Conversations with those on the front lines: Anika Anand from The Evergrey

We recently had lunch with Anika Anand, co-founder of The Evergrey, a new online media platform focused on connecting Seattle’s curious locals. We discussed her transition out of traditional journalism, her approach to storytelling and what made her fall in love with our city. Since its launch in October 2016, creating a new and fresh space for Seattle stories and connectors, The Evergrey has hosted numerous events and attracted a highly engaged community of daily newsletter subscribers.

Here are a few key takeaways from our conversation with Anika.

· Approach storytelling based on your audience’s curiosities. Anika says they realize people want more than just straight reporting on politics; they want to read about how policies are going to affect them and those they care about. They don’t want to read a transportation story; they want to know how their morning commute is going to change due to new construction. This approach creates very reader-responsive content.

· Anika also said that a less traditional platform like The Evergrey can share stories through casual, less polished videos, allowing for of-the-moment and simple storytelling.

· Often, what’s lost in print or online stories is interaction with readers. Sharing stories creatively through social media invites reciprocal conversations for people to comment, like and share local content that matters to them.

· Local journalism matters. While national outlets have larger reaches, local outlets have the unique ability to help orient and connect people with their city and to each other.

Next, we'll be sharing conversation highlights with Coral Garnick, retail reporter at the Puget Sound Business Journal, so hurry back.

* This is the fourth blog post in our series on people who are on the front lines of the changing media landscape. If you missed the first two posts in the series, get caught up on the influencer insights from the Seattle Gents co-founders and Obsessed by Portia.