PW Classmates: What do you do now for work? And what has your career path been?
John Douglas White: After finishing a film degree at Temple, I soon got to work as a freelance TV editor (and sometime director), and I can’t believe I’m still doing it 35 years later. I’ve been very fortunate to have had some really fun and rewarding projects to work on over the years. Lots of commercials, marketing, and broadcast programming have been the mainstay. The highlights were editing 4 Super Bowl spots, which aired for Nike in 1996, and then traveling for two NBC Olympics, Sydney 2000 and Salt Lake 2002, where I was cutting what used to be called Up Close and Personals by a different network, but NBC called them “Athlete Profiles.”
The best part is that I won a team Emmy for Salt Lake 2002 for ‘best remote broadcast’ with my work on the Cross-Country and Biathlon events—so yes, I have an Emmy on my shelf. My biggest client in the past 10 years has been Apple in Cupertino, and I’ve worked on commercial spots, marketing, and a bunch of Keynote product launches, so that’s been very rewarding as well.
This past fall of 2024, I started teaching video editing at the university level at an art school in San Francisco, Academy of Art University. That has been so rewarding, and I’m looking forward to doing it again this spring. I also want to figure out a way to earn an MFA so that I can continue on with this teaching as a ‘proper retirement job.’
PW Classmates: Are you married? Since when?
John Douglas White: I met my wife Loran organically at two friends’ wedding in 2015, and we were married in 2018. When we met, the bride and groom at the wedding were named John and Loren. The ladies spell their names slightly differently, but you really can’t beat that for Kismet. At this age, we don’t have kids, but we’re the cool aunt and uncle to quite a few nieces and nephews, so we’re plenty busy with that. We live in Oakland, and Loran is a Senior Physical Therapist in San Francisco.
PW Classmates: What did you dream of becoming in high school?
John Douglas White: After spending too much time through my years at PW with Ken Selinger at CITV, my original plan was to do an English Lit undergrad degree, then go on to a Film & TV degree in grad school. But Temple’s undergrad film program was amazing, and I quickly changed majors. No regrets on THAT decision! When Ken left PW in 1983 and started his company in Frazer, PA, I was his first employee that summer. So, I kind of always knew that I wanted to get into TV and Film, even back at CITV.
PW Classmates: Where did you go to college, grad school, etc.?
John Douglas White: I was on the 6-year plan at Temple University and finished in 1988 with a BA in Film.
PW Classmates: What advice would you give to your high school self?
John Douglas White: Listen more, talk less. On some of the high-pressure projects I’ve edited, that has proved invaluable, as I’m quietly responsible for the needs of so many different stakeholders. And like everyone usually learns, don’t sweat the small stuff.
PW Classmates: What advice do you have for others about creating your best life?
John Douglas White: I’ve had some really great breaks in my career, but many of those were opportunities that I created by being as nice as possible while just not taking no for an answer. I think tenacity is not taught, promoted, or valued enough, and I try to tell my students this every day.
PW Classmates: What would you like to say to all of your classmates today?
John Douglas White: I am so sorry I missed the 40th reunion. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the 45th in the fall of 2027! Oh, and Go, Birds!