Jonathan
Ong

Born and raised in Manila, Jonathan Ong grew up with an early awareness of his “hybridity.” With a Chinese dad and Filipina-Spanish-American mom, he was often confused in family gatherings and rituals of dining and worship. These early experiences of in-betweenness would serve him well later on as an academic interested in diaspora and postcoloniality.

But his passion for media and popular culture began in his undergraduate degree, where he graduated 2nd out of 1200 students. He would go on to work at top media companies in the Philippines, namely McCann-Erickson and GMA Network. At GMA Network, he was responsible for regional advertising and promotions and became the youngest manager in the top TV station of the country.

The academe is his one true home however. In 2006, he went back to school at the London School of Economimcs. Inspired by Roger Silverstone’s work, he conducted research on how Filipino kids talk about distant suffering in the media. And for his dissertation, he analyzed how London-based Filipinos construct their identity in the media rituals of news reception and use of karaoke.

He is extremely excited to continue his academic career at Cambridge University, where he aims to explore the issue of cosmopolitanism within migrant communities. As you can see, he has really taken his hybridity to heart.