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.

PubliCola Comment of the Day Goes To…

News   November 2, 2009 at 5:51 pm Josh Feit

There were lots of heartfelt comments on our story about Bailey/Coy shutting its doors, but we’ve got to give today’s “Comment of the Day” to Sen. Maria Cantwell.

No, she didn’t weigh in on the PubliCola threads, but man did she say what was on her mind this morning during an MSNBC interview. We already reported on what we thought was her hardball quote—that she wasn’t sure why President Obama’s treasury secretary still had a job—but here’s some more.

The real hardball quote comes at the very end. Check it out:

“[Meet the Press'] David Gregory had [Geithner] on trying to get a straight answer out of him, and what the treasury secretary basically said was that yes banks should take more risks and we should continue the loopholes, and that’s really appalling … because we know that lacks of transparency  has caused this problem with the U.S. economy …

The treasury secretary stands to be an enabler of the crisis that’s already happened, happening again.”


  • Seybold

    Wow. Cantwell rocks! Who knew?

  • Seybold

    Wow. Cantwell rocks! Who knew?

  • Luigi Giovanni

    I agree. My esteem for her has increased immensely. She thinks for herself; this is normally a virtue.

  • Luigi Giovanni

    I agree. My esteem for her has increased immensely. She thinks for herself; this is normally a virtue.

  • ziggy

    Looks like the Times and KIRO were successful in getting the Constantine sexual harassment report unsealed before the election.

    Probably moot at this point in terms of effecting the election, but Constantine sure comes off as a creeper.

    Anything to the claim about his Ellen woman getting the axe? Was her firing ever explained or justified? She apparently was the one who documented the case…what’s she have to say about it now?

  • ziggy

    Looks like the Times and KIRO were successful in getting the Constantine sexual harassment report unsealed before the election.

    Probably moot at this point in terms of effecting the election, but Constantine sure comes off as a creeper.

    Anything to the claim about his Ellen woman getting the axe? Was her firing ever explained or justified? She apparently was the one who documented the case…what’s she have to say about it now?

  • tpn

    Hey ziggy, are you a CAPR stooge, or a BIAW stooge?

  • tpn

    Hey ziggy, are you a CAPR stooge, or a BIAW stooge?