It is an exciting time to be the Flatwater Free Press. As one of our members, I wanted to give you a peek behind the curtain as we plan for growing Nebraska’s enterprise news desk. We have some new hires, and new story formats, as well as a chance to meet the squad at our usual stomping grounds this weekend.
Last week we posted an ad for a new position — our third full-time reporter — who will do impactful deep dives on how Nebraska runs.
As with all of our positions, we’re mindful to work in concert with our legacy media, and not duplicate effort. That means this person won’t cover hearings or the day-to-day of the legislature. They won’t be at the Governor’s press conferences or hanging out at the Capitol full time.
Instead, they’ll do enterprise about how decisions made in the halls of power actually impact Nebraskans lives. The work our team has done on Corrections is a great example of what this role should bring to the table. This reporter will report deep dives into how government works, and pay careful attention to how it doesn’t.
Adding this position is the next logical step in our growth. From the outset, we promised to cover four areas in equal measure: Statewide, Metro, Greater Nebraska and Historically Excluded Communities. We’ve more or less met that promise, though not without significant effort from editor Matthew Hansen. Adding a statehouse watchdog will allow us to more regularly, more impactfully, deliver on the “statewide” portion of that promise.
In that same vein, our four coverage area rubric lays out a path for another hire we’re fundraising for now.
The Greater Nebraska reporter, as we envision it, will tell the stories from everywhere EXCEPT Lincoln and Omaha. As you can imagine, that means a huge chunk of the budget is for travel. Regardless of where they’re based, this person will need to gas up and head to small towns and medium cities, ranches and farms. They’ll stay overnight in Falls City and Niobrara, grab coffee in Imperial and Arnold, eat in Burwell and Broken Bow. While there, they will be tasked with telling the stories of things that should be celebrated and keeping an eye out for problems to be understood. Basically, they’ll spend all their time making calls and driving the state to tell both our Albions and our Alvos.
As with all of our full-time hires, our goal is to have three years of funding committed before we bring anyone aboard. We’ve raised about 60% of that over the past few weeks.
These two hires, coupled with the team we’ve already built, will mean more and better stories about this incredible state. It’s going to mean more “Big J” Journalism that does the best of what this industry can do.
But investigations and hard news are only half of our mission. Just ask Jet the tiny horse or Rita the super groupie-cum-star Gorat’s waitress or Ebrahim the Yemeni immigrant living out a dream. The Flatwater Free Press is also here to share the stories of fascinating Nebraskans, the folks who make this place great.
With that in mind, I’m pleased to announce that we’ve begun working with the best interviewer I’ve ever worked with, the one and only Mike’l Severe.
I first met Mike’l when our paths crossed at the World-Herald. By then, his reputation was already forged. Over his decades in news, Mike’l has interviewed sports icons and politicians. He’s talked to comedians and social media stars. He’s the ultimate media personality, able to ask probing questions when needed, and crack jokes when it’s not.
We’ve asked Mike’l to do, well, what he does so well. Once a month, he’ll sit down with a Nebraskan with a story to tell. Sometimes that will be someone who’s been featured in one of our stories. Sometimes it won’t. Every time, we’ll release the whole conversation in every format we have available. Video, audio, the written word. As usual, we’ll distribute those conversations to media partners statewide to do with as they see fit. We’ll also make each and every one available on our website.
I’m honored to bring aboard one of the best journalists in our state. His insightful interview style is going to result in more work that is often revelatory, always entertaining. In short: He’s going to fit right in.
An overdue open house
Since September, we’ve held a half dozen listening tours across Nebraska. We’ve held two more news-focused events in Omaha and shown up to whatever Kiwanis or Rotary Club offered. This weekend, we’ll finally do something that we probably should have done a long time ago.
As part of Open Omaha, we’ll be hosting our first open house, August 6-7. Swing by our office at the Mastercraft, 1111 N. 13th St. See our space, meet me and the staff. We can talk about the news. Our 1990s desks. Our 1970s Nebraska news artifacts. Whatever. We’re journalists. We like to talk.
It’s been my absolute honor to lead this organization during its first year. Our audacious plan is working, and it’s all thanks to you. I hope you know that my proverbial door is always open. Reach out any time with questions, story ideas or concerns.
Thank you for supporting the Free Press. Without you, none of these stories would be told.
More — much more — soon.
Sincerely,
—Matt Wynn, Executive Director
