a Film Stereotype, and Acquainted With the Night: The Image of Journalists in American Fiction, 1890 –1930. He’s also written books on media ethics and public education. The IJPC Video follows Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies chapter by chapter. The book’s 12 chapters explore issues that should concern anyone who aspires to a career in journalism, works in journalism or relies on journalism for daily information. The contributors do their exploring at the movies where sportswriters, war correspondents, investigative reporters, crime reporters, spin-doctors, TV anchors and harried city editors jostle for attention. 2007.
The Image of the Broadcast Journalist in Movies and Television, 1937-2006, an updated two-hours-and-48 minute video compilation for IJPC Associates members containing 200 movie and television clips tracing image of the broadcast journalist in films and television from 1937 to 2006. 2006.
Real-Life Journalists in Movies and Television, 1931-2007, a completely revised and updated two-hour-and-13-minute video compilation for IJPC Associates members containing 79 movie and television clips tracing image of the journalist in films and television from 1939 to 2003 featuring real-life journalists or actors portraying real-life journalists or movies based on the lives of real-life journalists. 2005
Sob Sisters: The Image of the Female Journalist, 1929-2007, a revised and updated two-hour-and-41 minute video compilation with more than 136 movie and television clips documenting the history of the female journalist in film and television in the 20th and 21st centuries. 2004.
Hollywood Looks at the News, 1914-2007, a one hour-and-49-minute video compilation with 165 movie and television clips documenting the history of journalists in film and television in the 20th and 21st century. 2003. Revised 2007.
Explore the world of Heroes and Scoundrels Journalist in Popular Culture Project:The Book: Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture
Short Video introduction to the book: 9:42
Long Video introduction to the book: 22:35
Heroes and Scoundrels: Joe Saltzman on the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture, Nov. 10. 2015
The Heroes and Scoundrels Video is the 40-hour companion video to the book
The Heroes and Scoundrels Web site continuously updates and adds supplementary material to the book.
Join the IJPC Associates now and get the entire Heroes and Scoundrels Journalist in Popular Culture package
The Conversation: Heroes or scoundrels: how popular culture portrays journalists and what that means for the 2016 campaign
Review: JHistory, H-Net Reviews: Kii Keane, Review of Ehrlich, Matthew C.; Saltzman, Joe, Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Cutlure, October, 2016.
Review: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, March 2016, John M. Coward, University of Tusla
Review: Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, 2016, David Asa Schwartz, The University of Iowa, Journalism
Review: Journalism History 42:2 (Summer, 2015) by Nancy Brendlinger, Bowling Green State.
Review: Journalism & Mass Communication Educator (2016, Vol. 7, pp. 107-108).
Review: Ray Begovich (2016) Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture, American Journalism, 33:2. pp. 231-232. DOI: 10.1080/08821127.2016.1168152
Book Review: Kiki Keane (New Mexico State University), published in Jhistory (October 2016). Humanities and Social Science Net Online.
Review: EatDrinkFilms.Com – Roger Leatherwood review of Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture
Q&A: Interview with Joe Saltzman on Heroes and Scoundrels, Roger Leatherwood
Review: The New Mexico Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment & Culture, Books: Jonathan Richards, December 24, 2015: Typecasting: Journalists in Pop Culture
Clio – Newsletter of the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Winter 2016, Vol. 50, No. 2. Book Excerpt: Heroes and Scoundrels.
The Jester & Pharley Phund
A non-profit charity. Its mission is giving children joy, laughter, the love of learning and a way to live up to the motto of the classic children's book, "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" - "It's up to us to make a difference. It's up to us to care."
"The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" - Los Angeles Times Festival of Books 2015 at USC
Storybook Mom Final Promo and Segment - CBS Sunday Morning 2015
Barbara Saltzman The Jester's Mom - ABC Good Morning America 1995. Also other news coverage of "The Jester's Mom."
The 20th anniversary Newsletter celebrating two decades of The Jester & Pharley Phund