Bill Plaschke: Shame on USC for banning a reporter in a futile attempt to control media
LOS ANGELES — There is apparently a new class being offered at USC's esteemed Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
It is being taught by football coach Lincoln Riley and new athletic director Jennifer Cohen.
It is a case study of how to stifle free speech by controlling the media with the sort of reckless vindictiveness regularly practiced in such enlightened enclaves as Moscow and Beijing.
Bullying, 101.
The syllabus is simple. Target a smartly aggressive rookie reporter in his first weeks on the beat and immediately punish him for media policy violations that amount to little more than protocol gaffes.
Suspend the kid. Take his credential. Deny him all Trojan football access. Make a statement.
This is what happened last week when Riley and Cohen banned Luca Evans of the Southern California News Group for two weeks for violating some
