Media, Journalism and Creative Industries Personal Statement Example

While writing an article for my blog on the life of the singer Jim Morrison, I stumbled upon a quote by him "Whoever controls the media, controls the mind," which made me realize the colossal power media holds-to influence the opinions and attitudes of people.

This thought precipitated a realization for me that the field of media resonates with my communication skills, ingenuity, and intellectualism. Media's power to influence not only the social and political spheres but also an individual's day to day life, including my own, is what motivates me to study this course.

The social aspect of media, in particular, compels me because of its potential to amplify marginalized voices. Coming from an Indian background, the issue of oppressive patriarchal dominance in my society piqued my interest and the platform of social media has helped me
raise awareness about the same through online petitions and campaigns.

Managing a social media account to promote feminism among the youth has not only enabled me to connect, critique, and share perspectives but also significantly enhanced my skills to investigate and present allowing me to have hands-on experience in social media management and networking.

To expand my knowledge, I participated in the Fortis Peer Moderator Program on Media literacy and Gender Sensitivity, which enabled me to become a wiser consumer and producer of media. To further augment my knowledge of the foundation of media, I completed a Coursera course through the University of Amsterdam on Media Ethics and Governance.

This course provided me with the knowledge of perspectives on media ethics as well as the dominant theoretical approaches that enabled me to reflect on ethical dilemmas and develop a well-substantiated argumentation in a variety of media-related contexts.

The case studies in this course made me realize that various dimensions like culture, psychological behavior, and statistics are also an indispensable part of media. Finding this multifaced element of media intellectually fascinating, I enrolled in a summer training program on Creative and Cultural Events through which, in addition to learning how to practically organize cultural events, I also learned how the mass media influences modern culture and shapes societal behavior.

While these courses exposed me to the basis of media and creative industries, my schoolwork prepared me for the academic workload. Throughout school, I have been awarded the scholar badge for eight consecutive years and attained proficiency awards in English and Mathematics which have upskilled my resilience. My extracurriculars have also prepared me for a career in media.

Competing in several essay writing competitions has enhanced my ability to write in a clear, concise, and professional manner which further enabled me to get an opportunity to co-author a published book - Crescent. I have also regularly written and edited articles for my school magazine. These projects allowed me to expand my writing, text editing, and compiling skills.

Having won an award at the UtopiaMUN and various debate competitions, I am equipped with confident public speaking skills. These competitions required me to have an intricate knowledge of current affairs which I've received by listening to Peter Kafka's Recode Media podcast weekly.

In addition to writing and public speaking, I also have a keen interest in community service. Being a zone leader at the Sankalp NGO and having successfully raised money through a social crowdfunding program for providing mid-day meals to underprivileged children, I realized the correlation media platforms have with the service dimension.

My other hobbies include reading suspense novels, writing poetry, and journaling regularly. Through my training and coursework, I have developed the necessary skills required for a successful career in media, and this bedrock along with my enthusiasm for the subject will facilitate me to productively learn this course at university.