ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ

Ambassador

David Morris

He/Him

Manager, Video Event Production
USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures

A little bit about me:

Traveler, storyteller, filmmaker, drone pilot, musician – and all of these skills come into play in my role as manager of video for ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ’s Ventures Events, part of the USA Today Network. I’m based in Chicago and help execute live and virtual events and projects across the country for ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ’s events division, with a lens on video production.

What was the moment you knew you made the right decision to work at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ?

I’ve been with ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ for over 26 years – most of that with The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City before it was bought by Gatehouse, then ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ. I always worked with tremendous colleagues and had great managers and mentors. This remains true today. I enjoy producing content with my colleagues at Ventures Events. And I still have great managers and mentors. ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ has a culture of strong individuals who mesh together to former even stronger teams and results.

Name one of your individual strengths and how you apply it at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ

Storytelling

I think one of my strengths is storytelling and making people feel comfortable sharing their worlds. Whether they are a celebrity like an Aaron Rodgers, or a local coach helping with Special Olympics, being able to parachute into a location, set up lights and cameras, and bring out the best in people is something I enjoy doing.

ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ enables me to
grow by…

Empowering

It’s what you make of it. The more you are active and involved, the more you can do and more you can make change. ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ has a lot of great leaders at various levels of the organization. My experience has been that they provide direction and goals but will encourage and allow you to succeed within your abilities while providing avenues of growth (training, mentoring, Employee Resource Groups, etc).

Describe a ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ project that has inspired you. 

Among the categories within our High School Sports Awards shows is the Courage Award, which aims to highlight a significant accomplishment by a local athlete, possibly overcoming health or injury. I was tasked with producing the segment for my hometown Oklahoma City market in May. This meant setting up the shoot: coordinating a time, location and those to be interviewed on camera, filming, editing and delivering the story to be played later during a live event. The result was a nice five minute short documentary about a high school basketball athlete who overcame a condition that preventing him from sweating. It’s an example of the tremendous stories we have the privilege to share with our audience everyday and in many ways.

Pick one word to describe the culture at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ

Dynamic

The culture I encounter at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ is ‘dynamic,’ meaning I work with various groups and teams, each with their own goals and missions and passions. Each team brings their special skills and strengths to the project, whether it’s pre-planning via Teams, or coming together to execute a live event.

A day in the life

Life on the road with a full studio. This image is from LaGuardia while filming pieces for a High School Sports Award. Kit includes full lighting, tripods, cameras, audio gear, laptops…and clothes.

My home set up – TV to the left, two laptops, cinema screen, HD camera and mic for Teams meetings, softbox lighting on the right…and coffee. Always coffee.

Image from a recent interview in Miami while filming a Special Olympics segment. Sarah Dolmovich from Ventures, left, is pictured conducting an interview with a Special Olympics representative.

Drone image from Florida during another trip. I try to put a drone up at most shoots to give a scene setting shot to include.

Family life attending a festival in Chicago.

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