On Dec. 11, 2007 – 16 years ago today – The B-Town Blog posted its very first story, beginning a bold new era in independent, “hyperlocal” journalism for Burien.
First started as a hobby by Burien resident and three-time National Emmy Award-winning 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 when an online search in 2007 for “things to do in Burien” for his family resulted in zero results.
Schaefer – who worked in journalism for several years before succeeding in Film/TV – was heavily influenced by one of his many Mentors, West Seattle High School Teacher Dorothy “Miss Moo” Mootafes, who helped guide his early journalism efforts as Photographer and Editor of the award-winning West Seattle Chinook newspaper.
Schaefer also consulted with another mentor, Zev Siegl, one of the original founders of Starbucks – via 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!).
Since its first post in 2007, The B-Town Blog has published tens of thousands of original stories – covering Burien news, politics, crime, 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 reduced and sometimes no cost. We have also mentored numerous students from Burien’s Big Picture High School, and we help numerous businesses who choose to advertise to our engaged, large local audience.
We also tip our news hats to:
- The incredibly talented Michael Brunk, who 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 who assisted with graphics and logos.
- 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 eight hyperlocal news/events websites for an area spanning from White Center to Auburn.
Other key help came from experienced Journalist Jack Mayne (R.I.P. Jack, for whom we created a journalism scholarship in his memory) as well as Sales Rep Dona Ozier, along with our latest finds, talented local journalists Mellow DeTray, Alia Sinclair, Gerald Patriarca and Sarah Toce.
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 16-year history.
Help Us Celebrate!
Here are two ways you can help us celebrate our Birthday – show your support and donate to us so we can 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.
Bravo, Bravo! And Thank you, Thank you!!! I don’t know what we, as a community, would do without you! The B-Town Blog is THE source for info about what’s going on in our community. I’m SO grateful for your presence here in Burien, and beyond. Thank you.