Hear Nebraska has always favored the underdogs. The unpaid interns who worked their asses off, often earning jobs as staff members and contributors. The hungry rebels who weren’t afraid to take chances. The students who learned more from going to concerts than going to class. These misfits who found their home in Hear Nebraska were the same people who kept HN vibrantly afloat. In celebration of HN’s fifth anniversary, we asked a handful of our former interns for their memorable moments, lessons learned and hopes for the organization’s next five years.
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Jordan Minnick
Hometown: Hardin, Montana
Current City: Lincoln, Nebraska
Internship focus: Editorial 2011-2012
What was your most memorable HN experience?
Getting called out by hip-hop artist Slug of Atmosphere mid-interview for generalizing underground music. When the story came out, he tweeted the link and said, “Read this while you poop,” giving the website its most viewed page at the time.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
I had the chance to interview Omaha hip-hop artist Conchance, along with music producer Rick Carson, in their music-making digs at Make Believe Studios. I felt like a Rolling Stone writer or something, kicking it in such a nice studio. The guys were such generous subjects, I feel like I was there for hours talking any and everything music. I remember Brent talking about this beautiful album artwork idea he had, incorporating his grandmother. I now have that record in my collection, and it remains one of my favorite local vinyls.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
I became a much better writer. After gaining great insight from Andy, I kind of felt ripped off by any teacher I had in the past. It’s an experience you cannot get in any classroom.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Don’t limit yourself to phone interviews. Never do an email interview, unless the artist happens to traveling internationally. The experience you get breathing in the same environment as your story subject is so crucial for a great read. But if you must do a phone interview, you always ask them, “What are you doing right now?”
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
Hear Nebraska, the festival.
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Bryce Wergin
Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Current City: Chicago, IL
Internship focus: Spring 2011 Intern, Marketing and Editorial (I think?). Contributor through summer 2013.
What was your most memorable HN experience?
I got baptized because of HN. On the first staff retreat, we traveled out west to tube down the Niobrara river. My friend and fellow intern, the always-funky Casey Welsch, also happens to be a legally-ordained reverend. After learning that I had never been baptized, he took it upon himself to save my soul. We reached Smith Falls, and after an ambiguously serious sermon, my head was repeatedly dunked under the crushing, cleansing, freezing-cold waterfall as I had the holy spirit shouted into my very being. I remember the shock of being dunked and pulled out of the freezing cold water, while Casey looked into my soul from behind gas station sunglasses and shouted “DO YOU REJECT SATAN???!!!” My entire HN intern experience was completely unforgettable, but this trip was the first story to pop into my head.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
My favorite project was also the most challenging. I came into HN with no serious journalistic experience, so when I was given the assignment to cover the events behind small shows protesting against the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, I had the nervous/excited feeling that Owen Wilson talks about in Armageddon when he’s being strapped into the space shuttle before launching to the asteroid and stopping it from destroying the world. My stakes were lower than his, but it made me nervous/excited just the same. I spent weeks setting up and conducting interviews with activists, ranchers, musicians, artists, designers, volunteers, and more. Record. New document. Transcribe. Dig for gold. Repeat. I’m sure my article was forgotten by everybody except me within a few days of going up on HN, but I still see it as my biggest learning experience while interning.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
In every way. Because of HN, I met many friends who are still very important to me today. I gained a new-found pride in my home state that still pours out any time someone mentions anything Nebraska-related, much to the chagrin of my friends and co-workers in Chicago. I still write for my job, and the lessons I learned from Andy and others at HN have absolutely, without a doubt, shaped me professionally. I wouldn’t be where I am without my time at HN, no doubt about that.
What are you doing now?
Copywriter at Jacobson/Rost advertising agency
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Something I learned well after my HN gig that honestly may not be the best advice but I’m going to say anyway: have fun with everything you do. There’s always a good joke you can weave into your project. Whether it’s the thesis of the piece itself, or just some tone/prose that you inject yourself, if you make your writing funny without sacrificing quality, it’s going to get noticed. That goes for pretty much every writing job you get. There’s always a fun angle in on everything you work on, though sometimes you have to search for it. Ok, this may not be good advice. Let me try again.
Say yes to everything while you’re at HN. Not just every project, but every meet-up, every beer/pizza offer, every show, every gathering, and especially the Music Retreat. Since you work remotely a lot, you have to make the extra effort to get to know the folks you’re working with and make strong connections. That’s how you will grow the most professionally, and will get some bonus personal growth by making great friends.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I live away from NE, so my answer will be a bit selfish, but I would say more compilations and playlist shares. It makes it so much easier for me to know what’s going on with Nebraska music when I can download a comp or open a Spotify playlist.
Other than that, I would like to see HN’s growth continue at the pace we’ve seen. More videos. More staff. More shows.
Those are my easy answers. I guess one against the grain thing I could suggest is more non-music coverage. I know that’s the main course of the mission statement, but I also enjoy reading about other forms of art coming out of NE. It also helps HN get into other circles and makes it even more of a Nebraska art powerhouse.
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Krystal Sidzyik
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Current City: Omaha, NE
Internship focus: Editorial – Spring 2012
What was your most memorable HN experience?
Camping at Platte River State Park. Go camping with the Normans. You’ll never be the same! They know how to host a party!
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
My favorite project was the final project I did for HN. It was three piece project that focused on the three independent record stores that, at the time, were within a block of one another, and how they continued to survive, while competing for the same business.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
When I first started HN I was incredibly shy, so terribly shy, and sometimes I still am. But, HN helped to bring me out of my shell. I was forced to interact with people in order to get stories done. I have HN to thank for helping me to hone my people and interview skills.
What are you doing now?
I work part-time at Omaha Performing Arts, and I still contribute to HN occasionally.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Take advantage of every opportunity that’s presented to you. I regret not doing more. I missed out on a lot before of how shy I was. Don’t be. Everyone is so nice!
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I’d just like to see HN continue to grow! It’s come so far from even when I was an intern. Andy and the HN team work so hard to be able to create new and different opportunities for HN each year. I’m sure the organization will even look different to you in five years!
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Sean Holohan
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Current City: Birmingham, AL
Internship focus: Editorial intern – spring 2013
What was your most memorable HN experience?
My very first assignment for HN was a last-minute story on a young guitar player who was brought on stage by a parody metal band called Steel Panther to duel with the band’s guitarist. I was super excited because I love that band and I thought it was awesome that an 11-year-old kid got up on stage and played “Eruption” with Steel Panther. Not only was the story a fun one to write, but since then he has been on national morning shows and played the National Anthem at events all around the region. It was cool to interview him right when he got his start.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
I really enjoyed covering Matt and Kaitlyn Hova’s Synesthesia story/video. They invited me and the video intern into their home and performed for us and also talked to us in-depth about what Synesthesia really is. It was fascinating.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Professionally, HN prepared me tremendously for a journalism job after my internship was over. Just over a year later, I moved to Alabama and became an editor at a newspaper and kept going back to my experiences and what I had learned as an intern. Such skills as tracking interviews down, thinking on your feet and improvising at the last minute were priceless lessons I learned. Personally, I got to meet so many new and awesome people around the Nebraska arts community that I never would have known otherwise. Though I don’t live in Nebraska anymore, I still keep up with events going on with Hear Nebraska and around the Nebraska music scene. I truly miss it.
What are you doing now?
Plot twist: I am teaching high school Spanish right now in Birmingham, Ala, while studying to get my Master’s to teach high school Social Studies! I haven’t given up on writing, though, I still freelance for various news outlets in Alabama whenever I have time.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
I would say involve yourself in as many different projects as possible and ask as many questions as you can. This internship is a wonderful learning tool and an awesome experience if you use it correctly. Also, step outside of your comfort zone when covering stories or suggesting story ideas. You might find you have interests you never knew you had!
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I really like how inclusive HN in regards to bands and musicians no matter the genre or style. In the next five years, I would love to see HN continue to cultivate an open, friendly community of artists in Nebraska as the arts scene in the state continues to thrive and make a name for itself. You don’t really know what you have until it is gone, and Nebraska’s music scene is truly one to envy. Hear Nebraska is a great friend and tool to anyone looking to be creative in the state.
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Ingrid Holmquist
Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Current City: Lincoln, NE
Internship focus: Editorial Intern Spring 2013
What was your most memorable HN experience?
Probably interviewing the lovely Laura Burhenn while cuddling her sweet pup.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
I really enjoyed combining my enthusiasm for music with my interest for fashion in my biweekly column about concert attire. It was thought-provoking and enlightening some weeks and zany and silly others. Getting new responses from artists outside of the oftentimes mundane interview questions was rewarding. “How did you get your name?” “Describe your sound.” These are questions musicians answer often. “Why do you wear what you wear on stage” is less expected.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
HN allowed me to explore new forms of storytelling outside of reporting. I was terrified and incredibly awkward at shooting photos and video, but HN allowed me to leap outside of my comfort zone and experiment with photos, video and audio without judgement. Along with an introduction to visual storytelling, Andrew [Norman] and Michael Todd immensely improved my writing. I still use many interviewing tips from Michael and my writing greatly improved thanks to both Andy and Michael’s diligent, informative editing.
I left my internship with a couple portfolio clips (that I still use today) and a support system that continues to push me to succeed.
What are you doing now?
I’m currently a photography assistant for National Geographic Photographer Joel Sartore and a self-employed freelance journalist living in Lincoln, Nebraska.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Soak in wisdom from everyone you work with and experiment with new forms of storytelling. If you’re a self-proclaimed wordsmith, shoot photos and video on occasion. Meet people and immerse yourself in Nebraska’s vibrant music community.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I’d love to see Hear Nebraska take on more interactive stories – using scrolling, coding, gifs, etc. to tell engaging and more technical narratives.
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Cam Penner
Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Current City: Lincoln, NE
Internship focus: Visual Media/Summer 2013
What was your most memorable HN experience?
One of my most memorable experiences interning for Hear Nebraska was when I covered Warped Tour in Kansas. It was a great experience to be able to take photos of a lot of different bands in a festival setting.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
My favorite project was the video I did for For Zero Too Records. I learned a lot about the history of Lincoln’s DIY punk scene in the late 90s and early 2000s.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
I met a lot of really great people while working with HN just from the staff to the bands I met while going to shows and taking pictures.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Go to as many different shows as possible. It’s really easy to keep going to the same genres, but I feel that I learned a lot more when I went out of my comfort zone to cover genres I wasn’t used to covering.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I really like how HN toured Nebraska. I think it would be cool to see HN do something like that but across the US.
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Cara Wilwerding
Hometown: Omaha
Current City: Omaha
Internship focus/ duration: Editorial, summer 2013
What was your most memorable HN experience?
My most memorable HN experience was covering and shooting Warped tour with my fellow intern Cam Penner. We had such a fun time making the trek down to Kansas City, listening to and interviewing some of our musical idols, sweating our booties off and bonding as a writing/photography duo.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
My favorite project to work on was an in-depth story on “These Saints Will Burn,” an offbeat play about the voices in Joan of Arc’s head. While this story wasn’t directly focused on music, it did feature tidbits about a cult rock art band, Wet Rats, who performed music for the shows, which took place in the Lincoln Bike Kitchen. There were so many different interesting facets to this story, which came together to display Lincoln’s diverse culture in a very strange way.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Obviously, I wouldn’t have the same appreciation for local music if it weren’t for Hear Nebraska. Working with this organization introduced me to so many different bands and artists who would normally fly right under my radar. I’m so thankful they didn’t.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
I would advise a future HNtern to explore genres that you may not like or be comfortable with. I wish I would have pushed the envelope and gotten out of my comfort zone a bit more during my internship.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
It’s been awesome seeing Hear Nebraska’s multimedia department grow in the past year, with the addition of visuals editors. I guess I’d really just like to see that department continue to prosper because music-based photography and videography is some of my favorite stuff. Keep kickin’ ass, HNers!
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Randy Edwards
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Current City: Omaha, NE
Internship focus: Summer position photographer/videographer
What was your most memorable HN experience?
Shooting coverage of Hullabaloo. Three days of hanging out with incredible musicians for some of the sweatiest days i’ve ever experience, but having such a great time.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
I really enjoyed the short live recap video I did for Trash Talk at Midtown Art Supply. It came together very quickly and naturally. That show had an indescribable energy level.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Working with HN definitely opened my eyes up to a new batch of indie artists, helped push me into writing short articles a bit more, and in turn approaching show going, whether shooting or not, in a new light.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Be appreciative of the versatile concerts and/or events you may cover. Half the battle with succeeding freelance is who you know. Hear Nebraska supplied me with countless great networking opportunities that I am thankful for.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years? I’d love to see coverage of the undergroup hip-hop and metal scene expand.
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Steven Ashford
Hometown: Omaha
Current City: New York City
Internship focus/ duration: Editorial
What was your most memorable HN experience?
The first Desaparecidos “reunion” show in the small room at Slowdown.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
Doing a video interview with the band WHY? on the patio of Krug Park.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Being able to juggle a full-time job and the HN internship gave me the assurance that I could handle fast deadlines and turnarounds, the confidence to dive into something new and unfamiliar and ultimately, it gave me a solid sense of direction. Where I’ve landed today is a direct result of my time spent working with HN.
I also think I’m still impacted by all the laughs at the 2nd annual summer retreat.
What are you doing now?
I live in New York City and I work as a copywriter at an advertising agency called R/GA.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
If you stay focused and work hard enough for the Normans to tell you that “the crowd’s loving ya out there,” then you’re probably doing a good job.
Also be sure to have fun, get sweaty, drink a Coors.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
Maybe a new HQ at the top of the Woodmen Tower or Civic Auditorium or something like that.
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Bridget McQuillan
Hometown: Omaha
Current City: Omaha
Internship focus: Multimedia/video
What was your most memorable HN experience?
So, so many. Can I list a couple? The first was the annual HN retreat in 2012. We had such a fun weekend cruising down the Niobrara, drinking lots of whiskey, and looking at the stars. I was terrified to go on the retreat, because I had just started my internship and only knew a couple people, but to this day I still keep in touch with nearly everyone who was there, whether they’re involved with HN or not. This past summer’s Good Living Tour was another really memorable time. I’ve never worked so hard and had so much damn fun at the same time. Good people and really fun work made it such an awesome experience. Also pretty much every HN SXSW trip we’ve done has been so, so fun.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
A couple of years ago I did an interview with Kyle Morton, who heads up a band called Typhoon from Portland, to preview their show in Omaha. I have a lot of love for that band, and getting to interview him about his latest album was such a cool experience.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Honestly, when I talk to people about why I do what I do now, professionally, I often talk about my pre-HN life vs. my post-HN life. I had had a really hard time figuring out where I fit in socially and professionally before I interned for HN. Once that happened, I felt like I was doing something I really, really loved and working with people I actually clicked with and looked up to. I hadn’t done a ton of video work before I started my internship, and now it’s pretty much my full-time job. HN allowed me the opportunity to experiment and learn and get better at my craft. And on a personal level, HN has given me connections and friendships that I really value. I’ve had so many fun times with people I’ve met through HN and have had so many opportunities (shooting as SXSW and Maha, Niobrara trips, camping trips, interviewing artists I love, etc.) that never would have had without HN. In a nutshell, I sincerely feel that HN has given me a voice and creative motivation that I’m not sure I would have found otherwise. I love the crap out of Andy and Angie for it.
What are you doing now?
I just finished up two and a half years working as a videographer at Flywheel, and now I’m freelancing, doing video and photography.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Say yes to everything you can! Even if you think something might not be fun or you’re too tired or whatever, do it anyway. I’ve gotten to experience some awesome things with HN just because I said “yes” to them, and I’m better at what I do because of those things.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
Hmmm. This is a tough one. It would be cool to see events that bring musicians from all over Nebraska together (a Hear Nebraska Music Festival, maybe?) I’d love to see HN providing more resources for musicians — the workshops that have been happening are a great example. It would be really neat to see the website become super interactive and robust over the next five years, and to see more editorial pieces that are really in-depth and involved with video, photos, great writing, etc.
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Matthew Masin
Hometown: Lincoln, Neb.
Current City: Long Beach, Calif.
Internship focus: Multimedia/five-ish months?
What was your most memorable HN experience?
When there was going to be a “secret” Conor Oberst show in Omaha and Michael Todd, Nickolai and I carpooled up to cover it. We just about got to Omaha when it was cancelled. We ended up at the Muller’s studio with a gang of HNers playing Pictionary. I ended up on Laura Burhenn’s team and was a little star struck. It was a fun, spontaneous way to meet some of the Omaha team, and kick back in an environment that wasn’t work related, even though conversation always veered toward what we want to work on. I had to draw “Séance” in that game of Pictionary and Cory Kibler kept guessing “Ghost Hole!” really loud and it was great. A lot of my favorite memories from HN had to do with the co-workers I spent time with, and diving into the welcoming and warm family that is.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
Shooting video for Maha with Bridget.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
I made a lot of friends, personally. Professionally I made a lot of contacts that have helped for stories further down the line, or to help friends who are musicians try to connect with someone.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Find something you’re completely unfamiliar with and dive into it. If you’re really into indie music, talk with a HNer who is really into metal and work some stories about that. You’ll come to the story with a fresh perspective and the confidence that you have a team to help you produce something thoughtful and different.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
An app would be cool, In my mind it would look a lot like the website, but with some downloadable content, phone backgrounds and music downloads.
Also if HN got into VR video, that’d be really cool. People who visit the website from Norway or from Florida or something could see what it’s like to see a show at the Zoo bar.
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Jordan Hiebner
Hometown: Henderson, NE
Current City: Austin, TX
Internship focus: Marketing/Spring 2014
What was your most memorable HN experience?
I’d say the most memorable experience I had with HN while I was interning was my first Omaha Gives! day. It was a crazy day where I and 6-7 other HNers sat at the OBC and just Facebooked all of our friends asking them to donate to Hear Nebraska from about 7am to 5pm. We were aiming for the most unique donors prize. After that, we ran to the Slowdown were we had our Omaha Gives! Concert until 2am and we ultimately ended up winning the prize.
Anyway, it was memorable for me because it was my last day as an intern and I was going to leave for Colorado for the entire summer the next week. But it felt like it just summed up everything I experienced that semester: just a family of people who worked hard at something they truly cared about and we were successful in the end.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
I know I’m supposed to pick one, but I have two projects that were close to my heart.
1) Download Nebraska — This was cool to me because I was able to help select the music that went into this library. A lot of Nebraskans are unaware of the music that is around them (the reasoning behind HN) and it felt good to make it accessible to anyone who had a library card. I’m not sure if people are using it, but it still was cool.
2) UO x HN Present First Thursday — I loved this concert series because it was my baby and Andy gave me complete control over this event. Throughout the 14 month run we had, I made a lot of good friends and help a lot of small, up-and-coming bands get a foothold in the scene when most wouldn’t give them the time of day. Everyone loved being apart of it and it was great to seeing people have a good time.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Professionally, Hear Nebraska helped me develop many professional tools — public speaking, email writing, event planning, etc. — that I wasn’t able to obtain during my college career. Andy and the Hear Nebraska family were very patient with me and provided me an environment where it was easy to learn and develop my skills.
Personally, my time at Hear Nebraska gave me a place where I felt like I belonged. Coming from a smaller community in Nebraska, it was tough for me to find a place in Omaha filled with people who cared about my same interests and willing to help any way they could. When they tell you you’re apart of the Hear Nebraska family, it’s no joke.
What are you doing now?
In September, I moved to Austin, Texas, to continue pursuing my dream of working in the music business industry. While I’ve been down here, I’ve begun doing promotions for the local radio stations, interning at the Austin Music Foundation (another music nonprofit), and I founded We’re Trying Records (a small record label). I’m waiting to hear back from graduate schools that I will hopefully begin this upcoming fall.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Being a marketing intern for Hear Nebraska is tricky since a lot of the organization is journalism based, but it’s starting to take a turn towards more events that need promoting. But I guess the only thing I would say is just take the initiative on anything you can. Not only will it allow to develop key skills, but (if done well) it’ll prove you can handle various projects.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
It’d be really cool to see them branch out west of Lincoln even more. Whether that be an office or just more people of the ground.
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Gabriella Martinez-Garro
Hometown: Omaha
Current City: Lincoln
Internship focus: Editorial Intern summer 2014
What was your most memorable HN experience?
Working the MAHA Music Festival was a blast. It was fun watching all the contributors and interns working together for a day and rewarding to see the result of all our hard work.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
I attended the first annual Omaha Under the Radar, a festival dedicated to experimental music. It was unlike anything I’d ever been to before, and the event was filled with so many interesting people and moments. I watched a man shake in a suit made of bells, classically trained artists warp their instruments and another artist de-construct train noises within the course of a few hours.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
I was able to meet so many amazing musicians and attend some great shows I may not have normally seen. The HN editorial editors (Chance and Jacob, at the time) did such a great job with constructive criticism which improved my writing and self-editing skills.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Don’t feel defeated if you turn in a story and your editor(s) seem to rip it to shreds. Constructive criticism and thorough editing is the best way to improve your writing. Soak in all the edits you can and apply them to your next story. You’ll be better for it.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I’m so excited about HN having paid interns and I hope they continue to expand their internship program in the future.
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Sam Bennett
Hometown: Omaha
Current City: Hastings
Internship focus: Summer 2015 Multimedia
What was your most memorable HN experience?
My most memorable experience would have to be getting to shoot and help out with the Good Living Tour for 2 nights this past summer in Nebraska City and Grand Island. It was a fantastic experience in every aspect. Be able to work with fantastic people and for a purpose was so easy to get behind was what really made it great.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
Personally, I loved being part of the crew that shot High Up in studio. For me, it was my first time in a legitimate recording studio.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
HN (specifically, Andy) taught me the greatest lesson about journalism that I’ve ever received. In short, I had a patience-testing experience at one concert (to put it lightly), and I was fully prepared to leave. Andy, being who he is, helped me see that I had to take my own ego out of it, and that we report for other people, and not ourselves. It’s a lesson I still carry with me even now that I’m back to being a college student.
What are you doing now?
I’m a junior at Hastings College, where I am recently removed from being the bureau chief for Arts and Entertainment, as well as being recently removed from being the station manager of the college’s radio station (90.1 KFKX). I am now the executive producer of tv here at the college, as well the president of the Hastings chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists. I’m also a sports director, meaning I oversee both content and broadcasts related to sports.
When I’m not doing those things, I’m binge watching X Files or playing guitar poorly.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Learn as much as you can about your equipment, your subject, the venue, etc. Preparedness is key. But above it all, never, ever pass up an opportunity to help out with anything HN does. There’s never a dull moment or a dull person involved. It was those opportunities that made working with HN the best work experience I’ve ever had.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I’d love to see expansion of the Good Living Tour (maybe a stop in Hastings, eh?). It something that as many people across the state need to experience, and realize that consistent live music doesn’t just have to happen in Omaha and Lincoln.
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Chance Solem-Pfeifer
Hometown: Omaha
Current City: Portland, OR
Internship focus: Editorial, Summer 2013
What was your most memorable HN experience?
Being edited by Michael Todd.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
During the internship, I began co-hosting HNFM, one of my favorite HN staples.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
It gave me perspective at a crucial time, immediately after college graduation, on how art in localized communities breeds more and better art. And Hear Nebraska let me practice criticism with a faithfully long leash.
What are you doing now?
I’m doing freelance writing and editing in Portland with recent bylines in Cut Print Film, Fiction Writers Review and Eleven PDX Magazine. I also host and produce the movie podcast Be Reel, Guys each week.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Edit your own work twice before you send it in.
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
Call it a pipe dream, but I think a small staff of writers and editors would be an amazing development.
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Jacob Zlomke
Hometown: Broken Bow, Neb.
Current City: Lincoln, Neb.
Internship focus: Editorial Intern (Fall 2013); Staff Writer/Assistant Editor (Feb. 2014 – March 2015)
What was your most memorable HN experience?
There are many. From Andy making Chance Solem-Pfeifer (then managing editor) and me eat pickled eggs for the first time on an annual retreat, to covering Bonehart Flannigan at a house show way, way off the beaten path during SXSW, to producing the fourth annual Take Cover, to sparking the most stressful (but ultimately useful) conversation of my life when I covered Bent Life and one member’s issues with how Hear Nebraska operates–each and more played an immeasurable role in shaping my Hear Nebraska experience.
I suppose if I’m picking one, it would be getting hired a couple months after my internship. Hear Nebraska gave me a job I loved to do every day working with people I still look up to. To me, that was like achieving the impossible. And I think if you had read the work I produced at the end of my internship and at the end of my employment, you’d see a pretty drastic improvement in quality.
What was your personal favorite project on which you worked?
This is another tough one. Putting on Take Cover was deeply rewarding and it was my first foray into event production and grant-writing—two things that basically define my role in my current position. There are also the very self-indulgent pieces that I somehow got away with writing, like my too-long proposal that Cursive’s The Ugly Organ is a postmodern play. Or anytime I reviewed a Conor Oberst project. But I think I have to say the On the Record podcast. It was always challenging for me to listen as closely, smartly to an album as Chance would, which I readily accepted. I think it’s a unique and productive way to review music, too, that not many outlets do. And it’s a lot of fun to fuck around in a sound booth with your closest friends.
In what ways did working with HN impact your life, personally and professionally?
Of course it made me a better writer and a better thinker. Chance is the best editor I could personally ever ask for. It also introduced me to many people I now consider close friends. But above all, I literally would not be where I am if it weren’t for Andrew Norman. Watching Andy work and having him as a resource for advice and guidance helped put me in the position to found (with three others) my own non-profit, which is getting its feet on the ground now. I still call Andy fairly regularly for advice and I couldn’t articulate my appreciation for him here. I think I tried once when I was drunk in Grand Island on the first leg of the Good Living Tour but ended up fumbling the whole point. Some day!
What are you doing now?
These days, in addition to working my day job, I help direct a non-profit called Fly Over Media. We’re a cultural education organization that works in multimedia documentary journalism about underrepresented communities. We put a lot of weight in the sort of experimental formatting allowed by web design. My specific role involves writing for projects and stories, fundraising and events. For instance, I’m currently working on the text for a book about the Nebraska Sandhills as well as a documentary script and reporting a story about Monowi, Neb, in addition to developing our fundraising strategy and events plan. Our website will hopefully launch in May.
What advice would you give to a HNtern in the same focus?
Work your ass off. I’ve been on both sides — the intern and the guy helping wrangle the interns — and the best way to short change yourself is to phone it in. I did it to myself as an intern. There’s an editorial tradition at HN of trying new things, it’s just built-in to the HN ethos. I’ve written some truly weird stuff for the website which wouldn’t even get drafted at other outlets. Some of it missed, sure. But I had room to experiment with my ideas and push myself to write them in the best way possible. It’s what made me a better writer (with help from Michael Todd, Chance and Andy) and you won’t get there if you’re plugging the same standard Q&A every week (not that Q&As don’t have their place).
What new development would you like to see from HN in the next five years?
I hope they hire me as a consultant with a $100k salary. But seriously, I don’t know. I don’t think I could think of anything that Andy and Angie didn’t already come up with at least three years ago. One of the reasons for HN’s success is their ability to take the small, tedious steps forward without losing focus on what’s three, five, ten years down the line.