The Second Draft Project

Journalism has been described as “the first draft of history” by some of its most influential practitioners. But history has shown that oftentimes — for the most marginalized members of our society — that this first draft is, at best, incomplete. At worst, it is inaccurate. And sometimes it can even be harmful. This is where The Second Draft Project comes in. We offer those who have been connected to, or at the center of, our nation’s most pivotal moments in social justice a chance to highlight where the media fell short before — a chance to offer a fresh testimony. And, we do it using ethical AI technology.

  • We’ve chosen the interactive interview format for the Second Draft Project’s archive and exhibit because AI conversations invite visitors to commune and engage with important figures of social change movements, both past and present. By doing so, we hope our exhibit will foster a deeper understanding of each subject’s experience by turning visitors into active participants of the storytelling as they help draw out each subject’s testimony through designated prompts.

  • The Second Draft story subjects are not an avatar. They are real recordings of people that are broken into tiny, conversational bits. When someone asks an interactive interviewee a question, the software retrieves the appropriate video segment. The user then feels like they are having a conversation with the video version of the subject. Interviewees usually set aside a day for recording their replies.

  • With increasing calls to restrict curricula that engage Black history in American classrooms, now is the time to capture, preserve and amplify the stories of prominent Black figures of American culture. In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd — and America’s subsequent and ongoing racial reckoning — there has never been a more critical time to document and preserve Black testimonies.

  • We are pleased to present an interactive interview experience with Lora King as our inaugural Second Draft Project subject. King is the daughter of Rodney King and founder of the Rodney King Foundation. In December 2022, we spent a day asking Lora nearly 500 questions about her life, her father, his legacy and her work today. Our partners, USC Libraries and USC Digital Repositories, then mapped all of Lora’s recorded responses to possible questions someone might ask her. The result was an interactive interview experience, which debuted during Black History Month 2023.

  • The Bass Lab worked with the USC Digital Repository and USC Libraries to produce the inaugural, Lora King interactive interview. Due to the success of Ms. King’s premiere, we created a Second Draft Project special topics class (JOUR 499), so students could learn how to use this exciting technology too. Beginning in Fall 2023, USC Annenberg students will be able to register for a course that teaches them how to program an interactive interview. They will also produce a companion podcast.

Behind the Scenes

Our interactive interview with Lora King was conducted on December 5, 2022. For about six hours, Lora fielded more than 500 questions about her childhood, upbringing, her relationship with her father, his assault and its aftermath, and its impact on the world. Now, this interactive interview is available for the public to experience first-hand! Take a peek behind the scenes.

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The Big Debut

During Black History Month 2023, Lora King came back to USC to visit the student body. She offered a demo of her interactive interview, and explained how it felt to participate in such groundbreaking project. Watch our sizzle reel of the packed event!

In the News

profiled.

New Fall 2023 Course

The Second Draft Project is now a class.
Apply to register for JOUR 499 today!

  • The Second Draft Project is an immersive journalism production class, which deploys artificial intelligence (AI) to build empathy in news audiences. The course challenges students to explore what the news media may have missed the first time around, and teaches them how to highlight new voices from old news narratives. Students will work in teams to research some of history’s most misrepresented, maligned or marginalized news story subjects. Then students will interview them a second time, on camera, to create an AI-powered video chatbot that can answer questions about its time in the public eye. If the original story subject is no longer living, students will interview their close connections and loved ones for insight into how a media frenzy may have affected the entire community.

  • Check out our complete syllabus for the new Second Draft Project class.

  • How to apply the concept of reparative journalism to create opportunities for the news industry to atone.

    How to practice advanced newsgathering techniques to offer fresh story angles on previously reported events and people.

    How to use multimedia storytelling formats – such as interactive interviews, podcasting and extended reality – to immerse news audiences into a story.

  • A “mind map” that identifies someone who deserves a second draft, and builds out a universe of voices around them to help retell their story.

    A case study that evaluates how the news media previously covered our Second Draft subject.

    A collection of 75 questions for our AI-powered video chatbot story subject.

    A longform, Second Draft Project podcast episode.

    An accompanying work of photogrammetry, virtual reality or augmented reality, which provides an immersive scene from the story.

  • To sign up for this class, you must first apply and be selected. Please send the following in a single Microsoft Word document:

    A cover letter, stating what you hope to learn about using artificial intelligence as a journalistic tool;

    A resume;

    Three pieces of work that showcase your multimedia skills. (If this work is video or audio, or exists on GitHub, include links in the Word document.)

    A list of at least three references; two of whom must be USC professors. Provide email addresses for each person.

    Please send your Microsoft Word document to BassLab@USC.edu by July 28, 2023.