My Intellectual Autobiography got an A~ Woo-hoo!

Retrospectively, I realize that my educational and professional paths have uniquely shaped me to this point of contention in choosing between marketing and settling with the comfortable knowledge I’ve already acquired, or pursuing the mysterious explanations and implications of the knowledge that is yet to be discovered. My acceptance of the latter will hopefully perpetuate the development of more efficient media technologies and a more universal responsibility with how they’re utilized. My interest in media was first prompted by studying production and the precision that it demanded. However, the theoretical consequences and regulations behind the media industry incessantly aroused my curiosity. The way society and its regulatory agencies respond to each mediated development piqued my interest, and how the implementation of the newest fads affect social interactions maintain my interest. In Conclusion, I commit my resources and analytical understanding towards investigating a deeper connection of cultures’ relationships with media and the evolutionary consequences within society.

In fall of 2001 at Ohio University, I realized how vital media is in our society when I took an introductory course in mass communication. My instructor was Jeff Smith, and he introduced the concept that the relationship between media and society is reflective: whereas society and media mimic one another whilst raising the bar on how humans are supposed to live and what to be satisfied with. The marvel that fascinated me most was how our society adapts and responds to the ever-changing trends in technology. Subsequently, the message was drilled home when the events of 9/11 prompted our Media Effects professor to have class in the local coffeehouse that day. The reasoning was to witness the impact of media in action. The same horrific images looped on every news channel in front of a helpless audience in southern Ohio. The experience demonstrated to me how permeable people are and how many institutions manipulate media to their advantage. In the weeks that followed, America witnessed the government rushing controversial laws through the judicial system that arguably compromised our constitutional rights to privacy. The following spring, I studied mass communication which had a more in-depth focus on the theories revolving around the phenomenon of media and its effects. Simultaneously, I was enrolled in my first sociology course, and needless to say, I was enthralled by the developments and complexities of society. The combination of my interests in mass communication and my analytical skills of society challenged me to pursue a more in-depth understanding of media.

I transferred to Bowling Green State University in 2003 because it was closer to home, and offered an appealing student-teacher ratio. Fortunately, I found the transition to be extremely beneficial because I decided to declare sociology as my minor. Looking back, it seems that decision cemented my path for a profound understanding of which societies function within the diversity of each culture. I commenced my academic career at Bowling Green State University by registering in the required production courses and a media effects course to fulfill my interests. The production courses enlightened me to the notion that the way a message is presented can carry more weight than the message itself. Additionally, I was enrolled in an international telecommunications class, which assisted in ‘broadening my horizons’ beyond American borders and introduced me to other cultures and concepts of globalization. I then applied my nascent understanding of media effects to an international platform and it felt as though something inside clicked. I felt compelled to further research and would find myself pondering why international media management was so different compared to American media. Furthermore, how different cultures are guided by the variance of strict governmental influences that may censor criticisms and information.

The following fall, I enlisted in a Telecommunications policy & regulation course and Dr. Peter Shields acquainted me with the Panopticon Theory and its impact on an individual’s psyche on a micro level. The concept of NOT having a single sacred moment alone and man’s paranoid habits to loophole the system in avoidance of surveillance fascinates me. During the spring of 2004, I registered in an introductory course in methodology, along with social psychology and several other social theory courses. These courses gave me a great opportunity to see how many other variables affect society, and how media sets a standard that influences the way people think they are supposed to behave. During the same semester, I was employed at the local PBS station, WBGU-PBS, as a “Technical Director” and worked at a Movie Gallery to pay for rent. I would work in the Master Control room at WBGU-PBS, ensuring the programming would go according to the traffic log and ingest beta tapes into the server. Eventually, as I got more familiar with the station, I was trained to run a studio camera and worked with Final Cut Pro Edit. Between my sociology and telecommunications curriculum, Bowling Green State University prepared me to think more critically about social and media research with a hands-on approach. Needless to say, the unity of media research and production culminated my interest in The New School which is why I’m here. The theories and generalizations that are able to be drawn with each innovative technology and how society absorbs it as a social norm continues to intrigue me.

Once my Bachelors Degree was achieved in December 2004, I was left with the challenge of finding an entry-level, media position in the middle of Ohio. After 10 months of fruitless resume emailing/mailing, I understood that I needed to go to the media Nexus. In November 2005, I made an exploratory journey to New York City to seek some advice on how to at least get my foot in the media industry door. A month later, Katz Media Group presented an opportunity to me exploring the media sales facet, thus teaching me the importance of location. I started out as a research analyst, but soon got promoted to a research manager after a year and a half. As a research manager for a TV rep firm, I am fairly confined to quantitative data strictly devoted to drive revenue with limited methodological approaches. It’s a terrific job and I enjoy what I do, but it’s not philanthropically fulfilling and my contribution to society is to legitimize the practice of society’s consumption. Corporate motive teamed with biased legislation to further its agenda makes me feel like a traitor of the human soul.

The knowledge and research habits I hope to gain with the New School experience will propel my talents to contribute positively in the understanding of media and the information age. I first pursued media because I respect and was curious about the production processes and efforts put forth at each level, but it was the theory, research, and law that always kept me intrigued. In the next 10-20 years I hope to be investigating the instant gratifications in the transference of information accelerating our adaptive human capabilities and functionalities. Societal and governmental laws impact society on a macro level, and how the effects of the media they employ affects each individual on a personal micro-level prompts my curiosity. In conclusion, my analytical skills of society teamed with my interests in mass communication validate my further exploration for a deeper understanding that is relative to all cultures.