Music magazine “Hear Nebraska” hires new managing editor, continues mission

 

Hear Nebraska, his nonprofit website, was the result — a place where volunteer journalists and bloggers write stories about the musicians who call Nebraska their home. Now, more than a year later, Hear Nebraska is taking its next step forward by introducing a new managing editor. 

 

"We want to promote the fact that Nebraska has a very rich music culture," Norman said. "It should be a source of pride for all Nebraskans, not just those hanging out at the Zoo Bar or the Bourbon."

 

Though Norman has been working as the managing editor at Hear Nebraska since its conception, he is also juggling a full time job as a copywriter at Thought District. This prompted the recent change in staff at Hear Nebraska.

 

"It was clear that for Hear Nebraska to grow, we were going to need to hire somebody," said Norman. "Michael Todd was an intern last summer and he just really impressed us."

 

Todd, who has been the new managing editor for only a few short weeks at Hear Nebraska, has an extensive background in the field. Besides working as an intern at the organization, he also worked as the copy editor of the North Platte Telegraph and worked on the staff of the Daily Nebraskan during his college years. 

 

"I had been wanting to do something I loved, something I could pour time and energy into and never tire of the work," said Todd. "What Andy was offering was a dream job, to put it bluntly. So I accepted."

 

As the new managing editor, Todd has a variety of jobs, including controlling the content of the magazine, monitoring Hear Nebraska's various social media platforms, and contributing stories to the website. But the vision of the organization, Norman said, wasn't what was changing – it was merely the way things were run.

 

"It's part continuation, part growth," he said. "We want to continue doing the same kind of high-level multimedia reporting that we've done every day. But it also allows me to do fundraising and do more events."

 

Todd agreed, saying, "I'm carrying on the mission Andy started … It's not really a shift in vision at all — we're just trying to provide more content."

 

This content acquisition will include blog posts, video and media content, and eventually streaming radio to the website, allowing readers to really ‘hear Nebraska,' as Norman said. 

 

With Norman working on fundraising and raising awareness of the organization, and Todd managing the content, Hear Nebraska has the opportunity to grow beyond the readership it has now and really embrace a new generation of readers. 

 

"Michael brings youth," Norman said. "He's very inquisitive; he loves to learn; he loves to take on different forms of media."

This youthfulness has also helped bring in new writers and contacts for Hear Nebraska, propelling the magazine even further forward. 

 

"It just marks a big step for Hear Nebraska," Norman said. "We hope people are excited about where we're headed."

 

adrienneanderson@dailynebraskan.com