Marty Kaplan

Marty Kaplan is the founding director of the Norman Lear Center and holds the Norman Lear Chair in Entertainment, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Kaplan has contributed to the study of media’s impact on society through research on political coverage, public health messaging in entertainment, and the influence of narrative in science communication. His leadership at the Lear Center has focused on examining how media and entertainment intersect with democracy and public discourse.

Kaplan’s career includes roles in government, academia, journalism, and the entertainment industry. He served as chief speechwriter to Vice President Walter F. Mondale and was deputy campaign manager during Mondale’s presidential run, directing speechwriting and research operations. In the private sector, Kaplan was vice president of production for live-action feature films at Walt Disney Studios and a writer-producer with credits including the political comedy "The Distinguished Gentleman" and the screen adaptation of "Noises Off." He has also been a commentator and columnist, hosting the nationally syndicated radio program "So What Else Is News?" and contributing to NPR, Marketplace, The Huffington Post, and Jewish Journal, where his columns have earned six First Place prizes from the Los Angeles Press Club.

A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College in molecular biology, Kaplan was a Marshall Scholar at Cambridge University and earned a doctorate in modern thought and literature from Stanford University. His academic background and career experience position him as a public speaker on the relationship between media, culture, and society. Kaplan addresses the societal implications of entertainment and communication, bridging scholarship, policy, and creative industries.