Move to Tacoma Podcast
Grit City Magazine with Sierra Hartman and Heather Swanson
Grit City Magazine is one of the last print magazines telling Tacoma’s real stories, and on this episode of Move to Tacoma Tacoma real estate agent Marguerite Martin sat down with Editor in Chief Sierra Hartman and Creative Strategist & Social Media Manager Heather Swanson. The conversation gets into the history of Grit City Magazine, from its 2017 founding with Puyallup tribal member William Manzanares through the pandemic years that nearly ended it. If you’re looking for Tacoma media, Tacoma journalism, or just want to understand how a hand stitched quarterly magazine survives in 2026, check out this latest episode. Sierra and Heather talk candidly about who submits stories to Grit City Magazine. They walk through the hard lesson of realizing their early volunteer only model was mostly reaching upper middle class white writers with time on their hands, and what it took to build real relationships with underserved communities in Tacoma, including people of color and queer folks so Tacoma’s full range of voices showed up on the page. The conversation also digs into some of their most memorable stories, including a Japantown history told through a family’s own account of the incarceration era, and a firsthand account of the Asarco smelter stack coming down. This episode is also a look at how small local media in Tacoma survives right now. Grit City Magazine runs on subscriptions, bite sized local sponsors organized by neighborhood, and packing parties where community members hand stitch each and every issue. Sierra and Heather talk about their plans for a digital edition to make the magazine more accessible, why they’ve resisted traditional ads, and how they’re thinking about doing it differently when they finally add them If you love Tacoma, Tacoma Washington neighborhoods, or stories about the people living here subscribe to Grit City Magazine at gritcitymag.com. You can also find them at Grit City Books, High Voltage Records, Howdy Bagel, and Hive Provisions. If you’re thinking about a move to Tacoma yourself, this episode is a good reminder that Tacoma is full of people telling their own version of what it’s like to live here. Move to Tacoma is part of the Channel 253 podcast network. Learn more at movetotacoma.com. The post Grit City Magazine with Sierra Hartman and Heather Swanson appeared first on Move to Tacoma .
