welcome
A Northwest Progressive Institute Website
The Syndicate
Blogs syndicated by the portal
ABOUT US
Learn about Pacific Northwest Portal.
Pacific Northwest Portal was founded in January of 2005 to provide the citizens of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska with local news and political commentary, as well as allow the rest of the nation and the world to gain access to an entire region of news & local progressive viewpoints through one website.
The portal was designed to be a regional start page, making it easier for people living in the Pacific Northwest to access local news and viewpoints.
Pacific Northwest Portal is owned and powered by the Northwest Progressive Institute, an organization fighting for a peaceful, freer nation and working to promote progressive, responsible policies for America. Learn more about NPI's mission, vision, and values here.
Policies
It is our policy to try to be as inclusive and helpful to the entire regional progressive community as possible. We created the Regional Blogs directory for this purpose. If you are the author of a progressive blog or a webmaster of a website based out of Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, your site is eligible for inclusion in our directory. Submit your site for consideration by clicking here.
Blogs with multiple contributors are still welcome for inclusion in the directory as long as one of the contributors is living in one of the five NW states mentioned above.
If you make your home in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, or Alaska, but are temporarily out of the region, your site can still be included.
Pacific Northwest Portal has stricter criteria for blogs it chooses to syndicate, or display headlines from. The following are the basic criteria generally required for syndication on Pacific Northwest Portal (in addition to the directory inclusion requirements):
- Publication of an RSS or Atom feed that we can access.
- A strong focus on local, state (any state in the Pacific NW), and or regional issues, blended with periodic national and international news and analysis
- Frequent updates (Daily posting is ideal, but near daily posting is also acceptable)
- Well written, original content (not just a compendium of links to other places, but original news, investigative reporting, or analysis)
- Neatly presented for easy navigation
Pacific Northwest Portal currently syndicates 30 blogs. Blogs that Pacific Northwest Portal syndicates may display a syndicated button featuring their home state (see buttons to the right).
Blogs we don't syndicate can still display a link button, but they cannot display a "Pacific NW Portal Syndicated" button.
Site Map
The Portal is divided into several different sections. Below is a brief description of each page on the portal and the purpose it serves.
- Front Page. The front page is what most visitors see when they first access Pacific NW Portal. The front page includes newswires for the three major Northwest states and a national newswire, as well as a list of recently added blogs, a selection of regional highlights, and a section for general announcements or specific news from the Northwest Progressive Institute. Below these sections, in columns arranged by state, are the twelve syndicated front page blogs - four each from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- The Washington Outlook. This section, focusing on Washington, is accessible from the main page. It includes nine additional syndicated blogs from the Evergreen State which provide additional news and commentary to visitors. It also provides a newsflash with major stories, a short list of facts about the state (i.e. capital, largest city, area, etc.), and it carries local newsfeeds from major cities in Washington.
- The Oregon Dispatch. This section, focusing on Oregon, is accessible from the main page. It includes nine additional syndicated blogs from the Beaver State to provide additional news and commentary to visitors. It also provides a newsflash with major stories, a short list of facts about the state (i.e. capital, largest city, area, etc.), and it carries local newsfeeds from major cities in Oregon.
- Feedback. The Feedback page allows visitors to contact the Northwest Progressive Institute and the Portal's web team, submit blogs and websites from consideration, read what people have been saying about the site, and use the Knowledge Base for help in troubleshooting display problems.
- Regional Blogs Directory. This page is one of the most important on Pacific NW Portal. It's similiar a telephone directory, providing links to hundreds of progressive blogs throughout the region, arranged and alphabetized by state. Each blog is identified by a 16x16 graphic, either the site's favicon or a tiny screenshot of the site. Mousing over any link will prompt a tooltip menu to display the blog's location and description.
- Resources. This page allows for easy access to the Northwest Media and Democratic Party directories. It also contains Pacific Northwest Portal's Community Center, with tips for activists who want to start their own blogs, how to meet fellow progressive bloggers, and links to other sites that are useful for research.
- Northwest Media. This page provides links to traditional media outlets - newspapers, television, and radio stations - arranged by state.
- Democratic Party. This page provides links to state and local Democratic Party organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Find state party websites, as well as websites for the Democratic Party organized by county, legislative district, congressional district, and Young or College Democrat chapter.
- About Us. This is the page you're on - the page where you can learn about Pacific Northwest Portal, its mission, history, and policies. This page also includes our "Syndicated" and link buttons.
- Toolkit. This page provides Business, Traffic & Weather together on one page. Four feeds give you the latest business & labor news, including business headlines from the Seattle P-I & Seattle Times. Additionally, it has national Yahoo Finance headlines and a labor news feed. Visitors can check their local weather conditions and get the latest weather info from NOAA. Traffic cameras for major cities in the Pacific Northwest are also available, and the page provides quick access to state DOT websites.
- Highlights. The Highlights section allows you to explore the regional progressive blogosphere with ease. On the left side of the page, Regional Wire shows the latest eight posts by state (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho/Montana/Alaska) from the blogs in our directory. On the right side of the page, Under the Radar shows recent diaries on Daily Kos from local bloggers, as well as recent podcasts and posts from candidate blogs. Finally, the Highlights page is where you'll find archived special content such as the gubernatorial election challenge.
- Front Page Utility. This page allows visitors to set their browser start page to Pacific Northwest Portal's front page. The page has a tool that allows IE and Firefox to do this very quickly. It also provides instructions for users of just about every web browser out there.
Pacific Northwest Portal syndicates thirteen blogs from Washington State. Many of them display the above graphic.
Washington Blogs: Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog, HorsesAss, Washblog, Liberal Girl Next Door, Orcinius, BlatherWatch, Evergreen Politics, Upper Left, On the Road to 2008, McCranium, Hominid Views, MajorityRules, EWPolitics
Oregon Blogs: Blue Oregon, Loaded Orygun, Preemptive Karma, Olson Online, New Frames, Middle Earth Journal, Grumpy Forester, Radical Noesis, Economist's View, Onward Oregon, Portland Freelancer, Ridenbaugh Press, Worldwide Pablo
Idaho Blogs: Red State Rebels, 43rd State Blues, Liberal Idaho, The Political Game
Pacific Northwest Portal syndicates thirteen blogs from Oregon. Many of them display the above graphic.
Pacific Northwest Portal syndicates four blogs from Idaho. Many of them display the above graphic.
Link Buttons
Linking to Pacific NW Portal
Even if your site isn't syndicated by Pacific Northwest Portal, you are still welcome to display either of the buttons above or below on your own website or blog. Right click and choose "Save As" to download the button to your own computer.
History
Brief history of Pacific NW Portal
January 31st, 2005
Pacific NW Portal launches. Its debut is announced on multiple blogs, including Daily Kos and HorsesAss.org.
February 7th, 2005
Pacific NW Portal launches an Expanded Washington section, syndicating 6 additional blogs from the Evergreen State.
February 10th, 2005
The font on the RSS feeds is changed to Trebuchet MS and new CSS is added.
February 14th, 2005
Pacific NW Portal launches an Expanded Oregon section, syndicating 6 additional blogs from the Beaver State.
February 28th, 2005
A revamped site is launched, with big changes to the homepage, two new sections, and a new Blogs & Websites directory with site icons for every blog.
March 21st, 2005
Pacific NW Portal rolls out improved newswires with better filtering.
March 29th, 2005
Blog syndication changes are announced and the directory is updated.
April 25th, 2005
The directory is updated and the new Highlights section is unveiled.
May 10th, 2005
The new Toolkit section is introduced and most pages are given important updates.
May 23rd-June 3rd, 2005
Pacific NW Portal offers comprehensive coverage of the election challenge trial.
July 11th, 2005
"True Blue", Pacific NW Portal Version 3.0, is launched. It includes new pages, new blogs, new features, and a redesign.
August 4th, 2005
The Early August Update launches, with a new Toolkit page and other minor updates.
August 30th, 2005
The Late August Update debuts, with new graphics, syndicate changes, & new blogs.
October 24th, 2005
"Marine Green", or Version 3.5 goes live, with new graphics, the new Resources section, and an improved navbar.
November 21st, 2005
The Late November Update is released and the Regional Blogs Directory is updated.
May 23rd, 2006
"Seaside", or Version 4.0 launches, with a massive directory revamp, syndication changes, improved compatability, and dozens of other changes.
About Us | Contact Us | Blogs & Media | Resources | Toolkit | Washington | Oregon | Highlights | Front Page
Pacific Northwest Portal is owned and powered by the Northwest Progressive Institute, an organization fighting for a peaceful, freer nation and working to promote progressive, responsible policies for America.
