{{short description|American video producer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Dave Jorgenson | image = Dave Jorgenson at VidCon 2022 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Jorgenson at VidCon 2022 | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Journalist | employer = ''Independent Journal Review''<br>''The Washington Post'' | years_active = 2014–present | known_for = TikToks, YouTube | notable_works = | education = University of Tulsa<!-- attended, but did not graduate--> | alma_mater = DePauw University {{small|(BA)}} | spouse = | children = }}
'''Dave Jorgenson''' is an American journalist and video producer, best known as the face of ''The Washington Post''{{'}}s TikTok and YouTube accounts until July 2025, when he left to start his own media company, '''Local News International'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meek |first=Andy |title=Washington Post TikTok Star Dave Jorgenson Is Going Solo |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymeek/2025/07/22/washington-post-tiktok-star-dave-jorgenson-is-going-solo/ |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref name="atlantic">{{cite news |last1=Nover |first1=Scott |title=How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/12/washington-post-all-tiktok/602794/ |accessdate=17 October 2020 |work=The Atlantic |date=4 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="Poynter uncool">{{cite news |last1=Mahadevan |first1=Alex |title=How The Washington Post's TikTok guy Dave Jorgenson gets millions of views by being uncool |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2019/how-the-washington-posts-tiktok-guy-dave-jorgenson-gets-millions-of-views-by-being-uncool/ |accessdate=17 October 2020 |work=Poynter |date=2 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="Insider">{{cite news |last1=Tenbarge |first1=Kat |title=Meet the man behind TikTok's most surprising breakout success |url=https://www.insider.com/the-washington-post-tiktok-account-has-a-surprisingly-popular-2019-6 |accessdate=17 October 2020 |work=Insider |date=23 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Washingtonian plan">{{cite news |last1=Beaujon |first1=Andrew |title=There Is, in Fact, a Plan Behind the Washington Post's Gloriously Weird TikTok |url=https://washingtonian.com/2019/06/19/there-is-in-fact-a-plan-behind-the-washington-posts-gloriously-weird-tiktok/ |access-date=17 October 2020 |work=Washingtonian |date=19 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="uk">{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Daniel |title=Washington Post uses TikTok to engage quarantined Gen Z audience |url=https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/washington-post-utilises-tiktok-to-engage-quarantined-gen-z-audiences/s2/a754180/ |accessdate=17 October 2020 |work=Journalism.co.uk |date=7 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{cite news |last1=Pellico |first1=Katie |title=How the Washington Post uses TikTok to engage with its audience |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/media/tiktok-washington-post/index.html |accessdate=17 October 2020 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gallucci |first1=Nicole|title=Dave Jorgenson chats about life as the Washington Post TikTok guy, his love of Spam, and more|url=https://mashable.com/article/dave-jorgenson-washington-post-tik-tok-guy-interview|date=22 March 2021|accessdate=28 July 2022|work=Mashable}}</ref>
His TikTok account has over 254,300 followers and over 5,900,000 million likes {{as of|2026|2|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=davejorgenson |url=https://www.tiktok.com/@davejorgenson |access-date=February 11, 2026 |website= |publisher=TikTok}}</ref> ''The Washington Post''<nowiki/>'s TikTok account had over 1,900,000 followers and over 103,000,000 likes when he left in July 2025.<ref name="tiktok official">{{cite web |title=washingtonpost |url=https://www.tiktok.com/@washingtonpost |accessdate=July 23, 2025 |publisher=TikTok |language=en}}</ref>
==Early life== Dave Jorgenson was born to Mary and Mark Jorgenson.<ref name="highschool">{{Cite web |url=https://smnmission.com/entertainment/news/2020/10/28/meet-north-alumni-dave-jorgenson-a-washington-post-video-producer-tiktok-creator-and-author/ |title=Meet North Alumnus Dave Jorgenson – A Washington Post video producer, TikTok creator and author |last=Miesner |first=Anna |work=The Mission |publisher=Shawnee Mission North High School |date=2020-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823224916/https://smnmission.com/entertainment/news/2020/10/28/meet-north-alumni-dave-jorgenson-a-washington-post-video-producer-tiktok-creator-and-author/ |archive-date=2021-08-23 |url-status=live}}</ref> He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas, in 2009.<ref name="highschool"/> He was the sports editor for the school's yearbook, and member of the Pep Club, drumline, theater and basketball.<ref name="highschool"/> Jorgenson attended the University of Tulsa<ref name="highschool" /> and graduated from DePauw University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing.<ref name="WaPo bio">{{cite news |title=Dave Jorgenson |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/dave-jorgenson/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="depauw">{{Cite web |url=https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/33110/ |title=Dave Jorgenson '13 Joins the Washington Post |date=2017-06-23 |publisher=DePauw University |access-date=2021-08-23 |archive-date=August 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823230505/https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/33110/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="alumni">{{Cite web |url=https://gateway.depauw.edu/s/1489/rd18/interior.aspx?pgid=4834 |title=Alumni Talks: Dave Jorgenson '13 |publisher=DePauw University |access-date=2021-08-23}}</ref> Jorgenson is an Eagle Scout.<ref name="alumni"/><ref name="LinkedIn">{{cite web |title=Dave Jorgenson |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/davetjorgenson/ |publisher=LinkedIn |accessdate=17 October 2020}}</ref>
==Career== Jorgenson interned at ''The Colbert Report'' during the 2012 election.<ref name="highschool"/><ref name="alumni"/> From 2014 to 2017, he produced videos for the ''Independent Journal Review''.<ref name="atlantic" /> In May 2017, he joined ''The Washington Post'' as a creative video producer, where he wrote and produced their "Department of Satire" series.<ref name="LinkedIn"/><ref name="atlantic" /> He launched the newspaper's TikTok account in May 2019, after which it quickly went viral.<ref name="CNN" />
The account's videos focus largely on newsroom operations, making use of nerd humor.<ref name="CNN" /> ''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". Another running gag in the channel's videos is Jorgenson's similarity in appearance to the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, whom he jokingly clarifies he is not on his social media platforms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dave Jorgenson (not JD Vance) (@davejorgenson) on X |url=https://x.com/davejorgenson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115062035/https://x.com/davejorgenson |archive-date=November 15, 2024 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="atlantic" />
Jorgenson has drawn attention for his project's success in connecting with Generation Z,<ref name="atlantic" /> 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.
In July 2025, Jorgenson announced he would be leaving ''The Washington Post'' the following month and starting his own video company alongside two of his colleagues.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/business/media/dave-jorgenson-video-washington-post.html |title=Can The Washington Post's TikTok Guy Make It Without The Post? |date=2025-07-22 |access-date=2025-07-22 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
==Personal life== Jorgenson resides with his wife, Mariana, in a one-bedroom apartment where he films many of his videos.<ref name=Washingtonian>{{cite news |last1=Mullins |first1=Luke |title=My Life in DC's Coronavirus Era: Dave Jorgenson|url=https://washingtonian.com/2020/03/20/my-life-in-dcs-coronavirus-era-dave-jorgenson/ |access-date=March 20, 2020 |work=Washingtonian |date=March 20, 2020}}</ref> In July 2023, he announced that he and his wife were expecting a child.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=davejorgenson|number=1683979442807250945|title=Some news I've been very excited to share for a long time: My wife and I are expecting!}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{TikTok|washingtonpost|''The Washington Post''}} *[https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/dave-jorgenson/ Author page] at ''The Washington Post'' *{{Twitter}} *{{Bluesky}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorgenson, Dave}} Category:21st-century American journalists Category:American TikTokers Category:American media personalities Category:DePauw University alumni Category:Living people Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:The Washington Post journalists Category:Year of birth missing (living people)