NIK HEFTMAN
MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST 

Born and raised in Southern California, Nik Heftman has worked in just about every part of the country. He's an Emmy Award-winner, formerly with CBS News and now The Seven Times, a platform dedicated to uplifting Black-owned businesses.  

Heftman has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a designated area of concentration in international studies, from Iowa State University.

Heftman’s reporting has earned him a Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for outstanding breaking news reporting. He also received an award from the Iowa Associated Press for a feature he co-wrote on South Sudanese refugees living in rural Iowa. He was nominated for an SPJ Mark of Excellence Award for feature writing.

He has worked as a reporter, editor and television producer for newspapers, magazines and national television broadcasts in California, Iowa and New York CIty. He’s covered topics ranging from wicca and witchcraft, to politics and professional boxing. 

Heftman’s dedication to reporting on diversity and inclusion issues earned him the honor of speaking at public forums about the topic, including the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE) -  a comprehensive forum on issues of race and ethnicity at Iowa State University and beyond.

Before graduating from Iowa State in 2017, Heftman hosted a blunt debate about the way journalists cover Muslims at home and abroad. The event was called Muslimedia, and it was organized with the help of a mosque in Ames, Iowa. 

Heftman has been writing and producing news stories for seven years. He has used every platform to help the cause of truth while promoting equality, inclusion, liberty and social justice.

When he's not in the office, Heftman is probably at the gym or trying the new restaurant in town with the weird menu. Heftman is also a mentor for Young Storytellers, a 9-week program program where middle schoolers work collaboratively with a group mentor to create first person narratives about challenges they face - and then work with actors who later perform those pieces.