One of the world’s leading voices on media, technology, and the digital future. An expert in the field of technology and emerging media, Cole serves as an adviser to governments and leading companies around the world as they craft digital strategies. He is the author of Disrupters at the Gate: When Visionaries, Trailblazers, and Two Guys in a Garage Turn the World Upside Down, released in September 2026.

In July 2004 Cole joined the USC Annenberg School for Communication as director of the newly formed Center for the Digital Future and as a research professor.

Cole founded and directs the World Internet Project, a long-term longitudinal exploration of the effects of computer and Internet technology conducted in more than 35 countries. At the announcement of the project in June 1999, Vice President Al Gore praised Cole as a “true visionary providing the public with information on how to understand the impact of media.” Twenty-eight years into the project, the World Internet Project, through its unique data on Internet users around the world, is the leading, unrivaled international project examining how technology changes our lives.

Under Cole’s leadership, the Center has conducted deep examinations of the entertainment, sports media, transportation, and banking industries to identify where the next wave of disruption will occur. More than just identifying trends, the Center works closely with industry to create policies and make the concrete changes that will keep them competitive. That work includes all five (formerly six) motion picture studios, the four networks and now streaming companies, as well as sports networks, leagues, automotive companies, and banks.

Cole worked with the White House during the Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations on media and telecommunications issues. He presents trends and insights about the Project’s work to the FCC, Congress, Department of Defense, and heads of governments around the world. His long-term relationships have included Microsoft, Sony, Time Warner, AT&T, GroupM, AARP, Ericsson, CBS, NBC, ABC, CPB, PBS, HP, Telstra, Wesfarmers, and Coca-Cola among many others as they learn to navigate the digital future. Cole was also a member of the Global Digital Strategy Board of Unilever, the world’s second largest advertiser.

In 2016, Cole was one of the founders of the Global Disruption Fund (GDF), a technology investment fund based in Australia. Cole is one of the members of the Investment Committee identifying innovative companies and those about to be disrupted, making investments based on his work. He is also a General Partner at V42, a film production fund, and serves as an Executive Producer on the upcoming The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd starring Amanda Seyfried which has its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.

In the 1990s, Cole worked closely with the four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) under an anti-trust waiver that allowed the networks to work together for the first time as they explored the issue of violence on television. Cole issued annual reports to the television industry, Congress, and the nation. On the release of the 1996 report, Cole held a joint press conference with President Bill Clinton, who referred to the Center for Communication Policy as “the premier educational institution setting trends in entertainment.” Nationwide there was unanimous praise for the quality of the reports and their contribution to the television content debate.

Cole has testified before Congress on television issues and has been a keynote speaker at more than 1,000 conferences on media and technology (many can be seen on YouTube).

Cole was a member of the Executive Committee of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) and was the founding governor of the ATAS Interactive Media Peer Group.

Before joining USC, Cole was a longtime member of the UCLA faculty and served as director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, based in the Anderson Graduate School of Management. At UCLA, Cole taught more than 35,000 students and twice received UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2023, Cole received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor awarded to distinguished Americans including Presidents, Nobel Prize Winners and CEOs who exemplify a life dedicated to their community and the world at large.

Cole graduated from UCLA with a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D.

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