6AM City
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6AM City is an American media company based in Greenville, South Carolina that supports production of local daily email newsletters in cities across the United States. The name refers to the email newsletter’s 6:00 a.m. delivery time.
6AM City’s newsletters aggregate positive, impactful news and events. In addition, 6AM City publishes articles on its news websites and runs a weekend newsletter.
 | |
Screenshot Screenshot of 6AM City's homepage on 24 May 2022. | |
Type of site | News |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | 6AM City Inc. |
| Key people | Ryan Johnson (founder, CEO); Ryan Heafy (founder; COO) |
| Employees | 115 (As of May 2022) |
| Website | https://6amcity.com/ |
| Advertising | Native |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | 2016 |
| Current status | Active |
History[edit]
6AM City was co-founded by Ryan Johnston and Ryan Heafy in 2016. 6AM City’s first market, GVLtoday[1], launched with a newsletter that July as a product innovation of Community Journals Publishing Company[2], a print media company in Upstate South Carolina. In 2017, the founders launched a website and social platforms for GVLtoday. In April of that year, the business expanded to Columbia, South Carolina, where it launched COLAtoday.[3]
In August 2017, 6AM City became an independently operating business separate from Community Journals and established the business name. Early growth was initially concentrated in the Southeast fueled by investments from VentureSouth and Harbright Ventures.[citation needed]
6AM City expanded nationally in 2021 to include 24 markets across the United States, supported by a round of funding led by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik. Other funding sources included CNN Chief Product Officer Rohit Agarwal and Jerry Scott (former Publisher of Scott Publishing).[4]
As of May 2022, the company reported that it had 115 full-time employees.[citation needed]
In March of 2022, 6AM City announced that its newsletters had reached over 1 million subscribers, and that it was on track to exceed $10 million in revenue for the year.[5] 6AM City generates revenue through Branded Content (native advertising), partnerships, and newsletter sponsorship.
The newsletter avoids topics that are “controversial or highly politicized on a national level,” including politics (beyond election guides) and stories related to crime and punishment.[6]
Twipe attributes 6AM City’s growth to the fact that the newsletters “rarely [cover] politics and crime,” instead focusing on positive, pro-growth news.[7] Critics have argued that “local doesn’t scale,” and that 6AM City’s policy on crime and punishment and the fact that its reporters don’t do investigative journalism make its newsletters “non-essential."[8]
In 2022, 6AM City launched Six & Main, its ECommerce platform.[citation needed]
Innovation and Awards[edit]
In March 2022, Ryan Heafy, co-founder (and current COO) described 6AM as a “marketing engine for … cities.”[9]
In 2022, 6AM City was named sixth in Fast Company’s list of the 10 Most Innovative Media Companies of the year, as well as Inc.’s Best Workplaces 2022. Fast Company awarded the company for “rising to the challenge of community-centered local news,” and called its newsletters “a refreshing supplement—or in the case of municipalities where outlets slashed budgets or closed shop during the pandemic, even more—with its highly skimmable morning read.”[10][11]
Founders Johnston and Heafy were named Founders of the Year by the South Carolina Research Authority at the 2022 summit.[12]
Content[edit]
The product is written by two City Editors based in each market. It features skimmable positive news written in a conversational tone.[citation needed]
Each day’s newsletter typically includes a Conversation (a lead story with original reporting), a curated events calendar, a Post of the Day (a trending or notable post from social media), and News Notes (aggregated local news). Newsletters may also include sections discussing additional topics, including special features and Branded Content (native advertising).
According to their website, 6AM City’s products are read by an educated, female-leaning audience.[13]
References[edit]
- ↑ "GVLtoday | Your Resource for All Things Greenville, SC". GVLtoday. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ "Community Journals Home". communityjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ "COLAtoday | Your Resource for All Things Columbia, SC". COLAtoday. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ Fischer, Sara (2021-09-21). "6AM City raises over $5 million, expands to 24 cities". Axios. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ ""We're designed to be a marketing engine for the cities": 6AM City hits milestone 1 million newsletter subscribers". Media Voices. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ "Editorial Ethics Policy + Guidelines". 6AM City. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ Lynes, Matthew (6 July 2022). "What is local news in 2022 and how are publishers adapting?". Twipe. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ Kennedy, Dan (2021-09-24). "The local-news start-up 6AM City is coming to Boston. Try not to get too excited". Media Nation. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ ""We're designed to be a marketing engine for the cities": 6AM City hits milestone 1 million newsletter subscribers". Media Voices. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ LaPorte, Nicole (2022-03-08). "The 10 most innovative media companies of 2022". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ "These Are the 475 Best Companies to Work For in America". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ Davis, Kelsie (2022-04-26). "State's Founders, Innovators, and Researchers Gather at SCRA Summit". SCRA: South Carolina Research Authority. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ "Home". 6AM City. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
External Links[edit]
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