6AM City, a newsletter-first local media company based in Greenville, announced Sept. 21 it will expand from eight to 24 cities in the second half of 2021.
The company’s growth is fueled by an investment led by the private investment office of Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It has also received additional funds from media executives including a team led by CNN chief product officer Rohit Agarwal and Jerry Scott, former publisher of Scott Publishing, as well as from existing investors VentureSouth and Harbright Ventures.
“This investment in 6AM City is the latest evolution for our civically minded partners to support access to high quality local news across the country,” said 6AM City CEO Ryan Johnston. “6AM City has positioned itself as a catalyst to drive economic impact and to help municipalities attract and retain the very best talent. Emerging from the pandemic, cities across the country are intensely focused on economic recovery and future growth. This injection of capital will ensure that 6AM City can effectively support and serve these rapidly growing cities.”
6AM City plans to expand into its new markets by Thanksgiving, which include:
- Austin, Texas – ATXtoday
- Boston, Massachusetts – BOStoday
- Columbus, Ohio – CBUStoday
- Fort Worth, Texas – FTWtoday
- Indianapolis, Indiana – INDYtoday
- Kansas City, Missouri – KCtoday
- Lexington, Kentucky – LEXtoday
- Louisville, Kentucky – LOUtoday
- Madison, Wisconsin – 608today
- Portland, Oregon – PDXtoday
- Richmond, Virginia – RICtoday
- Sacramento, California – SACtoday
- San Antonio, Texas – SATXtoday
- San Diego, California – SDtoday
- San Jose California – SJCtoday
- Seattle, Washington –SEAtoday
The company has established partnerships in its new markets with organizations looking to expedite economic recovery, including economic development entities, professional sports teams and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
It is also hiring local editorial and sales staff. 6AM City has over 30 open positions in editorial, sales, marketing and creative roles that can be located in any of the cities that the company serves. With these new hires, the company will expand from 35 employees at the beginning of 2021 to an excess of 100 by the end of the year.
In addition to market expansion and growing the team, 6AM City plans to launch three new product innovations in the fourth quarter, including a loyalty-based membership platform, referral program and local commerce platform.
For more information, visit 6amcity.com.
