Is Sacramento a Digital Media Hot Spot or Dead Zone
The Sacramento media scene has a long and colorful history which dates back to before I was born. I’m one of the thirty-something’s who grew up using computers from an early age, but only moved to Sacramento in 1995. Innovative publications like Alive & Kicking by legendary music promoter Jerry Perry and Prosper Magazine supported by Michael Teel, CEO of local supermarket giant Raley’s, have had a tough go staying viable in the Sacramento market. While others like Sactown Magazine by Rob Turner and Elyssa Lee and Sacramento Press by Ben Ilfeld and Geoff Samek have found a business model and loyal audience for their local content. Still others have been publishing for decades and continue to survive despite the downturn in the economy, but for how long.
You might notice that theses publications have all taken varying approaches to producing content with a mix of distribution channels. The comparison/contrast was intentional. While print is not the same as digital, good content is the common factor among all publications. The differentiator of success between the publications mentioned has been the business model for supporting content production and distribution. The goal of this commentary is not to argue the merits of one business model or the other, rather to make a larger point.
Is Sacramento poised to become a Digital Media Hot Spot or Dead Zone?
Before diving into what we “The Media” should be doing I’d like to highlight a couple reasons I think there is a growing opportunity for a Digital Media Hot Spot here in Sacramento.
1. The McClatchy Company, owner of the Sacramento Bee is the third-largest newspaper company in the United States and is based right here in Sacramento, Ca. They recently developed a content sharing network called Sacramento Connect to work with local blogs and news providers and have received national attention for it.
2. Innovative digital media startup Sacramento Press is making waves nationally with an online-only news model with over 1,000 community contributors and recently launched a