Saji

While he was an undergraduate at Cornell, Ken Saji '92 spent his free time writing. His passion for writing and his creativity eventually led him to an internship at MTV Networks, where he is senior editorial director.

Saji, who majored in English, spoke to students interested in pursuing a career in media and writing in a lecture, "The Evolving Media Landscape," April 14 in 132 Rockefeller Hall. He urged students to write during their college years and generate a portfolio of work to show potential employers.

"When I look for people to hire, I look for people who generate as broad a range of ideas as possible, and people with a varied academic background," he said.

As creative director and head writer for MTV's creative services department, Saji oversees the development of brand strategies for MTV Networks, which includes such stations as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Spike.

"We are a heavily branded network. We really live off of our brands," said Saji, who explained how he works with the creative services department to develop strategic and creative communications to bolster the companies' branding and connect the company with advertisers and distributors.

Saji explained the creative process behind several projects he is now involved in, including a meat-themed holiday card for Spike and a shirt design for Comedy Central featuring a rubber chicken graphic on the front.

The business of media is changing as the way that people consume content evolves, Saji said, pointing out that "no one is sitting down and watching television for hours at an end," since content is now readily accessible in many different forms. Advertisers now want to be online, on-air, in print and on cell phones. MTV has had to constantly evolve to stay competitive and successful, he said.

MTV no longer plays music videos, Saji said, because brands need to constantly redefine themselves. Instead of identifying themselves as "music television," the station defines itself as a music lifestyle channel.

The event was part of the Munschauer Career Series.

Kristen Tauer '10 is a writer intern for the Chronicle.