David Southgate began his career as an independent writer and publicist in the early '90s and quickly earned a reputation for his creative, results oriented style. His client roster included Walker Art Center, an internationally prominent modern art center; KTCA-TV (now TPT), a Minneapolis/St. Paul PBS affiliate; the Independent Television Service, an arm of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and several local and nationally prominent artists and arts organizations.

"In the early and mid '90s, I worked with some of this decade's most progressive artists and cultural thinkers, including people like Arthur Dong, Kate Bornstein, David Byrne, Bill T. Jones, Holly Hughes, Tim Miller, Meredith Monk, and others," says Southgate.

"These artistically and intellectually challenging artists showed me how to think outside of conventional lines." During this freelance period, Southgate was also the senior staff writer at Equal Time, a bi-monthly, award-winning special interest publication.

He also penned articles for Minneapolis-based Skyway News, City Pages, and Twin Cities Reader. "I've authored articles that were picked up by the AP wire and some that were translated into three Asian languages," says Southgate. A newspaper expose series he wrote helped to bring about a change in leadership at a governmental department of the City of Minneapolis.

Enter the Web

Southgate's foray into the Web began at Intermedia Arts, where in 1996 he worked with designer to launch the arts organization's first Web site.

At MSP Interactive, the Web division of magazine publisher Mpls|StPaul Magazine, he developed extensive editorial plans, wrote and edited Web articles, and managed the production of the sites. Following a merger with KeyTech LLC, Southgate became the company's Executive Producer. He continued to develop editorial line-ups, content, and account winning sales proposals. In another merger, Southgate joined AisleFive. There he functioned as an Executive Producer and Writer for an emerging e-commerce venture. All three ventures were owned by Key Investment, co-founded by West Publishing magnet Vance Opperman.

In March 1999, Southgate joined techies.com, an agressive Web-based staffing company that accelerated into 39 markets in a matter of months. There, Southgate led a staff of editors, writers, and a community builder to develop content for 39 national market sites, bulding online readership of editorial content to 250,000 page views. Southgate was handpicked to lead a new online product, My Career, and to lead content acquisition efforts for the online content group.

Community involvement

Southgate was active in Minneapolis-based community, artistic, and journalistic organizations in the mid and late '90s. He chaired the internationally renowned multimedia theater, the Margolis Brown Company. He's held leadership positions on the boards of two press associations, and has served on the economic development board of his Saint Paul neighborhood.

A British national and U.S. citizen, Southgate is a travel junkie, having visited cities around the U.S., Ireland, England, and the Mexican Riviera.

The Web demands a more interactive style of writing – tighter, less like market-ese, more scannable," says Southgate.

"Sound editorial principles can't be replaced by fads and guesswork. In the age of real-time marketing, targeted, brand appropriate content and campaigns can be delivered to the right consumer at the right time. It's the ultimate placement strategy. With Web-based measurement tools, you can know up to the minute if your content is effective, making adjustments accordingly."