Talking with … John Carey

Interviews | Feb 09, 2018 | admin

“Talking with…” helps you get to know a different Gabelli School faculty member, administrator, or staff member in each installment. This week, find out more about John Carey, professor of communications and media management and program director for the MS in Media Management.

You went to Fordham for your undergraduate degree. What made you return to teach here?
As a practical matter, there was a job opening at the Gabelli School in my field of research. I spent the previous 20 years doing research for large media companies like NBC, Google, AT&T, and The New York Times, and wanted to return to the academic world. It was a bonus that I love Fordham and couldn’t think of a better place to work.

Are there any similarities between your experiences working and teaching at Columbia, NYU, and Fordham?
Each has very bright students and a strong faculty. And each has a program in my area of specialization, new media.

Are there any differences that stand out?
Fordham is the friendliest, most supportive of students, and least stressful.

How have new media changed the way you need to teach media and communications?
There are so many new-media resources for those who teach media management and communication as well as other disciplines. The Web has countless resources, and even something like YouTube, which used to be dominated by funny cat videos, now has a treasure trove of videos that can be helpful in teaching just about any subject.

Can you describe a recent example of people using digital-age communications to help others on a large scale?
One example that comes to mind is cell-phone banking in Africa. Many people in Africa did not have bank accounts. Some cell-phone companies, for example, M-Pesa, stepped in and let anyone with a cell phone put money in an account and later withdraw it or pay bills and transfer money to others.

What is something unique about the MS in Media Management program?

There are many unique features about the MS in Media Management but I’ll mention just two. One is a really strong faculty with a lot of real-world experience as well as scholarly research and a dedication to teaching. The second is our terrific student organization, the Media and Entertainment Alliance, which organizes industry and social events for students and alumni, helps students network with alumni and industry executives, and sets up site visits to media companies in “the media capital of the world,” New York City.