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Faculty Spotlight: Cory Sandrock on the Financial Side of the Creative Sector

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Cory Sandrock, who teaches the Business of the Creative Sector, knows a lot about both finance and the arts.

He is a Theatre graduate from Northwestern’s School of Communication and holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He has extensive experience in capital markets, strategic planning, financial analyses, commercial real estate, and investment management, with a career that has moved from theatre and film production to investment banking and private equity.  Sandrock currently serves as the Managing Director of Pareto & Company, a private investment company targeting the real estate, dental, and finance industries. He has also written and directed numerous theatre productions.

Below are his answers to our faculty spotlight questions.

(more…)

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Sabrina Wang’s Dream Job Combines Museums and Marketing

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By Jacob Nelson

Sabrina Wang has a very specific goal while enrolled as a student in the MSLCE program: she wants to bring her love of museums and marketing together for her dream job.

While studying communications and east Asian studies at the University of Southern California, Wang interned at both the campus’ Fisher Museum of Art as as well as at Los Angeles Magazine, where she focused on marketing. She also did event planning for the USC Pacific Asia Museum, amongst her other responsibilities like writing scripts for tours and engaging with the museum’s audience as a docent. (more…)

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Mary Sherman Talks Arts Nonprofit Management at Northwestern

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By Jacob Nelson

In November 2015, Mary Sherman was working on a presentation that explored the importance of art. Specifically, it was about the importance of her art nonprofit, TransCultural Exchange, an annual conference that brings together artists from across the globe. She originally planned to argue its importance based on the significance of its financials, drawing on the millions of dollars it’s raised over the years. She decided to take a break and went to a museum.

And then the texts started rolling in. The Paris terrorist attack had just occurred. Sherman, who was in Boston but has friends in Paris, was rattled. But she didn’t want to move.

“I didn’t want to leave the museum,” Sherman said. “I was surrounded by literally the best that humanity has to offer.”

When Sherman returned home, she changed her talk: “This is why art is important,” she said, “At times like this we need to be surrounded by human excellence.” (more…)

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MSLCE Students Explore the Los Angeles Film and TV Industry

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By Lauren Vernea

During spring break, the MSLCE cohort made the journey to Hollywood.

While in Los Angeles, students met with Northwestern alumni and Hollywood executives who are currently working at companies such as Disney Motion Pictures, FOX Searchlight, FX Networks, Universal Pictures/Secret Hideout, HBO, MACRO Ventures, Scott Free Productions, Partizan Entertainment, Film Independent, and more. (more…)

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MSLCE Media Markets Class Gives Students Unique Perspective of Digital Media

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By Chip Potter

The unprecedented growth of the digital media marketplace may seem daunting to many entrepreneurs trying to break into the world of the creative industries, but as we learned in Professor James Webster’s class, Understanding Media Markets, it actually provides tremendous opportunity.

Understanding “Big Data” is absolutely crucial to sustained success in marketing, as it provides target user data to a point never before seen. Professor Webster’s class focused on the history of media, how marketers use it today, and how we can utilize it in the creative industries to better understand our target, and how our target perceives our message. (more…)

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MSLCE Students Learn About Film, TV Industries on Trek to Los Angeles

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By Leslie Zhu

During spring break, half of the MSLCE cohort went on a journey to Los Angeles, the center of the nation’s film and television industry.

The expansiveness of both the city and its industry are so real and mind-blowing. If New York is a machine for finance, commerce and art, Los Angeles, is a high-speed and smoothly operated machine for the film and television industry. (more…)

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MSLCE Students Learn the Scope of Business Models for Creative Industries

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By Lauren Vernea

This winter quarter in the MSLCE elective class “Business Models for Creative Enterprises,” students immersed themselves into how the world’s most creative companies operate.

Prof. Daniel Gruber’s authentic enthusiasm for the class and the MSLCE program was evident from the beginning. The class structure was a diverse mix of lectures, case study presentations, insightful guest lectures from Chicago industry professionals, a consistent online discussion board called Yellowdig, and in-class activities. (more…)

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MSLCE Students Visit Full Service Media Agency

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By Lauren Vernea
MSLCE students recently participated in a site visit to the world renowned full-service media agency, Mediavest Spark at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. The company’s newly formed content department provides all forms of media from short films to mobile apps driven to connect clients with their brands. (more…)

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MSLCE Students Pitch Creative Projects in Digital TV Course

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By Leslie Zhu

The television industry has expanded with myriads of platforms and evolved from network to cable and internet distribution. New players like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, and YouTube have made it easier for television show creators to get their material produced and are also gradually reshaping the entire television market and culture. We are now living in an exciting era where everyone has a chance to make his or her own production. The whole television market and culture is gradually reshaping itself.

To respond to this trend, the MSLCE students in the digital television course created their own shows. (more…)

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