By Haley Heiden University of Nebraska-Lincoln Zach Long, 36, the video assignment editor at the Omaha World-Herald, used photography as a way to stay around sports, something he always enjoyed growing up. Now, as the World-Herald’s video assignment editor, he is in the pulse of everything going on in the newsroom. He enjoys being an editor because he has to be well informed and care about what's going on. For his job, he assigns projects for his team and produces content. He gives multimedia journalists resources and information, but also edits their videos and photos. His job is a mix of being an artist and helping others. At the World-Herald, Long assigns projects covering all kinds of news. He says journalists should be eclectic, have passion for a lot of things and a thirst to find more. Long started with a passion for sports. As his career furthered, he learned to like more lifestyle news, such as nightlife and food coverage. Now, in his role as video assignment editor, he decides what to assign and what not to. Long also decides what stories should be put with video and what multimedia should be included. “(It is a) mix of old school, which is instinct and responsibility of the free press and what they do, mixed with the new wave, which is science, analytics, data, how your audience is behaving and eating,” Long says. He knows his decisions have consequences. He takes pride in the little decisions he makes every day. “People like to focus a lot on home runs, but you’ll also have to pitch and bunt to win national championships,” he said. It was photography that first interested Long. Photography was the first thing in life he felt like he belonged, he said. “It started with photography,” Long said. After this revelation, he gave it some effort and pursued it in college. The Kansas native attended Kansas State University where he first majored in photojournalism, and then later finished his degree in photographic arts at the University of Central Oklahoma. He took on a broadcasting minor during his last year, foreshadowing his career. Long graduated in 2006. Long describes how he got to the position of video assignment editor as an “evolution of the industry.” When he was studying photography in college, video was the new wave. “I saw the power of video and also how hard it was. When you get sound and motion and words mixed together, it’s a tough thing to do and I think I really enjoyed that challenge of doing that,” Long says. But the advent of video and the internet makes it a challenge to be a journalist because people have so many choices. Newsrooms and content producers need to convince their audience that their content adds value to their life. Long said social media is a great tool to reach people. He uses Twitter to get his content seen, something he says all journalists should do. “You can fear science and you can fear data because it can tell you somethings that are going to break your heart,” Long says. He thinks every journalist needs to understand and use social media because it’s the best way to understand audience. A lot of raw emotion ends up on social media and journalists can use this to their advantage. Long’s advice to students going into journalism is to be prepared for an evolving industry. Also, students should diversify their skills and look for untold stories. “Tell the story of someone that otherwise the world never would have found out about,” Long said.
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A note about the content: This site showcases the final projects of University of Nebraska-Lincoln editing students. Each semester, students pick a journalist or communications professional to profile. This is their work.
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