Media Industry Conversations

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Media Industry Conversations

Media Industry Conversations (MIC)

MIC is a joint initiative between the Center for Entertainment and Media Industries (CEMI) and the Department of Radio-Television-Film (RTF). MIC provides students across campus with opportunities to engage with a wide range of industry professionals and discuss today's evolving media landscape. MIC guests, many of whom are prominent RTF and Moody College of Communication 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 the Department of Radio-Television-Film, the Moody College of Communication, and the Center for Entertainment and Media Industries (CEMI). For more information on MIC and other industry-focused initiatives, please visit the CEMI website here. Assistance with guest coordination is also provided by screenwriting professor and interim RTF Chair Cindy McCreery.

Selected MIC sessions are recorded and published as podcasts, available for free on SoundCloud and Spotify.

The MIC Team

Primary Course Instructor and MIC Organizer: Alisa Perren
Faculty Collaborator: Cindy McCreery
Academic Program Coordinator: Hannah Wold
MIC Assistant: Kristina Brüning
CEMI Undergraduate Fellow: Chloe Landau

 

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.

 

Spring 2024 MIC Speakers

Feb 16. - Austin Animation Panel

Guests include Carrye Glazar (Executive Producer, Austin Community College Television), Brad Graeber (CEO, Powerhouse Animation Studios), Austin Harper (Supervising Producer, Rooster Teeth), Evan Narcisse (Senior Writer, Brass Lion Entertainment), and Craig Staggs (CEO, Minnow Mountain).
4:00 - 5:15 pm CT

Feb 20. - Scot Cru

Independent International Television & Media Consultant
12:30–1:45 pm CT

March 21 - Austin-Based Film Festivals Panel

Guests include Neha Aziz (Artistic Director, Austin Asian American Film Festival), Alka Bhanot (Co-Founder, Indie Meme), David Finkel (Director, Austin Jewish Film Festival), Todd Hogan (President, aGLIFF), and Gabriel Ornelas (Executive Director, Cine Las Americas).
4:00–5:15 pm CT

Apr. 1 - Patrick Schumacker

EP and Co-Showrunner of Abbott Elementary, Delicious Non Sequitur Productions and WB Television
5–6:15 pm CT

Apr. 9 - Amanda Harrell

Former EVP, Business and Legal Affairs, Alternative and Specials, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
12:30–1:45 pm CT

Fall 2023 MIC Speakers

Aug. 28 - Launching Your Career Panel

Guests include Ben Harizman (Executive Assistant to the CEO, OBB Media), Zachary Smith (Line Producer's Assistant, 20th Television), Hemrani Vyas (Assistant Manager of Programming, TCM), and Rachel Wang (Associate Producer, Up Entertainment).
5:00–6:15 pm CT

Sept. 11 - Launching Your Career, Screenwriter & Agent

Guests: Davia Carter (Tulsa King), Jim Ehrich (literary agent, Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston) & Cindy McCreery (RTF Interim Chair, Honey Girls)
5:00–6:15 pm CT

Sept. 18 - Brent Weinstein

Chief Development Officer, Candle Media
5:00–6:15 pm CT

Sept. 25 - Gail MacKinnon

Senior Executive Vice President, Global Policy & Government Affairs, Motion Picture Association
5:00-6:15pm CT

Oct. 2 - Dr. Thomas Schatz

Professor Emeritus, University of Texas at Austin
5:00–6:15 pm CT

Oct. 9 - Business of Music Panel

Guests include Wofford Denius (Attorney, Eisner, LLP), Jonathan Eshak (Co-President, Mick Music), Margaret Galton (Promoter, C3 Presents), Dan Goscombe (Managing Director, Cal Financial Group), and Kevin Shivers (Partner, WME).
5:00–6:15 pm CT

Oct. 16 - Amanda Barclay

Director, Comedy Series, Netflix
5:00-6:15pm CT

Oct. 23 - Christopher Casanova

Vice President, Film & Television, Black Bear Pictures
5:00-6:15pm CT

Oct 25 - Emerald Fennell

Writer, Director, Actress and Author
Promising Young Woman, Saltburn
6:00-7:15pm CT

Oct. 30 - Pastor Alvarado III

Executive Producer and Creative Director, Riverside Entertainment
5:00-6:15pm CT

Nov. 6 - Lucy Huang

Senior Production Executive, Amazon Studios
5:00-6:15pm CT

Nov. 9 - Bob Berney

CEO, Picturehouse
9:30-10:45am CT

Nov. 13 - Entertainment Law Panel

PJ Shapiro & Greg Slewett (lawyers and partners, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole)
5:00–6:15 pm CT

Nov. 27 - David Tran

VP, Distribution Strategy and Analysis, Lionsgate
5:00-6:15pm CT

Dec. 4 - Austin Entertainment Industry

Guests include Alfred Gomez (Director, Programming & Development, Blind Nil), Jennifer Hutchins (Producer), Laura Kincaid (Director of Operations, ATX TV), Attia Rasul (Content Hub Editor, Atmosphere TV), and Vince Robinette (Controller, Amazon Studios and 20th Century Fox/Disney).
5:00–6:15 pm CT