Welcome to 6AM City

Join our team and join the conversation.


A Strong Foundation

Our Principles “DOING. POSITIVE. SERVICE.” and Values aren’t just motivational phrases, they’re how we operate and support the company culture.
They’re what we believe and celebrate.

6AM City Values
Flexible, relevant, inclusive, trusted
Community-driven, connected, unbiased
Hungry for feedback, crazed with curiosity
Proactive, problem solvers, positive
Local, vocal, social

Our Mission

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6AM will be the most relevant local media brand in the cities it serves.


BRAND ANTHEM

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This is our Brand Anthem. It is a manifesto of why we love what we do; a rallying cry for our readers and partners; a pledge to make a positive impact; and a glimpse into what gets us out of bed in the morning.

Great cities should be celebrated. The more a city’s stories are told and the more its residents are engaged, the deeper the pride in place becomes. Pride in place is rocket fuel for growth, both cultural and economic.

We are 6AM City. We’re local everywhere, and we make it easy to celebrate the city you call home. Whether you’re showing up early or closing down the house, we point you in the right direction to get the absolute most out of your city from the moment you walk out the door.

Just like you, we are locals. We’re listening to and reporting on what our neighbors want to see, know, and do — telling stories together with our community. We’re inside chefs’ kitchens and construction zones. We’re sampling street food and uncovering coffeeshop secrets. We’re highlighting makers and small business owners. We’re interviewing massive employers and hiking the great outdoors.

Why? Because a city isn’t just a line in your address, it’s the lens through which you experience your everyday life. That might mean exploring spaces, visiting or (re)visiting iconic places, discovering hidden gems or filling seats in stadiums, restaurants, board rooms and volunteer booths. We believe in providing our audience the positive information they need to get involved and stay inspired, all while fueling local growth.

Whether you chose this city, or this city chose you, it’s time to make it your own and join the conversation. So get excited — because there’s no other city like the one you call home.

Join the Team

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6AM is for energetic performers who thrive in a fast-paced work environment and love seeing the direct impact of their work.. Join us as we build upon our growing network of cities, continuing our vision of establishing the most relevant modern local media brand. We’d love to meet you.

In the News
6AM City officially closed its Series A funding round led by TEGNA and supported by follow-on investments from existing stakeholders including American Investment Holdings, VentureSouth, and Harbright Ventures.
The companies were assessed by an independent research firm which reviewed many key measures relative to other nationally recognized winners.
Read how the company’s newsletter content earned an award-winning status
Learn about the redesign features that earned the company a Vega Award
6AM City is being recognized as one of the most investable companies in the Southeast, and we were selected out of 550 applications.
6AM City looks forward to delivering the most relevant, concise, need-to-know local news and events to the Winston-Salem community.
Winston-Salem Inc. has risen to the top 100 in the national ranking of best-performing communities. Additionally, 79 projects are in the development pipeline. News like this gets 6AM City even more excited about launching WStoday.
Dive into the details of 6AM City’s expansion plans.
Hear how 6AM was able to successfully launch in 16 cities in the last year.
ATXtoday a local division of 6AM City expand presence in Austin, TX
The information selected 6AM City as one of 50 companies that has the “potential to be the most valuable business in their categories based on their current revenue, business model, and growth prospects.”
To be considered for the Roaring Twenties program by SC Biz News, honorees went through an analysis of financial statements, which determined the dollar and percentage increase in revenues.
Learn how the world’s biggest news-based emails have become a $100+ million business.
Meet the 6AM City’s founders, Ryan Johnston and Ryan Heafy. Learn how 6AM City grew to operate newsletters across 25 U.S. markets, with over 1.2 million subscribers.
Listen to 6AM City co-founder Ryan Heafy discuss the company’s progress, advertisements and subscriptions, and the future of local news.
Take a deep dive with 6AM City’s co-founders on how the company approaches tactics and plans for growth.
6AM City listed as leading the way as one of the most innovative media companies in 2022.
Inc. 5000 Introduces the Companies Winning in a Time of Change — 2022
Learn about the AM City model, which entails building audiences by avoiding politics and crime coverage.
6AM City was assessed based on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, and retention.
Listen to the unique story about how 6AM City grew from starting in Greenville, SC to spanning more than 25 markets total across the nation.
In this episode of The Founder Factor, learn about the growing pains of scaling, and how 6AM City’s CEO, Ryan Johnston, and COO, Ryan Heafy, have navigated each new obstacle and opportunity.
Listen to Dr. Drew Brannon speak with Ryan Johnston and Ryan Heafy, founders of 6AM City, about their leadership philosophies and entrepreneurial experiences.
6AM City Co-Founders, Ryan Johnston and Ryan Heafy, were honored by Lt. Governor Evette as SCRA: South Carolina Research Authority’s Founders of the Year.
6AM City was one 67 companies from South Carolina listed as a top company.
To keep up with its rapid growth, 6AM City is moving its headquarters to Poe West in the Village of West Greenville.
To be considered for the Roaring Twenties program by SC Biz News, honorees went through an analysis of financial statements, which determined the dollar and percentage increase in revenues.
6AM City was assessed based on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, and retention.
6AM City is part of the newsletter movement that has evolved into a new method of packaging and delivering news.
Learn how the company scaled from 8 to 24 markets in one year.
6AM has been working to change the game in local media, integrating news and social media in a new way.
6AM Blog
6AM City has 26+ great cities under its umbrella — on each city’s site lives a dedicated City Guide page with robust articles to help readers discover more ways to engage locally.
WStoday’s launch succeeded through collaboration and connection – even before the first newsletter went out
With 26 markets across the U.S., 6AM City has had to think intentionally about company culture. Here’s how we empower our staff to do that.
The result of our redesign is a cleaner, more engaging layout that helps the content shine.
We’re scaling up Pride in Place through our marketplace, Six & Main.
Our editors dedicate a lot of time and energy into developing strategies for sharing news that directly impacts our audience’s day-to-day lives, in a way that is clear, concise, serviceable, and digestible.
Here’s a roundup of some of the recent pictures shared by 6AM staff showing our remote culture.
As a virtual company with 24 markets across the country, 6AM City has to create intentional practices to stay connected. Here’s one way we’re doing it.
As part of our company’s ongoing conversation around peer editing, we’ve been able to identify the following shortlist of pro tips.
The 6AM City team met up in person for the first time since 2019. Here’s how we made the most of our time together — and how your company can, too.
The cloud-based platform powers our playbook by offering real-time edits, searchability, customization options, and more.
At 6AM City, we made a commitment to company culture and our communities by starting a team-wide volunteer initiative. Here’s how it went.
Pandemic year shifts helped forge even stronger company connections as we look toward expansion across the US.
6AM City to expand into 24 US markets by December 2021 and has hired experienced media executives to key leadership positions.
6AM City’s intentional company values underpin everything we do. The reason is that we have personal connections with all of them.
These are not new ideas but they are certainly ones that are of high value as you sift through application after application, looking for something extra that will allow you to pull a great candidate out of a good pile.
As the media landscape evolves, however, more and more upstart newsrooms are embracing product thinking and looking for ways to implement collaborative solutions across departments.
At 6AM City, there are several best practices our editors employ to engage audiences for the first time + keep them coming back to the product. Here’s a look.
Your core product is the best referral tool you have. In our case, it’s our daily email newsletter which natively gets forwarded to friends and family of our current subscriber base daily.
Feedback. The thing we all claim to be open to, but deep down are scared to death to receive.
Companies should be asking themselves how to make the most of their interns’ time, and we’ve got some best practices for you.
Engagement modules are an intentional part of what our editorial teams produce on a daily basis, designed to be positive, engaging, and unbiased. Here’s how we do it.
Focusing on company values and culture, flexibility, and one-on-one connection forges deep links for disparate employees.
In today’s corporate environment, remote offices and small teams in various locations making up a big company have become more and more common. We, 6AM City, are just one example.
Learn how the company gave classified ads a 21st century facelift.
6AM City dives into newsletter creation, distribution, engagement, and analytics.
This is how we utilized Instagram to update our local audience during a major storm.
6AM City expands into Raleigh
6AM City brings its popular, hyper-local news and events coverage to a 26th city with the July launch of WStoday, in partnership with top local brands.
National Content
The Plant Hardiness Zone Map can be utilized by novice gardeners and seasoned farmers alike.
The Carbon Reduction Program will fund projects like bike infrastructure, public transit, and port electrification.
Digitally visit 2,000+ galleries, museums, and organizations worldwide — and in your city.
Make your next flight peaceful, pleasant, and easy thanks to a few carry-on upgrades.
Including what to serve vegan friends and a simple napkin trick.
The team at Going searches for cheap flights for a living — here’s their analysis of the US cities you can score wildly discounted airfare to.
The Milken Institute released its list of top-performing cities in 2023 — see if your city made the top 50 and how it earned its ranking.
The Sriracha shortage continues, leading to some high prices for the spicy condiment — but let’s look at the cause of the shortage and how can we get our hands on some hot sauce.
Use Ritual Zero Proof’s alcohol-free liquor to create a sip-worthy summer cocktail.

As seen in:
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Award-winning

Inc 5000 (2022)
Inc Best Workplaces (2022)
Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation (2021, 2022)
Fast Company Most Innovative Media Company (2022)
SC Best Places to Work (2021)
A Great Place to Work (2022)
SC Top Workplaces (2020, 2022)
SC Biz News Roaring Twenties (2022)
Best Tech Startups in South Carolina (2021, 2022)
SCRA Founders of the Year (2022)
Local Media Digital Innovation Award (2020)