Dave Jorgenson

Dave Jorgenson is an American video producer. He is best known as the face of The Washington Post's TikTok account.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The account has 1.6 million followers and 82.1 million likes as of July 2023.[8]

Dave Jorgenson
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Tulsa
Alma materDePauw University (BA)
OccupationJournalist
Years active2014–present
Employer(s)Independent Journal Review
The Washington Post
Known forTikToks

Early life

Dave Jorgenson was born to Mary and Mark Jorgenson.[9] He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas, in 2009.[9] He was the sports editor for the school's yearbook, and member of the Pep Club, drumline, theater and basketball.[9] Jorgenson attended the University of Tulsa[9] and graduated from DePauw University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing.[10][11][12] Jorgenson was an Eagle Scout.[12][13]

Career

Jorgenson interned at The Colbert Report during the 2012 election.[9][12] From 2014 to 2017, he produced videos for the Independent Journal Review.[1] In May 2017, he joined The Washington Post as a creative video producer, where he wrote and produced their "Department of Satire" series.[13][1] He launched the newspaper's TikTok account in May 2019, after which it quickly went viral.[6]

The account's videos focus largely on newsroom operations, making use of nerd humor.[6] As of November 2021, it has 1.1 million followers and its videos have garnered 44.9 million likes.[8] The Atlantic described the account as "self-aware, slapstick, and slightly cringey—a parade of pets, stunts, and workplace humor, often set to blaring pop music and shot through with a winking sense of humor about the very fact that a 142-year-old newspaper is even on here in the first place".[1]

Jorgenson has drawn attention for his project's success in connecting with Generation Z,[1] a task that many other mainstream newspapers have struggled with.

Jorgenson published a book titled Make a TikTok Every Day in June 2021, which features one TikTok video idea for every day of the year and includes 12 interviews with creators.

Personal life

Jorgenson resides with his wife, Mariana, in a one-bedroom apartment where he films many of his videos.[14] In July 2023 he announce that he and his wife are expecting a child.[15]

References
  1. Nover, Scott (December 4, 2019). "How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  2. Mahadevan, Alex (October 2, 2019). "How The Washington Post's TikTok guy Dave Jorgenson gets millions of views by being uncool". Poynter. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  3. Tenbarge, Kat (June 23, 2019). "Meet the man behind TikTok's most surprising breakout success". Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  4. Beaujon, Andrew (June 19, 2019). "There Is, in Fact, a Plan Behind the Washington Post's Gloriously Weird TikTok". Washingtonian. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  5. Green, Daniel (April 7, 2020). "Washington Post uses TikTok to engage quarantined Gen Z audience". Journalism.co.uk. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  6. Pellico, Katie. "How the Washington Post uses TikTok to engage with its audience". CNN. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  7. Gallucci, Nicole (March 22, 2021). "Dave Jorgenson chats about life as the Washington Post TikTok guy, his love of Spam, and more". Mashable. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  8. "@washingtonpost". TikTok. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  9. Miesner, Anna (October 28, 2020). "Meet North Alumnus Dave Jorgenson – A Washington Post video producer, TikTok creator and author". The Mission. Shawnee Mission North High School. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021.
  10. "Dave Jorgenson". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  11. "Dave Jorgenson '13 Joins the Washington Post". DePauw University. June 23, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  12. "Alumni Talks: Dave Jorgenson '13". DePauw University. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  13. "Dave Jorgenson". LinkedIn. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  14. Mullins, Luke (March 20, 2020). "My Life in DC's Coronavirus Era: Dave Jorgenson". Washingtonian. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  15. @davejorgenson (July 25, 2023). "Some news I've been very excited to share for a long time: My wife and I are expecting!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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