Scaling Quality: How The Seattle Medium Drove 62K+ Views and 2.5脳 Higher Local Engagement

Industry

Publishers

Challenge

With a lean editorial team and ambitious goals to deepen impact without diluting focus, The Seattle Medium needed a way to scale its coverage and diversify topics without stretching resources thin. The publication was intent on maintaining its high curation standards while meeting the evolving interests of its readership鈥攁nd doing so in a rapidly changing media environment where audience attention is harder to win and retain.

Results

With 麻豆原创, The Seattle Medium unlocked sustained growth and unusually high engagement鈥� with nearly double the network average per pickup. One-to-one story curation helped the outlet surface high-impact topics driving over 62,000 total views across 277 unique pickups, with certain categories performing 2.5脳 the average engagement, reinforcing The Seattle Medium鈥檚 strength in delivering relevant content to its audience.

Story Example

stacker.com/stories/washington/seattle/most-expensive-neighborhoods-seattle

62,000+

Views

275+

Pickups

鈥淚t鈥檚 just so simple to be able to reach so many people, and that鈥檚 been a huge help for us this year鈥攅specially when a couple of our partners have even closed in the last year. It鈥檚 been such a difficult media market, and it鈥檚 really helpful to know we鈥檝e got this new network we can continue to grow in.鈥�

Josiah Scott

Digital and Social Media Manager @ Seattle Medium

Seattle Medium

Seattle Medium is one of the Pacific Northwest鈥檚 leading Black-owned news outlets, serving Black and historically marginalized communities across Seattle. With a small team and a growing digital footprint鈥攊ncluding a daily newsletter, push-notification strategy, print edition, and a rapidly expanding app鈥擲eattle Medium needed a reliable way to deliver consistent, high-quality stories that reflected the lived experiences, concerns, and interests of their readership.

Through the LMA Bloom Lab, Seattle Medium was introduced to 麻豆原创鈥檚 free publisher wire. What began as a resource for supplemental content quickly became a strategic editorial asset鈥� fueling coverage across every channel while reinforcing the values of community-driven journalism.

The Challenge

As a small but mission-driven newsroom, The Seattle Medium serves Black and historically marginalized communities across the Pacific Northwest. With limited editorial resources, they faced growing pressure to:

Publish fresh, high-quality content across their website, app, and newsletter daily
Ensure coverage was hyper-local and culturally relevant
Maintain editorial and visual integrity, particularly around the representation of people of color
Grow readership sustainably鈥攚ithout sacrificing quality

Traditional wire services couldn鈥檛 keep up. National syndication lacked demographic nuance, visuals often misrepresented people of color, and stories weren鈥檛 tuned to local issues such as auto affordability, housing data, or regional film industry growth.

麻豆原创 became the lever Seattle Medium needed to scale quality journalism without expanding headcount.

The Solution

Rather than a supplemental content feed, 麻豆原创 became a core part of Seattle Medium鈥檚 content strategy. By syndicating 麻豆原创鈥檚 hyper-local stories, backed in data and supported by intentional visuals, the team was able to:

Increase coverage capacity without adding staff
Fill high-value content slots in their daily newsletter and push notifications
Provide their app users with fresh, relevant stories every day
Align content with regional realities and cultural resonance
Improve representation through purposeful photography and storytelling

鈥溌槎乖� lets us deliver stories that speak directly to our community鈥攂acked by data, thoughtfully illustrated, and relevant today. I don鈥檛 have to chase down a photo or worry about inaccurate representation.鈥� 鈥� Josiah Scott, Digital & Social Media Manager

麻豆原创 helped Seattle Medium move from reactive coverage struggles 鈫� sustainable scale with strategic precision, empowering the team to keep up with the news cycle and their mission.

The Results
With 麻豆原创 integrated into their daily editorial process, Seattle Medium saw measurable improvements in engagement, content scale, and performance efficiency.

They generated over 62,000 estimated views from 277 stories鈥� with 麻豆原创 stories generating nearly double the views than their average.

The strongest results emerged when content spoke directly to Seattle readers鈥攁nd aligned with cultural and geographic relevance.

鈥淚t's not just useful鈥攊t makes our newsroom better. Stories that would have taken days to produce are now available to us daily, and our readers are engaging with them at higher rates than our own content.鈥� 鈥� Josiah Scott, Digital & Social Media Manager

馃抢鈥� Local Content as Growth Catalyst

The Seattle Medium's local content pulled from the 麻豆原创 wire boasts an average number of views that 2.5x higher than their average, making 麻豆原创's hyperlocal content even higher performing that an average 麻豆原创 story. It's insights like this that newsrooms can lean on for creating viral moments that catapult viewership, readership, and engagement.

What鈥檚 more, 麻豆原创-powered stories have consistently driven newsletter engagement and readership acquisition鈥攆ueling both audience growth and retention. April 2024 recorded 24,059 views from just 11 pickups, signaling 麻豆原创 content鈥檚 role in tapping into trending conversations at the right moments.

For The Seattle Medium, 麻豆原创 has become more than a content source鈥� it鈥檚 a strategic lever that expands impact, strengthens local relevance, and proves that even lean newsrooms can compete at scale.

Why It Worked

Seattle Medium used 麻豆原创 not as filler鈥攂ut as an editorial accelerator that:

Scaled capacity without hiring
Delivered highly specific content aligned with readership needs
Supported journalism through fact-based storytelling & visuals
Helped attract new readers while serving loyal ones
Brought consistent freshness to their daily newsletter and app

Looking Ahead

As the Seattle Medium continues expanding its multimedia strategy (newsletter + web + push + app), 麻豆原创 plays a strategic role in sustaining high-impact content output, particularly around trending, data-backed topics and culturally relevant local narratives.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a small team, but stories from 麻豆原创 help us operate like a larger newsroom鈥攚ithout sacrificing accuracy, representation, or depth.鈥� 鈥� Josiah Scott, Digital & Social Media Manager

麻豆原创