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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.

Last Night: William Gibson at U. Village Barnes & Noble

Arts & Culture, Last Night   September 8, 2010 at 10:23 am Josh Feit

I don’t read a lot of fiction. I’m a non-fiction fan. Which is why William Gibson is my favorite novelist.

According to Gibson’s sci-fi predecessor, Philip K. Dick, Dick’s own great novel, Ubik, wasn’t fiction: “All I know today that I didn’t know when I wrote Ubik,” PKD once said, “is that Ubik isn’t fiction.”

I think I need to cook up a similar quote about Gibson because Chia Mackenzie’s Sanbenders laptop computer has always been real.

Last night, I went to see  Gibson read from Zero History, the third installment in his latest trilogy. I got sucked right back into Gibson’s downtrodden meets high-society anthropology of the near-future.




  • hobgoblin

    It’s very clear that you and I should totally start a book club.

  • Josh Feit

    What’s first on our list?

  • hobgoblin

    In a lame attempt to balance out fiction and non-fiction the first few books would have to be: “Burning Chrome” by Gibson (short story collection); Stanley Karnow’s “Vietnam”; David Halberstam’s “The Powers That Be” and Peter Benchley’s “Jaws.” I’ll dig up a couple copies of “NBA Stars of 196x or 197x” for good measure. ASM #41 has to be in there, too – first appearance of the Rhino for God’s sake!

  • Anonymous

    If you like non-fiction sci-fi, I recommend either Diamond Age or Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, who’s a local by the way.

  • Josh Feit

    Can we get married?