Why CCT? A Video Narrative

I graduated from New York University with one degree in journalism and another in psychology. I also had minors in French and Asian American history. After graduation, I was asked all the time: what are you going to do with all of those topics? Well, I ended up becoming a journalist, and I strongly believe that studying so many different subjects only helped to strengthen my skills. After all, journalism school can teach you how to write concisely, think about ethics and maybe edit video. But an expertise in something else can only help, if not to strengthen a beat, then to broaden your knowledge. 

I chose CCT because it provided a more structured approach to interdisciplinary study. I could hone my skills in technology and marketing, while still focusing on theory. I came into the program interested in questions of authenticity. With the success of my food blog, I could be called a “micro-influencer.” I’m always being told to “be authentic” in order to grow my brand, but what does that mean? What makes one influencer more authentic to viewers than another? Doesn’t trying to be authentic mean you are manufacturing your own authenticity? I was also interested in authenticity as it pertained to the food I was cooking. Who decides what food is authentic? How is authenticity weaponized to exclude certain outgroups? How does it limit certain ingroups? 

In my professional career as a journalist, authenticity remains salient as well. Does authenticity necessarily translate to trustworthiness in the news? If not, how do we improve our trustworthiness in an era where it feels like fewer and fewer people trust journalists, and disinformation runs rampant?

I hope to carry these questions with me as I take more classes in this program. As a journalist, I think everything I do and learn will ultimately make me better at my job. Hopefully, by looking at my hobbies and profession through a more academic lens, I’ll be able to more seamlessly meld the two, whether that’s through food writing or growing my brand separately from my image as a journalist. 

Read more about my decision to enroll at Georgetown here.