Meet Rainmaker Ann Bergman

Ann Bergman knows first-hand how hard it is to start and sustain an independent publication. She founded Seattle’s Child, a local magazine for families, back in 1979. 

She says that the secret to staying afloat in a changing media landscape and economy is determination, “not to let it die,” and a commitment to “telling stories about the community, told by the community.”

When she started Seattle’s Child, she was the mother of a 1-year-old, looking to provide more authentic representation of families. Bergman says journalism about parenting often either romanticizes families or capitalizes on stressed-out parents by exploiting their guilt.

“I wanted to give parents the sense of not being alone and also share all the different ways to raise children,” says Bergman. “That there are as many ways to raise kids as there are parents.”

For Bergman, who became a Rainmaker in 2021, this connects her to the mission of the South Seattle Emerald. She believes the best stories about people and a community are told by the people and communities most directly affected by the issues.

“I think local journalism is critical to a community’s health,” says Bergman, whose own parents were both reporters at points in their careers. “I think that we need to be able to learn by hearing the stories of the people in our community ...What is it really like living in South Seattle? What is lacking? What is working in your day-to-day? The only way to [know] is by having journalists form the community telling the story.”

Bergman, who lives on Capitol Hill, says she appreciates how the Emerald gives her insight into experiences and opinions she doesn’t find in other media outlets in the city. She says she feels she can both trust the Emerald to report stories “without an agenda,” while also having a “strong opinion section” that gives her a sense of “what people are really thinking in the community.”

She says becoming a Rainmaker is a great way to support journalism and community in tumultuous times.

“It’s just very valuable.” 

Support nonprofit media serving the communities of South Seattle by becoming a monthly Emerald Rainmaker here.

Sarah Stuteville is a co-founder of the Seattle Globalist and a mental health counselor. She sits on the South Seattle Emerald's Board of Directors.