The Sacramento Press Expands Presence in Area Communities

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sacramento Press has begun efforts to expand beyond Downtown and Midtown Sacramento as it strives to become a more visible presence in neighborhoods throughout the city and beyond.

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"Our efforts have been fairly centralized up to now," said Denise Coleman, operations and marketing logistics manager for The Sacramento Press. "Now we're expanding and starting to build interaction with neighborhoods surrounding what has been our primary area of coverage of issues and events."

The Sacramento Press has been covering the city's central and Midtown areas with the help of hundreds of community volunteers. Coverage includes reporting and informed commentary on local activities and events ranging from the arts to civic affairs to recreation and sports.  The Sacramento Press also is a prime medium for community organizations and businesses to advertise locally and amplify publicity of their events.

The online news and marketing organization is now radiating its efforts outwards to recruit contributing writers and involvement with local groups from the Land Park and Curtis Park communities south of the city's center, as well as Oak Park and Tahoe Park to the southeast.  Expansion will continue throughout city neighborhoods and, eventually, the surrounding region.

"We want to develop a rapport with these neighborhoods and offer our participation in the community events they're planning," Coleman said.

In early May, The Sacramento Press had a presence at Celebrate Oak Park, a community gathering that included a children's area, rock climbing, entertainment and vendor booths. And, coming soon, the Sacramento Press will be part of Curtis Park's summer "Music in the Park" concert series, featuring music, food, vendors and live streaming video from the events.

In other outreach, a Sacramento Press delegation took part May 21 in a city-wide neighborhood summit convened by the city's Neighborhood Services Department at the Sacramento Convention Center to build relationships and educate members of groups throughout Sacramento on the use of the Sacramento Press Web site.  

During a day full of workshops for community groups, the Sacramento Press representatives explained the organization's role as a forum for community reporting on issues and events, showed attendees how to use the site and post news of their neighborhoods, and advised on including social media to reach community audiences.

Going forward, the Sacramento Press will continue to work with Neighborhood Services in coming months to host a series of free community workshops to explain its concept of covering local areas and events, instruct people in the use of its site and solicit the contribution of content.  The workshops will include a session planned for Sacramento City Council District 8 in conjunction with City Council Member Bonnie Pannell.

Coleman said the Sacramento Press intends to continue forging community relationships with neighborhoods through their civic groups and nonprofits.

"We'd like to engage residents, community leaders, nonprofits and businesses owners and to be very visible in their neighborhoods," she said. "We're focused on getting all neighborhoods represented on our site."

About The Sacramento Press

Aiming to rewrite the rules of journalism through community engagement, The Sacramento Press uses a hyper-local lens and an army of 800-plus community contributors to offer reporting and commentary on all news and issues of interest to residents of the city's communities.  Through its powerful website, events and marketing services, the pioneering online media outlet partners with local business to advance their brands through sponsorships of community activities. It also provides businesses social-networking-advisory services. To learn more, click on http://sacramentopress.com/.

SOURCE The Sacramento Press