We bring decades of diverse storytelling backgrounds together under one roof in Portland, Maine. We’ve worked in the state’s busiest newsrooms, the private sector, large advertising agencies, at Maine’s public universities and its largest hospitals. Our collective points of view matter the same – and after all these years together, we know how to talk it out (see also: argue) to arrive at the best work product. What cements our team through a fluid creative process is a genuine passion for authentic storytelling.
Jason Nelson
— Owner, Creative Storyteller
My job has allowed me amazing life experiences. I was shooting on the field when the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series title in 86 years. I traveled to China with a team of Maine pediatric heart surgeons on a life-saving mission. I was one of the first Americans granted entrance to capture Old Havana, Cuba as it was, 60 years after the U.S. trade embargo was lifted. These historic moments in time are now mine too.
Truth be told: I’m just as happy shooting a PSA at a Maine high school as I am shooting something monumental. I just like telling stories.
Since I started Black Fly Media in 2008, I have shot in over 200 cities, from small-town USA to major hubs including London, Barcelona and Seoul.
I’m a two-time Emmy-winning videographer and I earned the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award. I’ve been honored multiple times over the years by the Associated Press and the Maine Association of Broadcasters. I was selected Regional Photographer of the Year in 2004 and 2005 by the National Press Photographers Association. I earned this recognition because I love telling stories and I’m passionate about what I do.
And that passion motivates me to tell your story with as much heart as if it was my own.
Diana Ichton Nelson
— Owner, Public Relations and Content Strategy
I am a unique hybrid in the media world — a small business owner, a decorated television journalist-turned-award winning public relations expert, wife of a traveling video journalist and a mom of two. My work as both a reporter and publicist has earned national recognition and it’s because of one distinct ability: storytelling.
In my ten years as a journalist, my work uncovered scandals, prompted state investigations and earned praise from Maine’s top leaders – from the AG to Senator Susan Collins. I was doing work that really made a difference. In that time, I regretfully developed a dislike for publicists. The lengthy press releases, the weak story pitches, and the phone calls (oh, the phone calls) checking to make sure I had received the aforementioned releases. With swelled pride, I believed publicists did not provide news value. Then something happened that caught even me by surprise — I got the opportunity to become one and I took it.
In the years I spent at an agency, my background as former news reporter provided unique value in crafting storylines and creating communication strategies that earned immediate results I knew how to talk to reporters because I was a reporter. My clients ranged from national non-profits to Maine’s most recognizable brands including hospitals, universities, banks, restaurateurs and retailers.
I successfully rebuilt badly damaged brands, navigated clients through front-page crisis situations and have media trained Fortune 500 executives. I’ve earned clients top spots on The Today Show, CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, Bloomberg News, GQ Magazine and countless publications across the country.
When a president of an international brand says that your guidance has changed the way they do business, it feels pretty damn good. So consider this my mea culpa: publicists also do work that really makes a difference.
Matt Nasi
— Videographer, Editor
He shoots, he edits, he does funny voices. Growing up the son of a television director in Colorado, Matt spent much of his formative years around master control. You may have even seen him as an extra on various TV spots around Denver in his youth. Prior to becoming a Black Fly in 2019, he honed his storytelling skills by building a portfolio of music videos, documentary shorts and commercial advertisements. When he’s not playing guitar at a local watering hole, riding a board, or adventuring with his family, you can find him outdoors with his camera and drone exploring the wilds of Maine.
(photo credit: Art Heffron)
Charlie Berg
— Videographer
Charlie Berg is a lot of things – a founding partner of Black Fly Media, a devoted husband and father, a wanna-be comedian and one of the best photojournalists we’ve ever worked with. In 2006 and 2007, he earned the National Press Photographer Association’s Regional Photographer of the Year.
He was the primary editor for Black Fly Media when our firm produced the PSA that led to the capture of the country’s most wanted man, James “Whitey” Bulger. In 2010, we worked closely with the FBI to create a spot that aired in cities where agents thought he might be living. 36 hours after the PSA aired, the FBI arrested him. Go ahead – you can thank us. But don’t tell anyone where we live. Though Charlie still shoots for us regularly, he’s now the multi-media manager at a large hospital in Maine.