Capstone Introduction

Hello and welcome! This is my Communication and Leadership Digital Portfolio, created during my time as a graduate student at Gonzaga University. I hope you enjoy the work I did during my studies and I look forward to hearing your feedback on my portfolio.

Where I come from:

My name is Christian Saez. I was born in California but raised in the Pacific Northwest, which I called my home for nearly 10 years. In that short time, I’ve had the pleasure of working in great industries with amazingly talented people who have helped me grow both personally and professionally. Although only 24 years old, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with many talented professionals and learn from seasoned veterans in various different jobs. My most recent job was at a news station in Spokane Washington, where I worked as a reporter, digital producer, and broadcaster. From watching the news as a kid growing up on the west coast to reporting the news on the same stations I grew up watching, I have been able to get an in-depth look at how local journalism plays a role in the communities they broadcast to.

My time on-air:

My undergraduate education took place in Colorado, where I graduated from Western Colorado University with a degree in Communications and a double minor in Business Administration and Spanish. After graduating I moved to Spokane Washington and started my graduate degree in Communication & Leadership from Gonzaga University. While working towards my master’s degree, I continued to work in a myriad of different broadcasting roles. I began as the stadium announcer and field host for the Spokane Indians minor league baseball team, which evolved into doing play-by-play broadcasting for 700 ESPN radio and SWX TV. Eventually, I transitioned into news, getting hired as a multimedia journalist and reporter for the NBC affiliate KHQ TV. Through my time as a journalist I’ve had the privilege of covering many important topics such as the 2020 elections, the COVID-19 pandemic, the historic 2020 west coast heat wave, and Gonzaga men’s basketball’s near-perfect run to the NCAA National Championship in Indianapolis. Throughout that time I’ve witnessed the good and the bad of an industry that is under the spotlight nationwide due to misinformation, misconception, and overall ethics in reporting. The greatest value I have had as a journalist has been witnessing all of the different reporters and producers, who work to manage their own interpretation of journalism ethics in their daily jobs. This is what inspired me to pursue this project topic.

My project:

For my capstone project, I decided to lean on my skills as a journalist and reporter by creating a mini-documentary or as those in the news industry call it— a package. The topic of this package was intended to focus on how the acceleration of breaking news reporting, fueled by a rise in social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, has impacted reporters' ability to maintain ethical standards in their work. The end result is a nearly 8-minute-long package highlighting expert experiences and opinions on the topic. I hope you enjoy!

Communication Philosophy

My communication philosophy is derived off my understanding of Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman’s theory of Media Ecology, which argues that the medium of media determines how the audience perceives the message. The reason this resonates so well with me, and also why I chose this theory to support my capstone project, is due to my experience in various different mediums of media. Throughout my short time in broadcasting I have worked in radio, television, and digital communication roles. Each medium provided similar messaging, but the approach was vastly different among them.

Broadcasting on radio versus television carries a unique dynamic of communication. For radio, my responsibility as a broadcaster— sports broadcasting specifically in this case— is to paint a picture using just my voice and words, whereas in TV my job is to enhance the picture on the screen and provide background on what is taking place. Personally, I always loved radio more because of the creativity you have to use to effectively communicate with your audience. When I'm calling live sporting events on the radio, it's not just about describing what's happening in front of me. I focus on using inflection and emphasis in my voice to build suspense, convey emotions, and paint a picture beyond just the nuts and bolts of the game. Radio as a platform allows me to be more creative in this way, whereas television this could have the opposite effect.

During my time in the Communication and Leadership program at Gonzaga I have gained insight into why we experience media so differently across different mediums, and how to use that to our advantage. As I progress through my career, the mediums of media will continue to evolve, as they do every single day. Our ability to effectively communicate across those mediums will determine how we reach our audiences, and ultimately whether we get our message across or not.