Way back on Dec. 11, 2007 – 14 years ago today – The B-Town Blog posted its very first story, beginning a bold new era in independent, “hyperlocal” journalism for Burien.
Since then, we have published tens of thousands of original stories – covering Burien news, politics, crime, COVID-19, arts, events, photos, videos, and more.
We have also enjoyed helping numerous local community non-profit organizations by providing our marketing skills and reach for fundraisers at no cost, as well as mentoring numerous students from Burien’s Big Picture High School, helping local businesses and informing thousands of residents and much more.
HELP US CELEBRATE!
Here are two ways you can help us celebrate our B-Day – show your support and help us fund and expand our local journalism (you can cancel at anytime), or sign up for our free Daily Email Newsletter.
DONATE:
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- Another way to show support is to email us a testimonial or birthday wish to scott@southkingmedia.com that we can share with our Readers and Advertisers.
- Also, be sure to “Like” our Facebook page here.
Our homegrown, family-run, totally independent website has amazing reach, as it’s considered by 71% of residents as their main source of information, according to a 2018 survey by the City of Burien:
First started as a hobby by Burien resident and multiple award-winning TV Writer/Director/Producer Scott Schaefer (“Almost Live!” “Bill Nye the Science Guy” “The Arsenio Hall Show” “Penn & Teller:Bullsh*t!” The Maury Island Incident film and many others), the blog began after an online search in 2007 for things to do in Burien for his family resulted in zero results.
Schaefer – who studied journalism for several years before venturing into Film/TV – was heavily influenced by one of his many Mentors, West Seattle High School Journalism Teacher Dorothy “Miss Moo” Mootafes, who helped guide his early journalism efforts as Photographer and Editor of the award-winning West Seattle Chinook newspaper.
Inspired by the early success of a few other “local blogs” around the Seattle area, as well as a love for the Burien community, Schaefer decided to start a new online publication, initially as a hobby. He adopted the nickname “B-Town” from an ice cream shop in Olde Burien called “B-Town Scoop,” and within a few months, traffic started to explode. Schaefer consulted with Zev Siegl – one of the original founders of Starbucks – at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Highline College, as well as with business Mentor and friend Larry Coffman of Marketing NW Magazine (R.I.P. Larry!).
Both encouraged him to drop everything else and turn his little “hobby” into a full-time business.
Soon, the incredibly talented Michael Brunk came on board and helped design and code the website, as well as share amazing photos he had taken around town.
Old college pal Todd Christensen and wife Wendy Quesinberry of Quesinberry Design helped with artwork and logos.
Then, the amazing Janet Grella joined as Sales Manager, and The B-Town Blogolution was underway. We soon had dozens of paid Advertisers and were able to eke out a living! (R.I.P. Janet)
In 2012, his wife Theresa joined the team as Sales Manager, and she and Scott now work full-time as the “Mom and Pop” internet publishing company South King Media, a family-run, totally independent local network of seven hyperlocal news/events websites for an area spanning from White Center to Kent. They are joined by experienced Journalist Jack Mayne, as well as Sales Rep Dona Ozier, Reviewer Shelli Park, along with our latest finds, talented local journalists Nicholas Johnson and Izzy Wallace.
Many others have helped us on our local journalism journey over the years, and we appreciate you all!
In May, 2020, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) honored The B-Town Blog with a First-Place ‘General Excellence’ Award for small publications over a five state area for 2019 – the third top prize the SPJ has awarded The B-Town Blog over its history.
Judges narrowed roughly 1,300 entries down to 250 winners, recognizing reporters, photographers, designers, editors and more throughout the region, which includes five states – Washington and Oregon, as well as Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
In conclusion, we’d like to THANK YOU, our Readers – it has been a joy to serve up local news, politics, events, arts, videos and more for such a great community – for 14 years (with many more to come!).
We’d also like to make a special shoutout to all our Advertisers who support our mission – without you, we wouldn’t be here!
If you’re interested in Advertising and reaching our engaged local Readers, please email Theresa Schaefer at vtheresa@comcast.net, or call our office at (206) 248-2565.
MORE INFO:
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- Read more about South King Media here.
- Listen to Pat Cashman’s Podcast interview with Schaefer about his early days at KING-TV’s “Almost Live!” as well as other TV shows here.
- In August, 2018, South King Media was profiled by Seattle Business Magazine – read the full story here.
