Why Annenberg Matters

The new video series — Why Annenberg Matters —  is based on our four Research Networks and explores the impact of Annenberg's groundbreaking work, past and present, revealing how our research and scholarship are shaping the future of health, media, and social understanding.

In Service of a Healthier, Happier World

Researchers at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania have been on the front lines of public health awareness for decades — from anti-smoking campaigns that changed the national conversation to today’s life-saving efforts in cancer prevention, Narcan training, drug counseling, and more. Our mission? A healthier, happier world.

In Service of an Informed Democracy

How can we tell fact from fiction? For decades, scholars at the Annenberg School for Communication have been researching not just misinformation but also what it means to be a citizen, to be able to participate in free elections, and to experience the privileges of our constitution. The Annenberg Public Policy Center is one of many centers at the school that produces research, conferences, and policy discussions to inform policymakers, journalists, and the general public about the role media plays in their lives and in the life of the nation. This mission, in service of an informed democracy, remains one of Annenberg’s key commitments.

Connecting Culture and Democracy

In the mid-twentieth century, Gilbert Seldes, the founding dean of the Annenberg School, proposed a revolutionary idea: that cultural forms like jazz, comics, and television were crucial to shaping our democracy. Today, as digital platforms proliferate and global media landscapes transform, Annenberg scholars continue to explore how emerging cultural expressions profoundly influence our identity, worldview, and potential for social transformation.

Making Sense of the World with Data

How we use data matters. Since Klaus Krippendorff, the Gregory Bateson Professor Emeritus of Communication at Annenberg, pioneered the study of content analysis — advancing the fields of political science, social science, marketing, national security, and AI — Annenberg has been at the forefront of computational social science. To this day, our scholars use data to inform decision making across industry, policy, and health care domains — and ultimately, to make sense of the world.