November 21, 2016
To the Communication Department Faculty Jury:
I am a student in my Senior Year at the University of Indianapolis double-majoring in Political Science and Communication with an emphasis in Electronic Media. I am writing this with hope to confidently demonstrate my qualification to be a Communication graduate, as will be shown in this portfolio. In the three years I have spent at the University my skill and knowledge in the Communication field has grown considerably. Early submissions were met with failure, but to my personal pride during my time as a student I have won 1st place in the talk show category, and 2nd place in the air personality category for the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters as well as 3rd place in the specialty program category for the national Broadcasting Education Association for my political talk-show program “Under the Hat” pioneered on the university radio station WICR and WICR-HD3. This was only made possible after considerable effort on my part, with much guidance and final approval from the General Manager for WICR, and Applied Radio Professor Scott Uecker.
My qualifications as a radio broadcaster and communication student also include knowledge of salient current issues facing the industry. In this portfolio you will find a research paper I wrote on the subject of Net Neutrality for the Communication Law 440 class in the summer of 2015. It outlines the legal issues surrounding the subject to-date. It is inestimably important for Communication majors, and particularly radio broadcasters, to stay continuously informed on the changing landscape of this science. Also included in this portfolio are samples taken from my political talk-show “Under the Hat” as well as an interview I conducted in 2014 highlighting an author who wrote a humorous novel satirizing the religious cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These submissions highlight my accumulated skills as a broadcaster as well as my knowledge in the field of Communication.
I regard the time I have spent at the University of Indianapolis to be extremely valuable. The breadth of lessons I’ve learned include the materials taught in the many classes I’ve taken, as well as valuable insights into human behavior, and teamwork dynamics. The professors with whom I have spent my time each have imparted their own valuable insights that will continue to influence me in the future. This portfolio is a brief but proud overview of the effort I’ve spent to become a professional and productive member of my chosen field in broadcasting. It is my final farewell to my career as a student, and a proud welcome to my career as a professional. To the Communication Department Faculty Jury, I leave this portfolio for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Ethan George Hatcher
Cover Letter
Senior Project Portfolio
Professional Resume
This resume represents my cumulative experience educationally and professionally. It includes history that highlights my qualifications as a broadcaster who has held multiple positions in the industry extending beyond the university and into the professional world. It also highlights the awards won during my school career for my broadcasting performances. Lastly it shows alternative work experience that provides further insight into my personal character and wide set of abilities which most employers see as a desirable characteristic in employees.
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Academic Writing Sample
During the summer of 2015 I was enrolled in Communication Law 440 taught by Professor Scott Uecker. The objective of the course was to familiarize students with legal procedures including the process by which bills are passed, as well as overview corporate interests and how those are lobbied in congress, as well as how Federal Bureaus such as the F.C.C. impact the role of broadcasters and the legal issues pertaining to each. At the end of the class each student was expected to present a thoroughly researched paper on a pertinent communication law topic of their choosing, I decided to explore the case law surrounding Fair Use Doctrine, and specifically how South Park Digital Studios in "Brownmark Films LLC v. Comedy Partners" through their foul-mouthed fourth grade cartoon avatars inadvertently expanded the protections afforded to content producers and satirists against frivolous lawsuits. This paper demonstrates both my writing ability, as well as skill in research and analysis of complex legal issues.
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Major Area Submissions
This is my submission to the 2015-2016 Broadcasting Education Association and the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters contests for which I won several awards for air personality, talk show, and specialty program. The submission is comprised of on-air shifts I performed on WICR-HD3 under the tutelage of Scott Uecker. Professor Uecker helped to refine my sense of pacing on-air, how to present and tease segments to the audience, and how to conduct interviews that are engaging. After working with him extensively this submission was a big qualifier that allowed me to transition my talk-show from WICR-HD3 to WICR 88.7FM, this was one of the long term goals I set to achieve early on in my school career, and finally accomplishing it gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment. I included this submission in the portfolio because it is award-winning content that highlights my skill as a broadcaster.
During the beginning of 2014 students of the Applied Radio program were required to produce a podcast of their own design. Podcasting is a growing means to distribute broadcasting content and extend the value of existing content. It’s a means for budding broadcasters to access a platform with wide appeal and accessibility, as well as for professional broadcasters to maximize their exposure and reach a broader audience. I interviewed author Kyria Abrams who wrote: “I’m Perfect and You’re Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah’s Witness Upbringing.” This was a half biography, and half satire of the Jehovah’s Witness cult. It is an example of both my ability as an interviewer, as well as an editor. This submission also earned me a 3rd place award in the interviewing category for the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters in 2014, the first award I’d earned as a student.
Lastly, this clip is the full interview from my artifact redesign for Senior Project. This focused on my interviewing skills and required a complete overhaul of the original strategy. The redesign specifically concentrated on preparing questions ahead of time in conjunction with thorough research of the subject, as well as remaining neutral in the interviewing process. This resulted in a much more academically tailored information gathering interview when compared with my first submission back in 2014.