Photo courtesy of Bethany Brown.
“The DMM program taught me to think beyond the article, beyond the headline, and consider the full lifecycle of a story online.”
For Bethany Brown, storytelling has always been rooted in truth. As a journalist, she sees firsthand how truth is obscured, manipulated, or intentionally misrepresented in a media landscape increasingly shaped by algorithms, bias, and misinformation. In an effort to combat this, she enrolled in the Online Master of Science in Digital Media Management program at USC Annenberg, graduating in May 2025. There, she developed a deeper understanding of the forces shaping digital communication and content engagement, and created a capstone project aimed at tackling misinformation.
As Staff Editor for Crime at PEOPLE magazine, Brown is responsible not only for accuracy and tone, but also for anticipating how stories will resonate—or polarize—across different platforms.
“I’ve always been focused on accuracy and ethics, but I started realizing that being a good journalist today also means understanding the digital ecosystem: how your content circulates, how audiences interact with it, and how bad information travels faster than good information,” she explained.
Bridging Traditional Journalism with Modern Media Strategy
Brown was drawn to the DMM program’s unique curriculum that blends content strategy with business insights, marketing innovation, and audience development. Unlike traditional journalism degrees, DMM gave Brown insight into how newsrooms adapt to evolving digital demands; specifically, how they package content for social, evaluate platform performance metrics, and counteract false narratives in real time.
“The DMM program taught me to think beyond the article, beyond the headline, and consider the full lifecycle of a story online,” she shared.
Having taken online courses before, Brown notes that the DMM program stood apart for its depth, structure, and real-world impact.
“Every course felt relevant and applicable to both the challenges I face in the newsroom and the broader shifts happening in digital media.”
In addition to the curriculum, Brown’s experience was enhanced by the program’s emphasis on collaboration and community.
“There’s this real culture of support,” she noted. “From day one, I felt like everyone, from professors to fellow students, wanted to see each other succeed. People were always connecting each other to job leads, sharing resources, and jumping in to give feedback.”
A Capstone That Tackles Misinformation Head-On
A unique offering of the DMM program is the Capstone project, which students refine throughout their time in the program. Unlike a traditional thesis required by most master’s programs, DMM students are encouraged to design a digital media initiative or project with real-world relevance that aligns with their professional aspirations. For her Capstone project, Brown created “News, Truth, and Deception,” an immersive, research-informed initiative consisting of a media literacy course and a companion podcast (listen below) aimed at combating misinformation through education, accessibility, and conversation.
“In the age of TikTok news, AI-generated hoaxes, and deepfakes, media literacy isn’t just a ‘nice-to-have’—it’s essential to functioning in a democracy,” Brown said. “I wanted to create something that was accessible, engaging, and built around real-world examples that people could immediately connect with.”
The course at the center of the initiative takes learners through the crucial differences between misinformation (false information shared without intent to harm) and disinformation (deliberate attempts to deceive). Students examine their own media habits, explore how algorithms influence what they see, and engage with interactive lessons that teach them how to fact-check, debunk, and ethically respond to false or misleading content.
“Creating this initiative felt like the perfect fusion of everything I’ve learned—journalism ethics, digital media strategy, user engagement, and audience behavior,” she said. “I wanted to build something that could actually help people think more critically about the information they’re consuming every day.”
Brown credits her professors and classmates with helping refine the concept into something practical and impactful.
“Some of my favorite moments in the program were when someone from a totally different field, like marketing or nonprofit work, would give me feedback that helped me think about my project from a whole new angle. It was so exciting to see what everyone else was working on,” she added.
Looking Ahead
Photo courtesy of Bethany Brown.
For Bethany Brown, the future of media is one that requires not only great storytelling, but also strategic thinking, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a deep commitment to truth in an increasingly noisy world. Whether she’s editing a news story for PEOPLE or building educational tools to combat misinformation, Brown’s work is a testament to what the next generation of digital media leaders can accomplish.
“I think there’s this myth that if you’re a journalist, you should just stay in your reporting lane. But the media is changing and being able to speak the language of product teams, audience strategists, and data analysts is so valuable now,” she explained. “I want to be in rooms where decisions are made, not just about what we publish, but how and why.”
The DMM program gave her that vocabulary and the confidence to use it.
“Before this, I didn’t fully understand what audience segmentation really meant, or how to build a product roadmap,” she admitted. “Now I feel equipped to bring those skills into editorial conversations. And that’s powerful.”
Learn more about the Online Master of Science in Digital Media Management program.