New York Times hires three video content specialists; Mark Zemel and Eddie Costas join as senior video editors, Devon Lum as open source reporter for Visual Investigations

New Hires in Video

We are delighted to announce three new hires to the Video desk in New York. Mark Zemel and Eddie Costas have joined the Video desk as senior video editors in Podcast Video, and Devon Lum has joined as open source reporter for Visual Investigations.

Using their deep understanding of social video trends and their innovative approaches to video formats and techniques, Mark and Eddie will work with video producers, journalists, editors and other collaborators to lead the editing and publication of audio video work, bringing our audio portfolio to mobile, social and digital audiences through horizontal video podcasts and vertical video clips. Devon will cover breaking news and report investigative stories using visual and audio evidence, satellite imagery and a variety of online platforms and databases, while bolstering the team’s capacity to cover developing events on weekends.

Prior to The Times, Mark Zemel edited a “Firing Line” documentary at PBS. Earlier in his career, he spent five years at Pitchfork TV, followed by a period of freelancing for various major media outlets, including CNN, Viceland, Netflix, Hulu, PBS, ABC and NBC. His work at Vox as lead editor for the series “Glad You Asked,” a Youtube Originals show, was nominated twice for the Outstanding Educational or Informational Series category in the Emmys. Mark also won a Webby in 2011 for Best Use of Interactive Video with Pitchfork’s POV series and another in 2020 for Best Technology Video with The Verge’s “Inside the Traumatic Life of a Facebook Moderator.” He has also produced and directed personal documentaries, two of which earned Vimeo Staff Picks.

A familiar face to many, Eddie Costas has been working with The New York Times since September and has edited videos for The Interview, “The Daily,” “Popcast” and a spatial video about dining at Torrisi with Sam Sifton.

Previously, Eddie has produced, filmed and edited videos in newsrooms for broadcast and digital media, including Univision, Gizmodo Media Group, Genius and The Verge. During his tenure at Genius, Eddie edited videos featuring artists like Olivia Rodrigo, BTS and Karol G, and directed livestreamed interactive concerts. As a senior video director at The Verge, he filmed and edited videos about technology, such as an in-depth review of the Apple Vision Pro and an interview with former President Barack Obama about artificial intelligence and free speech. He’s also worked as a director, editor, and cinematographer for nonfiction and narrative projects.

Devon Lum started as a fellow on Visual Investigations in 2024. In his nine months on the team, Devon has helped confirm President Trump was grazed by a bullet during the attempt on his life, reported on conflict throughout the Middle East and helped reconstruct the progression of the Los Angeles fires. Prior to the fellowship, Devon used open source methods to conduct investigations into human rights abuses for Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Center at Berkeley Law. Devon was part of teams that revealed how Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border, reconstructed deadly crackdowns on protests around the world and covered human rights abuses in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Devon grew up in California and attended U.C., Berkeley, where he studied political science and public health. He lived in Oahu, Hawaii, before joining The Times in New York.

Mark started on Feb. 24 and Eddie and Devon started on March 10.