Michel Ghanem
Michel Ghanem works as an Administrative Assistant in healthcare while working on blogs, freelance work, and newsletters. Ghanem’s online presence on Instagram as the @tvscholar allows him to write on critical ideas in TV shows for a wide audience.
Q. What is your name, and where are you from?
A. My name is Michel Ghanem, and I currently live in Vancouver. I moved around a lot growing up, but Victoria feels like the most hometown city because my family is still there. I moved to Seattle as a teenager and did most of high school over there. So, I definitely moved around a bit, and those are kind of the basics.
Q. What were your favourite classes growing up?
A. I liked English class but not really in a stereotypical English student way, I guess you could say. What really catapulted my writing side was when I got interested in fashion as a teen. I think I started kind of writing my own blogs when Blogspot was a thing and started feeling really engaged in that kind of activity in Grade 12. I started writing for this website called Ology.com, which no longer exists. I think I was only paid like 20 dollars per article, but it was something. It was my first entry into writing before I branched out into journalism.
Q. Did you always know you wanted to go to post-secondary?
A. Yeah, I think there was kind of no other option in my family other than to go to post-secondary, although I had explored different options that I considered after high school like fashion marketing or fashion communications. My parents, however, convinced me to go into a more general major to start, so I ended up in Art History and later branched into television research.
Q. Why did you chose to go to the University of Victoria?
A. I originally applied to Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and Carlton for Journalism. I did my first year of undergrad at Carlton. However, the way their program is set up, they cut the lower half of the class after the first year. I was very dedicated my first year and was writing for the newspaper and was their top contributor and was very invested in that side of things. So, after being technically cut after the first year, it gave me options to explore other programs such as communications. I ultimately decided to transfer to UVic to continue my studies and be closer to family.
Q. Did you ever have any doubts during your program?
A. I think I got faced with the normal questions, when you’re in a creative field, of where is this going? What am I going to do after this? It’s easy to internalize those doubts as a student, but I think there was so much fun to be had at UVic I just lived in the moment. There were definitely doubts, but I think that’s just normal.
Q. What do you do for work?
A. After UVic, I did a Master of Arts at (what was then) Ryerson: the program was an MA in Fashion as history from a theoretical perspective, so I started writing more in the direction of that and developing a portfolio. I’ve always been a freelance writer during undergrad and graduate school. During my PhD at Ryerson, I started the Instagram account @tvscholar which was a collection of screenshots from shows, but I would analyze critical ideas on television for a wider audience. I really just started building my portfolio of writing in that area. I also write a newsletter attached to the posts as well. After leaving the PhD after my first year due to the pandemic, I was pretty much thrown into the workforce and had to figure it out. I ended up taking an admin job in healthcare so I can focus on what I want to do on the side without worrying about pitching my ideas to others to make money.
Q. How do you think the writing industry is changing?
A. I think there are major shifts happening. But I think it depends on what you’re looking for. Some say it’s hard to find stability while there are lots of opportunities for those interested in video creation or TikTok or other pursuits like that. It’s definitely a mixed bag and depends on where you’re looking to go. I think what I have got going on works for me personally right now, but it really depends on where you want to go. For me as a writer, I feel like these staff writer positions or full-time critic positions are becoming fewer and fewer.
Q. What do you hope to do in the future career-wise?
A. I think I’m feeling it out as I go. There was a part of me that thought I should have returned to academia, but it feels like that’s even more precarious than ever. But there are a lot of things that I’d like to keep doing. I love television and love working with editors that enjoy my writing, so I think as long as I’m doing that, I’ll be happy. I think at some point I’d love to write a non-fiction book about TV. I also have a bit of a bucket list of journalism things that I’d like to do: for example, I’d like to write an oral history, I’d love to write a cover story, and there are just lots of other things I’d like to do in that realm.
Q. What advice would you give those who are starting the ProComm program?
A. I think just enjoy your time and absorb as much information and experience as you can. Learn from profs who have years of expertise and experience and build relationships with them. I think it’s important to find those connections, especially if you want reference letters and opportunities. Professors will keep you in mind for jobs and contracts and things like that. I think it’s also important to get practical writing experience. Of course, school is great and important, but if you can find a way to essentially double dip it can be great to explore both sides to it. Try to get a portfolio created while you’re in school, but also build connections with your peers. You don’t really realize in school how important those friendships are and what kind of opportunities might come through them.
Interview conducted by Jayda Baxter, Professional Communication Work Study Promotions Assistant, Spring 2024.