We’ve come a long way, baby! This week marks the fourth anniversary for 83 Degrees Media, an upstart weekly online magazine that features stories about the Tampa Bay region’s talent, innovation, diversity and environment.
“83 Degrees Media has made it its mission to tell the stories of Tampa's dynamic economy and new developments that matter to our community. They showcase the progress — big or small — happening regionally. Congratulations to 83 Degrees for four good years, and we look forward to reading it for many more years.” — Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn
When we and parent company Issue Media Group set out back in 2009 to launch a publication to report on economic gains and growth in West Central Florida, we weren’t really sure how well we would be received or how readily readers would suggest the real stories of real people making progress on the ground in Tampa neighborhoods and surrounding communities.
“We, at Ringling College of Art and Design, are proud to have been one of 83 Degrees Media’s inaugural partners in 2009 when Diane Egner took the bold move to bring this imaginative publishing concept to Tampa Bay. 83Degrees is emblematic of the enormous impact creativity and design thinking can have on any business. Keep up the entrepreneurial spirit and human-centered approach, and congratulations on your 4th Anniversary!’’ — Dr. Larry R. Thompson, President, Ringling College, Sarasota
So far, we’ve grown our audience by producing nearly 500 feature stories with a full complement of photos, almost 640 Development News items about investments in property, just over 775 Innovation & Job News items about growing companies and innovative ideas and 949 summaries of news stories on the new economy appearing in other publications. Our stories and news items are regularly shared in social media, frequently referenced in other media and often included as links on other websites.
"I think 83 degrees should be named 360 degrees! I have been so impressed with their wide, informative and unbiased coverage about how our community is growing. This email blast is the one I always read, and right away. That says it all!" — Andrea Graham, Stageworks Theatre Co-Founder, Tampa
Now four years later, we are celebrating one of the nation’s success stories in new media with more than 180,000 readers this year alone.
"For four years, 83 Degrees Media has been a beacon reminding us of our reasons for calling Tampa Bay home. Being covered means you are doing something right for the community. Being covered means talking to a journalist who cares about the community as well. Being covered means smiles are being shared contagiously. Here is to the next four years of 83 Degrees Media.” — Daniel James Scott, Co-Founder of Gazelle Lab and Associate Director for USFSP Entrepreneurship, St. Petersburg
We’re reprinting a few of your favorite stories here on this home page as a wee bit of a walk down memory lane in celebration of the start of our fifth year. Enjoy!
And we’d like to hear from you as to how you think we’re doing and what more you’d like to see. Please fill out this survey at your convenience in the next few days. We’ll share the results in a future edition.
Diane Egner is the publisher and managing editor of 83 Degrees Media. Comments? Contact 83 Degrees.
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Diane Egner is a community leader and award-winning journalist with more than four decades of experience reporting and writing about the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. She serves on the boards of the University of South Florida Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications Advisory Council, The Institute for Research in Art (Graphicstudio, the Contemporary Art Museum, and USF’s Public Art Program) Community Advisory Council, Sing Out and Read, and StageWorks Theatre Advisory Council. She also is a member of Leadership Florida and the Athena Society. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a BA in journalism, she won the top statewide award for editorial writing from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors while at The Tampa Tribune and received special recognition by the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists for creative work as Content Director at WUSF Public Media. Past accomplishments and community service include leadership positions with Tampa Tiger Bay Club, USF Women in Leadership & Philanthropy (WLP), Alpha House of Tampa Bay, Awesome Tampa Bay, Florida Kinship Center, AIA Tampa Bay, Powerstories, Arts Council of Hillsborough County, and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Diane and her husband, Sandy Rief, live in Tampa.