Matthew Orr was born and raised in New York City. He studied film theory at Queens College then spent two years working on independent feature films before becoming a production manager for television producer Lorne Michaels.

Mr. Orr has been with The New York Times for nine years. In 2000 he helped develop NYT Television, a production company that produced documentaries for cable television. In 2003 he began producing news programming for The Discovery Times Channel, working closely with New York Times editors and reporters.

 Since 2005, Mr. Orr has been reporting as a video journalist for The New York Times, producing video stories and short documentaries for nytimes.com. As a senior member of the video staff he has covered a variety of topics, ranging from disputes over public land in southern Utah to the rise of nationalism in Japan.

 Currently, Mr. Orr is developing a path-breaking oral history project focused on people who have changed our world. They include former U.S. Presidents, Nobel laureates and creative artists.

 Matthew is married to artist Bethany Izard. They live in Jersey City, N.J., with their newborn baby girl, Matilda.