FREELANCE INVESTIGATIVE DATA JOURNALIST
Work Samples
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The 2016 Presidential Campaign came through Missouri for the second debate. I was the supervising producer of this 360-degree experience. I assisted my students in shot selection and post production work. It was published by the "Columbia Missourian" on 08/11/16.
I was responsible for quickly synthesizing a wide scope of information into concise "one-sheets" while Andrea Mitchell's intern for NBC News. I helped Mitchell prepare for international trips to Asia and Russia, interviews with prominent politicians and for guests on her daily MSNBC show "Andrea Mitchell Reports."
Mitchell asked one of my suggested questions to Former Vice President Joe Biden. The full interview aired on MSNBC on 01/12/17.
I wrote thousands of words on what I wish I knew when I started creating 360-degree videos. I wrote a three-part series on what I took away after months of testing the Ricoh Theta S, a 360-degree camera, and publishing videos on various news websites. The first part discusses shooting tips. It was posted by the technology website "Tom's Hardware" on 04/13/17.
Above are a few photos shot with my D7000 and iPhone 6. They include shots while on assignment in South Carolina for Vox Magazine, in Columbia for ESPNU Campus Connection, New York City for the Peoples Improv Theater and Israel on a vacation.
Above is a portion of the "Summer 2016" special for CBS Radio News that I helped produce, book interview subjects, research and collect sound for. You can find the full special on the network's official Soundcloud page.
I also helped produce "America Works." It won a 2016 Sigma Delta Chi Award in the category of network syndicated radio documentary. Placement was decided by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Emerging technologies
The field of journalism is constantly shifting. My goal is to be in an early wave of adopters. I enjoy the trial-and-error that comes with learning the best methods for using it.
This story explored the competitive tradition of stepping and strolling with the men of Alpha Phi Alpha, one of the historically black fraternities at the University of Missouri. I was one of the reported, produced and edited this piece. It was published by the Columbia Missourian on 03/21/16.
DIGITAL
My first ventures into journalism were at newspapers and online publications. I keep coming back because I know this is a realm where I can accentuate supplemental context, depth and nuances to my stories.
Audio
I am a podcast nerd with a love for creating "theater of the mind."
I do this by pushing to find exceptional natural sound and characters to properly tell the stories.
I generated various content for a multimedia reporting class. Projects included photography, video and audio elements.
The Montgomery County R-VI School District is using a creative solution to fix an education problem in mid-Missouri. I took the photo with a D7000 and compiled all of the elements using Adobe Audition. It was created with producers Shuya Zheng and Chelsea Vaughn.
Melissa Poelling "loves her craft." I took the photos with a D7000 and compiled all of the elements using Adobe Audition and Photoshop.
References
Rhonda Schwartz
ABC News Investigative Unit
Executive Producer
Andrea Mitchell
Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent
NBC News
Linda Coombs
Manager of Operations
CBS Radio News
Jamie Greber,
Managing Editor and TARGET 8 Chief Investigator
KOMU-TV, NBC Affiliate in Mid-Missouri
John Huber
“Cost of Freedom” Senior Producer
Fox News Channel
I covered a Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Mike Pence's campaign rally in Missouri for KOMU-TV. It was published on 09/06/16.
Journalism is my passion and my motivation for putting one foot in front of the other. I love telling stories.
It is not simply about churning out packages and clips like a robot, but immersing myself into the stories of the people around me and diving into the core of the issues that matter to them.
I am an Eagle Scout that graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Journalism convergence degree with an emphasis in radio and TV in 2017. When I'm not doing journalism I am probably hiking, doing improv comedy or eating ice cream.
I have used an iPad Mini and various applications to create content for ESPNU Campus Connection and the Radio Television Digital News Association. An example is an interactive presentation that I made with Nina Amedin for a journalism class. It guides the reader through the process one florist shop uses to grow its product. A major contribution to the project was the audio slideshow, and I also took pictures and wrote a portion of the narrative.
From Bulb to Bouquet: The story of Tiger Garden
This web story accompanied my investigation of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's clemencies. I created multiple interactive graphics to embed within the roughly 3,000-word article. It was published on KOMU-TV's website on 12/21/2016.
This is the web portion of my investigation into the City of Columbia's buses. I created various interactive graphics to embed within the story. It was published on 05/25/2016.
My group was chosen as the winner of the CBS News Intern Project by a wide array of executive producers.
We accomplished this with our piece "Beyond the Veil." It's an in-depth examination of how Muslim women wear hijabs as a form of expression. I was the videographer and a producer. It aired on CBSN on 08/12/16.
I led the FOIA fight at ABC News for a "20/20" investigation published on 05/25/18. I spent months coordinating efforts to acquire criminal and court records from 30 major American cities.
I discovered inconsistent national tracking of criminals on ankle bracelet monitors. There is a risk they may commit another crime. 50 murders were committed since 2012 by people wearing the device. The full scope of my work is displayed beginning of the segment at 27:08.
Zachary R. Newman
E-Mail: zacknewman72@gmail.com
Journalistic Experience
MSNBC February 2018 - Present
Anchor producer and digital producer, MSNBC Live; New York
• Hastily assemble research reports on a wide array of topics for anchors.
• Fact-find for MSNBC Legal Unit digital and broadcast pieces.
• Cut video for the web with Wildmoka and write accompanying SEO headlines and descriptions.
• Administer social newsgathering techniques to identify and clear compelling user generated content. Pre-interview guests before going on-air.
ABC News September 2017 - January 2018
Investigative Fellow, Investigative Unit; New York
• Built complex data sets using Freedom of Information Act requests. An investigation on ankle bracelets embraced these skills. My digging aired on the newsmagazine program “20/20.”
• Employed editorial skills and knowledge of public documents to compile deep-dive and quick-turn research packets.
• Assisted producers during breaking news and long-term projects by finding suitable content for broadcasts.
NBC News January 2017 - April 2017
Intern, Andrea Mitchell and Foreign Affairs Unit; Washington D.C.
• Investigated technical aspects of world politics using deep web tools for “Nightly News” pieces on NBC and “Andrea Mitchell Reports” on MSNBC.
• Used research to develop questions for interviews with news-making politicians such as former Vice President Joe Biden.
• Identified quotes to live-tweet to more than one million followers.
CBS News June 2016 - August 2016
Intern, Radio News; New York
• Winner of the CBS News Intern Project. Field produced a story chosen by senior executives to air nationally on CBSN.
• Produced a 360-degree video published on CBS Radio’s Facebook page.
• Booked sources and gathered sound used on-air in national broadcasts.
• Worked with a team to produce “America Works,” a radio documentary that won a national 2016 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Mizzou Virtual Reality January 2016 - December 2016
Research Assistant and Reporter; Missouri
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Installed unit of 360-degree content producers into “The Columbia Missourian.”
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Shot and edited videos in 360 degrees and virtual reality.
Fox News Channel June 2015 - May 2016
Campus Associate and College Associate; Missouri and New York
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Field produced and coordinated coverage for network correspondents.
KOMU-TV August 2013 - December 2016
Investigative and General Assignment Reporter; Missouri
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Utilized computer assisted reporting tools, such as PivotTables, to compile long-form investigations for sweeps.
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One-man-band responsible for video capture, editing using Avid, breaking news, using Twitter and Vine, and writing web stories/television scripts with iNews.
Education
University of Missouri
Bachelor of Journalism, Convergence Journalism | Emphasis in radio and television | Completed in July 2017
• Chosen to be a member of the honor society Omicron Delta Kappa in April 2016.
Extracurricular Activities
Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout; March 2006 - March 2013
• Communications Merit Badge Instructor; Spring 2018
• Eagle Scout; March 2013
Zaching Against Cancer Foundation, Ambassador; 2013 - Present
• Helping to keep the memory of Zachary Michael Lederer alive and raise cancer awareness via photography events and fundraisers.
MU Improv; September 2013 - December 2016
• Performing member of the premiere long-form comedy group on Mizzou’s campus.
• Continue improv education through classes at the Washington Improv Theater and Peoples Improv Theater.
Skills
Video Editing
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Avid
• Final Cut Pro X
• Viz EazyCut
• Pinnacle
Audio Editing
• Adobe Audition
• Quick Edit Pro
Design
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Photoshop
• Web design
Other
• Research with deep
• Understanding methods for Freedom of Information Act requests.
• Mobile journalism on iPhone and iPad
• Social media: Proficient with Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Snapchat and Instagram
• Computer assisted reporting: Apt with pivot tables
• Video capture: 360-degree and traditional cameras.
• Photography
• Newsroom processors: iNews and ENPS
References
Bridget Flanagan
MSNBC
Executive Producer,
Rhonda Schwartz
ABC News Investigative Unit
Executive Producer
Andrea Mitchell
Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent
NBC News
Jamie Greber,
Managing Editor and TARGET 8 Chief Investigator
KOMU-TV, NBC Affiliate in Mid-Missouri
I broke the story that it took more than double the average time for an ambulance to respond to the home of a dying baby. I coordinated interpreters fluent in sign language and Spanish in order to conduct interviews with the family. I also spent months persistently fighting for records to get a comprehensive understanding of what happened. The two-part series aired in June 2020 and led to an ongoing review of ambulance-dispatch processes.
The 2016 Presidential Campaign came through Missouri for the second debate. I was the supervising producer of this 360-degree experience. I assisted my students in shot selection and post production work. It was published by the "Columbia Missourian" in August 2016.
Above is a portion of the "Summer 2016" special for CBS Radio News that I helped produced, booked interviews, researched and collected sound for. You can find the full special on the network's official Soundcloud page.
I also helped produce "America Works." It won a 2016 Sigma Delta Chi Award in the category of network syndicated radio documentary. Placement was decided by the Society of Professional Journalists.
After examining more than 700 pages of bus maintenance records, I found that some newer City of Columbia buses cost more to maintain than their older counterparts. This package led the 10:00 PM newscast in May 2016, which was during sweeps. I did all of the data work, shot the b-roll, wrote and edited the piece.
