For years, I’ve been the one asking the questions, sharing stories, and keeping our community informed through local journalism. But recently, the tables turned when Nancy Salguero-McKay of the Highline Heritage Museum sat down with me for an interview, where we explored my journey – from writing comedy in Hollywood to launching South King Media and telling the stories that shape our region.

It was a great conversation about the power of real, local journalism, the importance of community service, and yes, even a few behind-the-scenes tales from my past life in TV.

Nancy is a great interviewer and was easy to talk to, and I’m grateful for the chance to reflect on this wild ride (so far). If you’re curious about how I went from writing on “Almost Live!” to running a network of hyperlocal news sites – or just want to hear some entertaining showbiz stories – tune in to the video below.

Nancy got me to recall how early influences – from my Dad’s sense of humor to the investigative work of Woodward and Bernstein – shaped my early media career. I began in journalism, working on my junior high, high school and college newspapers as well as the West Seattle Herald, before pivoting to television and film production, eventually becoming an award-winning writer for KING-TV’s “Almost Live!” and later “The Late Show” on Fox.

My TV career took me to Hollywood in the late 1980s, where I worked on several shows before returning to Seattle in 1994 to serve as Senior Writer on the acclaimed “Bill Nye the Science Guy” (Bill was an old friend from my “Almost Live!” days) where I won three National Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Children’s Series.

I worked on a lot of other TV/media projects, but one big life milestone happened in 1996, when I was (accidentally) diagnosed with a brain tumor, prompting me to explore meditation, healing practices, and a major shift in focus. Obviously, I had a successful craniotomy (thanks Dr. Mitch Berger and UW Medical Center!), and am happy to say I survived that little bump inside my head, now going on 29 years!

In 2007, I started The B-Town Blog as a hobby, after realizing there were few resources for local news and event listings. I was just Googling for something to do with my young family that weekend, got zero results, and decided to start a “local blog” for fun. Well that little “hobby” exploded into a full-time business, and has since expanded into South King Media, a network of eight “hyperlocal” news websites I run with my beautiful wife Theresa, covering Burien, White Center, Normandy Park, Des Moines, Tukwila, SeaTac, Kent, and Auburn.

My mission remains simple: provide free and accessible, accurate, professional local news while supporting local businesses and nonprofits.

I encourage all local businesses to advertise and support our real, professional independent journalism – no other “local news” website reaches the local audience we do – 60,000 to 80,000 readers per month(!) (and be sure to email vtheresa@comcast.net for our rate card).