Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Finally

News   July 30, 2009 at 6:08 am Morning Fizz

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1. After pulling in over $1 million in contributions (mostly from out of state), the Coalition to Stop the Seattle Bag Tax got its very first campaign contribution from Seattle this week. (The campaign—they’re trying to defeat a city proposal for a 20 cent fee on disposable grocery bags—has been raising money for nearly a year.)

Finally: On July 27,  the anti-bag fee campaign scored a $25 donation from a guy living in Northwest Seattle.

The lopsided majority of the campaign’s money ($1.3 million of it) has come from the Arlington, Virginia-based plastic lobby, the American Chemistry Council—which got the campaign rolling with a $40,000 contribution on August 8, 2008.

2. Last week, Nielsen released data on the top 30 newspaper websites for the month of June. The Seattle Times , down 5 percent from a year earlier, ranked 26th with 1.8 million unique visitors. The PI.com just made the list at #30, with 1.5 million unique visitors.

While the PI was down 21 percent, the news is actually encouraging. They had a print version to drive readers to their website a year ago. No more.

Topping the list: The New York Times , with 17 million unique readers in June. (Down a point from last year.)

3. Longtime Team Nickels starter Mike Mann was named Interim Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment by Mayor Nickels  last summer .

But…

City Hall rumor: Nickels recently sent Mann’s official confirmation as the  real director to the council and now council president Richard Conlin, a bit of a sustainability and environment guru himself (and perhaps not a Mann fan) is stalling. So far, Conlin hasn’t even referred Mann’s confirmation to the council calendar, a routine step when the mayor sends legislation down.

nervous

4. And some book fizz from BookNerd : Local authors Brandon Scott Gorrell (during my nervous breakdown i want to have a biographer present , Muumuu House, 2009) and Matthew Simmons (A Jello Horse , Publishing Genius, 2009) will be at Pilot Books tonight, where they’ll write fortunes and stuff them into yummy cookies.

5. The Post Globe reports : City Council Member Tom Rasmussen is thinking of proposing a smoking ban in public parks.

Today’s Morning Fizz brought to you by Seattle Works


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  • http://unclevinny.wordpress.com/ Uncle Vinny

    How funny would it be to write a 20 cent check to the Anti Bag Tax Team?

  • http://unclevinny.wordpress.com Uncle Vinny

    How funny would it be to write a 20 cent check to the Anti Bag Tax Team?

  • http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/ Mr. Baker

    The money dumped into the bag tax, for and against, could have been better spent on sending every man, woman, and child, in Seattle a reusable bag.

  • http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/ Mr. Baker

    The money dumped into the bag tax, for and against, could have been better spent on sending every man, woman, and child, in Seattle a reusable bag.

  • http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/ Mr. Baker

    The money dumped into the bag tax, for and against, could have been better spent on sending every man, woman, and child, in Seattle a reusable bag.

  • http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/ Mr. Baker

    Fighting problems, or providing solutions?

  • http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/ Mr. Baker

    Fighting problems, or providing solutions?

  • http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/ Mr. Baker

    Fighting problems, or providing solutions?

  • David

    Hey, look at this report on the *number* of contributions to the Bag Fee ballot measure:

    StopTheBagTax 5
    Green Bag 319
    ======== =======

    Of course, the amount donated is lopsided in the other direction–but this just shows that the opponents to it are just big and greedy corporations or hot air anti’s.

  • David

    Hey, look at this report on the *number* of contributions to the Bag Fee ballot measure:

    StopTheBagTax 5
    Green Bag 319
    ======== =======

    Of course, the amount donated is lopsided in the other direction–but this just shows that the opponents to it are just big and greedy corporations or hot air anti’s.

  • David

    Hey, look at this report on the *number* of contributions to the Bag Fee ballot measure:

    StopTheBagTax 5
    Green Bag 319
    ======== =======

    Of course, the amount donated is lopsided in the other direction–but this just shows that the opponents to it are just big and greedy corporations or hot air anti’s.

  • David

    @2 …I don’t know, perhaps it would have to be a *plastic* re-usable bag, or otherwise approved by the American Chemistry Council.
    ;)

  • David

    @2 …I don’t know, perhaps it would have to be a *plastic* re-usable bag, or otherwise approved by the American Chemistry Council.
    ;)

  • Jazzercise

    I think you’re wrong that the PI.com’s traffic figures are encouraging, because as you put it, the site doesn’t have a newspaper driving readers to it. On the contrary, the newspaper only just disappeared a couple of months ago. Surely, the latest Neilsen numbers released reflect that during most of the past year, the P-I’s site in fact included a newspaper that drove readers to it for 9+ months. Yet still, the site’s traffic tanked by 21 percent. How is that encouraging?

  • Jazzercise

    I think you’re wrong that the PI.com’s traffic figures are encouraging, because as you put it, the site doesn’t have a newspaper driving readers to it. On the contrary, the newspaper only just disappeared a couple of months ago. Surely, the latest Neilsen numbers released reflect that during most of the past year, the P-I’s site in fact included a newspaper that drove readers to it for 9+ months. Yet still, the site’s traffic tanked by 21 percent. How is that encouraging?

  • Jazzercise

    I think you’re wrong that the PI.com’s traffic figures are encouraging, because as you put it, the site doesn’t have a newspaper driving readers to it. On the contrary, the newspaper only just disappeared a couple of months ago. Surely, the latest Neilsen numbers released reflect that during most of the past year, the P-I’s site in fact included a newspaper that drove readers to it for 9+ months. Yet still, the site’s traffic tanked by 21 percent. How is that encouraging?

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @6,
    Please re-read: The ratings were for the month of June.
    The 21% drop is June ’08 compared to June ’09.

    My point is this: Of course they’re down right now because the print version is gone. But, they’re in the Top 30 with some okay numbers; numbers that aren’t that far off from the Seattle Times.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @6,
    Please re-read: The ratings were for the month of June.
    The 21% drop is June ’08 compared to June ’09.

    My point is this: Of course they’re down right now because the print version is gone. But, they’re in the Top 30 with some okay numbers; numbers that aren’t that far off from the Seattle Times.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @6,
    Please re-read: The ratings were for the month of June.
    The 21% drop is June ’08 compared to June ’09.

    My point is this: Of course they’re down right now because the print version is gone. But, they’re in the Top 30 with some okay numbers; numbers that aren’t that far off from the Seattle Times.