Media Industry Conversations (MIC)
MIC offers students from UT Austin's Department of Radio-Television-Film (RTF) and the Moody College of Communication opportunities to engage with a wide range of industry professionals to discuss today's evolving media landscape. MIC guests, many of whom are prominent RTF and Moody College alumni, hail from Texas, Los Angeles, New York and beyond.
Each fall semester, MIC sessions are a component of RTF 347P, The Business of Hollywood, taught by media studies professor Alisa Perren. A limited number of MIC sessions also are scheduled each spring semester. Keep an eye on this webpage and on our Twitter feed (@RTFMIC) for updates about upcoming guests as well as new podcasts.
MIC is generously supported by both RTF and the Moody College of Communication. Assistance with guest coordination is provided by screenwriting professor Cindy McCreery.
Selected MIC sessions are recorded and published as podcasts, available for free on SoundCloud.
Instructors
Primary Course Instructor and MIC Organizer: Alisa Perren
Faculty Collaborator: Cindy McCreery
Program Director: Lesley Willard
Teaching Assistants: Kaitlin Lange, Jing Wang
Guest Support Assistant: Pete Johnson
Contact
For general questions regarding the course or Media Industry Conversations, please contact Alisa Perren at aperren@austin.utexas.edu.
Past Guest Archive
For a listing of guests from previous semesters, see our archives.
Latest Tweets
Spring 2022 MIC Speakers
March 25 - Hall Hood
Senior Writer, Aspyr Media
2:00-3:00pm CT via Zoom
April 1 - Gracie Arenas Strittmatter
Technical Art Director, Electronic Arts (EA Sports)
2:00-3:00pm CT via Zoom
April 8 - Morgan O'Brien, PhD
Quality Assurance Tester, Aspyr Media
2:00-3:00pm CT via Zoom
April 15 - Jesse Anderson
Brand Manager for BioWare, EA
2:00-3:00pm CT in DMC 1.202 & via Zoom
Fall 2021 MIC Speakers
Aug. 30 - Launching Your Career, Corporate Side (Panel)
Guests include Caterina Nasr (Senior Manager, A&R, Elektra Music), Vance Nguyen (Assistant to VP & Executive Director of Development, 20th Century Animation), Lauren Zimmer (Television Scripted Assistant at Creative Artists Agency), and Hemrani Vyas (Assistant Manager of Programming, TCM).
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Sept. 13 - Launching Your Career, Screenwriters & Agents (Panel)
Guests include Davia Carter (executive story editor, Debris), Jim Ehrich (literary agent, Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston), Kim Tran (staff writer, Space Force), Cindy McCreery (RTF faculty member, Honey Girls)
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Sept. 20 - Mark Hoffman
Chairman, CNBC
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Sept. 27 - Ginny Morris
Chair/CEO, Hubbard Radio, LLC
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Oct. 4 - Mindy Kaling
Actress, writer, producer
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Oct. 11 - Tahirah Gooden
Manager of Original Studio Films, Netflix
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Oct. 18 - Kevin Jarzynski
Senior Development Executive, Amazon Studios
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Oct. 20 - Keli Lee
Founder & President, Infinite Possibilities Enterprises
3:00–4:15 pm CT
Oct. 25 - Colby Gaines
Executive Producer and Founder, Back Roads Entertainment
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Nov. 1 - Brandt Joel
Agent & Partner, WME/Endeavor
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Nov. 3 - Brian Edwards
President of Television Operations, MGM
3:00-4:15pm CT
Nov. 8 - Lucy Huang
Senior Production Executive, Amazon Studios
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Nov. 12 - A Studio Manager's Intro to Post Production for Scripted TV
Michelle Trujillo McKibben (Manager, Original Series Post Production, Netflix)
12:00–1:30 pm CT
Nov. 15 - Maru Buendia-Senties
Senior Post Production Executive, Amazon Studios
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Nov. 22 - PJ Shapiro
Entertainment Attorney & Managing Partner, Ziffren Brittenham LLP
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Nov. 29 - Kyle Davies
Entertainment Distribution and Exhibition Consultant
5:00–6:15 pm CT
Dec. 6 - Jordan Levin
General Manager, Rooster Teeth
5:00–6:15 pm CT