“Welcome to the very first episode of the Central Valley Beat. I am Nina Frisby and…”

CUT!

Cut, stop, smile, repeat. Cut, stop, smile, repeat. This was me on Wednesday evening, standing in front of a camera and filming the first episode of the first video show that the Manteca Bulletin has ever created. 

If you think my name sounds familiar, you are probably right. I am the person managing all of the Bulletin’s social media networks. I am the person that answers your Facebook messages, retweets your tweets and comments on your Instagram photos. If you think that my face looks familiar, you are probably right as well, especially if you ever visited our booth at one of the many local festivals. Even this weekend, if you stop by the Ripon Bulletin’s booth at the Almond Blossom Festival in Mistlin Park in Ripon, I will be there, smiling and handing you a free copy of the newspaper. 

I am online, I love meeting you face to face, and you may also know me from my Thursday’s column Countdown to your Weekend. Shortly after starting at the Bulletin I’ve heard one of my friends say “but there is nothing to do in Manteca” and “you work for the paper, you know what’s going on”. Well yes, I actually DO know what’s going on. There are things to do in Manteca, Lathrop and Ripon, and in Stockton, Modesto and Turlock too. You just need to be willing step outside your comfort zone and perhaps try something new. To make it easier for my friends (and for me not to repeat myself so much) I created a newsletter highlighting fun events in the area that may not necessarily make it to the paper, but it would be nice to know about them anyways. Steampunk Swap Meet or Red Carpet Gala Oscar Watch Party, anyone?

I have lived in Manteca since 2009 and honestly, not once have I been bored or had nothing to do. From playing a game of tennis at one of the free tennis courts in town to sampling food at Costco, from biking on the Tidewater Bikeway to Central Valley Herpetological Society’s meetings at the library, there is something for everyone. Granted, we will never have nightlife, galleries or concerts comparable to San Francisco, but then again, San Francisco is a little over an hour away, and lot of Mantecans commute there almost daily. Why not embrace what this little town has to offer on the weekends? Just ask me, I am an expert in that. 

It just made sense that I will be the person behind the video show taking you around various places in the Central Valley and showing you intriguing spots and people. My two favorite columns in the Bulletin are Around Town, short snippets of events that don’t require a super long article, but are interesting anyways, and Social Spotlight, where we pick the most moving comments from our Facebook page. Basically our readers discussing an issue they read about in the newspaper the prior day. The Central Valley Beat would be something in between, combining the buzz from around town about new businesses and must-go events with what you, guys, and our readers, are talking about. It’s a magazine-style news show that we shot inside the Bulletin’s own studio! Yes, the Bulletin has its own studio, and no, it looks nothing like you see on the video. I will be your host and I will make sure it will be ready to be delivered to your computer devices every other Friday. But this is not a one-person show, far from it. Almost everyone in the office is involved in the show in one way or another, from our talented graphic designer Curt who created basically everything you see on the screen to our advertising director Chuck. 

The first episode should be on our YouTube channel and www.mantecabulletin.com right now, so take a look and let me know what you think. Shoot me an email at nfrisby@mantecabulletin.com, I will be happy to read them all. 

“And that is a wrap, everybody!”