OCU Career Seminar 2015: Media in the 21st Century [THROWBACK]

Management Development Institute of Singapore held the Annual OCU Career Seminar at the school Auditorium from 12:30 pm onwards on October 9th, 2015. The event was attended by the MDIS Media Students, staff and alumni. Professor Karlie Harmon and Mr. Viswa Sadasivan were the guests of honour and speakers for the afternoon. The event started on a cheerful note with Miss Karlie Harmon addressing the audience, and enlightening them with the current status of the rapidly changing Media Industry in the 21st Century; followed by Mr. Sadasivan.

A large number of students poured in for the talk enthusiastically. When interviewed, the students said that they were thrilled to be a part of the talk honoured by one of the tycoons of the Media Industry. However, Dr. Kent Buchanan, the other guest speaker for the day was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. Mrs. Harmon, the Director International Mass Communication Programmes from Oklahoma City University, took over on his behalf and started off by introducing Mr. Sadasivan and delivering a speech about how the media has evolved in the 21st century.

Subsequently, Mr. Sadasivan who is the founder of Inconvenient Questions (IQ) a socio-political site based in Singapore, began the talk by sharing his personal experiences in the media world. In 1983, he joined broadcasting and took up a challenge to produce a documentary in a limited time, for which he also won the New York Award. He believes, “Today’s market place values something that last year’s market place did not, which is; passion.” However, the textbooks do not teach about the media environment and most of the graduates end up being mere technicians. He also emphasized that, he does not think that academic qualifications are an accurate measure of intelligence; we need to believe in ourselves and be surrounded with people that will believe in us.

As he continued, he was quoted saying, “I started an online portal in 2011 professionally by hiring staff. I decided to put in my own money as I felt that the most important thing in Singapore is to build a civil society. After putting in in $100,000, I raised another $540,000 and launched Inconvenient Questions (IQ). During the elections it was the first online site to have to organized a debate among the political parties. It was never done before. And if we waited for Channel News Asia to do it, it would never be done. So, we did it. Even though I earn nothing from it, I want to do it because of a sense of purpose. I feel like I need to contribute to the Singapore civil society by enhancing their voice.”

Lastly, he ended his part of the talk by quoting Albert Einstein, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” The talk was then concluded with a Question and Answer session by addressing the queries of the curious students. Anthony, a student from the Diploma of Mass Communications, posed a question enquiring, “In the context of modern media, what makes a good Journalist? Is it someone who is truthful or someone that is ethical?” to which Mr. Sadasivan replied saying that the job of a good Journalist is to remain open minded and neutral and present a spectrum of perspectives and let people decide for themselves. The information we present should be valid and objective.

Great enthusiasm was shown by the students as the event came to a fold, they thoroughly enjoyed learning about values that would help them buck up for the long run. One of the students told the Journalists, “I look forward to more of such talks, it is definitely a good

learning experience for us.”

Anushka Sharma and Amanda Lee (Left) interviewing Mr. Sadasivan and Mrs. Karlie

Harmon (Right).

The Journalists for the event, Anushka Sharma and Amanda Lee, who were studying for a Diploma of Mass Communications, interviewed the honored guests personally after the talk, to get their insights on a few aspects of the industry.

Anushka:

What is the one aspect that can change the media industry for the good?

Mr. Sadasivan:

I think the media industry can afford to have a lot more ethics based decisions. Because it

is increasingly driven by money and money can blind, money can make you do things that

you shouldn’t do under the code of ethics, as a journalist and make you relate on your

responsibilities. So, I think you need to go back to your basics, ethics based decisions.

Mrs. Karlie Harmon:

That’s going back to fundamentals, we can’t get away from those.

Anushka:

What are the three most important things we need to know before joining the media industry?

I think somewhere we already talked about that, as far as the things that you need I think it’s the passion, it’s the clarity.

Mr. Sadasivan:

For me it would be, forget 9 to 5, don’t even think about it. Forget about becoming a Billionaire. Be prepared to struggle, struggle with everything, and especially with your own heart and soul. Because if you really want to take it seriously everything that you do needs to be a struggle, a contest.

Mrs. Karlie:

And I think I would like to add to that, don’t be afraid of challenges I mean if the opportunity comes along for you to work on a project that may be out of your comfort zone, don’t be afraid to take those challenges. Those have been some of the rewarding steps in my life. There will be many opportunities for you, don’t be afraid, don’t limit yourself and take pride in being a Journalist and a professional. You’re going to have challenges and opportunities.

Anushka:

What is that one thing that recruiters look for in a Media Graduate?

Mrs. Karlie:

I think passion is one the things that they do look for. They look for the person, the look for the type of person you are. About the skills, they can train with you that, but they look for work ethics, they look for passion, they look for a sense of direction. Are you going to be the kind of person that you know would be there, or are open to working with difficulties in the field?

Mr. Sadasivan:

For me it is purpose driven, I mean the people I hire, if you don’t have a clear sense of purpose, not matter how skilled you are, I’m sorry wont help. That’s for me.

Mrs. Karlie:

I think we are saying the same thing purpose driven and passion, I’m using the the term passion and he is using the term purpose driven, and that’s exactly how I hire people. I’m looking for the person, I’m looking if the person is passionate about this, are they driven with this, do they have a purpose, I look for their sense of work ethic the type of person that they are.

Anushka:

These days we see a lot of companies focusing on the academics and report card

Mr. Sadasivan:

It has changed.

Mrs. Karlie:

I don’t think that’s true. It has changed. There will be many many people that will graduate with same degree, what is going to separate those graduates are passion, work ethics, clarity of purpose, and personal qualities, the kind of person that you are.

Mr. Sadasivan:

And this doesn’t just apply to media, it can be any job.

Mrs. Karlie:

Yes, it can be any job.

Anushka:

So if you have those qualities, you are sure to succeed?

Mr. Sadasivan:

You have a much better chance of succeeding. It doesn’t mean that you will succeed. Because to truly succeed you also need a little bit of luck.

Amanda:

That’s all for now, thank you very much for your time. The interview ended on a warm note and we look forward to an opportunity to interact with them sometime again. The event was deemed a successful one and the positive response from everyone added to the eventful afternoon.