Nik Strong-Cvetich
CEO at Save The Waves Coalition
Joel, and the whole team at Swan Dive Media, were amazing to work with on the production of our mini-documentary about water quality issues at Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz. He managed to produce an outstanding, clear narrative around a very complicated scientific issue, making it accessible to a general audience, but scientifically rigorous to be accurate and factual. This is one of his true strengths; making complicated issues digestible. The film was also aesthetically beautiful, and his whole team were very professional in a difficult contracting process. I look forward to collaborating with Joel in the future on more projects!
Elizabeth Limbach
Director of Communications at MUD\WTR
I’ve been lucky enough to work with Joel Hersch since May 2012, when he began freelancing for Good Times Weekly newspaper, where I was the Managing Editor. Soon, we brought him on as a staff writer and were incredibly grateful to have him there. When I became the editor of the bimonthly surf lifestyle magazine Santa Cruz Waves, I knew that I had to have Joel on my team. At both publications, he is my go-to writer for pieces of in-depth reporting and longform, but he’s also reliable and gifted with any type of assignment. He’s a determined, thorough, and probing reporter and a clever storyteller with impeccable journalistic instincts. It’s a rare, but essential, combination, and one that makes him a truly valuable and promising journalist. It’s a pleasure editing his work and I’m always proud to run his pieces. To boot, he’s as enjoyable to work with as his stories are to read.
David J. Terrazas
Attorney | Government Affairs & Public Policy
Over the past 7 years I've worked with Joel on a variety of successful projects. I highly recommend him to create, plan, and implement impactful print and digital media activities. In his role as a journalist, Joel has an inquisitive nature, creative and able to craft great stories. As Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, I worked with Joel and his company Swan Dive Media to increase digital communications and outreach in our city. One notable project was focused on educating the public about City efforts to improve water quality at Cowell Beach. The excellence of his finished work, along with his ability to artfully communicate complex issues with a specialists eye for detail earned Swan Dive Media great respect. Joel's high quality results and collaborative nature make working with him not only highly productive but highly enjoyable as well.
Zachary Gostonian
Marketing Director, Integral Consulting Inc.
I rely on Joel and the Swan Dive Media team to lead me through the process to produce the highest-quality video content for our organization. They strategize, plan, shoot, and edit to help us tell the story we want. They are professional, flexible, and creative. Most importantly their end product is of the highest quality to help us showcase our brand. Highly recommend!
Press & Spotlights
Choose Santa Cruz
People today are more connected than ever before. Since the internet was introduced in 1991, the digital world has exploded and is growing exponentially. By the year 2020, the number of PCs, smartphones, tablets, and connected devices is expected to reach 7.3 billion. Online sharing has helped humanity evolve, but it has also changed the landscape for information sharing and the news. Since news is so easy to share, it has become harder as a reader to find reliable sources as well as challenging for content creators to make their way to the top of the newsfeed amidst all the various media channels and producers.
Santa Cruz Works
Picture this - a dream in glass, nurtured over four decades, now captured in a film that's as elegant and translucent as its subject matter. The film is called "Resilience: The Story of Annieglass", and it’s all about the mesmerizing journey of Annie Morhauser, the brilliant mind and steady hand behind Annieglass.
Born from the cinematic wizardry of Swan Dive Media, a video content studio hatched right here in Santa Cruz by the duo Joel Hersch and Michael Daniel, the film debuted on the Cabrillo College big screen last October. Why then? Well, because Annie Morhauser was being celebrated as the 2022 Artist of the Year by none other than the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission. No biggie? You of little faith.
Good Times Weekly
To celebrate Annieglass’ 40th anniversary, the documentary film Art of Resilience will be released by local production studio Swan Dive Media. Filmmakers Joel Hersch and Michael Daniel headed up the project, working closely with Morhauser to tell her story.
“It was awesome to have her reach out to us,” Hersch says. “We’re honored for the opportunity. Our film tells the story of a really strong woman who’s had an amazing career and given a lot to Santa Cruz County.”
Hersch, the film’s producer and director, says that working on it was eye-opening.
Santa Cruz Sentinel
It’s quite possible you’ve seen his name around town:
Joel Hersch has become a popular byline seen in the local weekly Good Times — he’s also a former Sentinel writer. But his other creative work also deserves attention. Hersch is not only a dynamo with pen and paper at his day job, but he’s also a skilled and innovative fine artist.
As he explains in his artist’s bio, he “conducts experiments with digital illustration, taking inspiration from the strangeness and beauty of Santa Cruz, the wider Bay Area, and his own surrealistic imagination.”
Greg Archer
Arts & Culture Journalist for USA Today Network
Joel is a remarkable creative person. A rare bird in that he is an expert reporter and a stellar writer. Not often do you find those two qualities married. However, Joel is unique in that he has a zest for reporting and he's downright good at it. Additionally, the stories he crafts often flow with grace. They are easy to read, often informative and in many cases-- at least during our time working together -- captivating and filled with great news reporting. Joel can also delve into features smoothly. I strongly believe Joel brings something remarkably unique to the creative table and remains one of the easiest creative people I have had the pleasure of working with, and supervising.
Testimonials
Tyler Fox
Founder at Santa Cruz Waves // Director of Business Development at SwellCycle Surfboards
It has been a joy working with Joel over the past 10 years. His journalism skills are top notch and I've enjoyed watching him build his media company into something that produces world-class content matched with sensational storytelling. I highly recommend Swan Dive for any marketing/branding projects big or small!
