“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
— PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT
I speak for the NonDoc editorial board when I say that we are thankful today for the opportunity to run this website.
While every (wish)bone in my body wanted to open this Thanksgiving post with a pun about “yams” or a joke about cranberry sauce, the quote above from one of America’s most fascinating presidents seemed more appropriate.
(Still, I’m glad to explain how the best stuffing/dressing has sausage in it, and, if you disagree, you might be a communist.)
But on this, our 87th day of existence, there are three primary things for which NonDoc is thankful, each of which allows us to focus on work we believe is worth doing.
Thanks to readers
It really is a coin flip as to whom we should thank first: The readers or the writers?
Readers, of course, represent the whole reason a site like ours exists — to create content and stimulate discussions about important topics.
It might sound corny, but readers always keep journalists focused and motivated, especially at small start-ups like ours. We truly have appreciated all the feedback (positive and negative) provided by the public so far, and we look forward to receiving more.
While the number of people routinely reading newspapers has been in a steady decline, the number of website and social media options piquing the public’s interest has been going up, and new site options (like ours) pop up fairly regularly.
Which is why any site worth its salt should take as many steps as possible to engage with the public at large and individual readers in general. While we know we can do more to engage the public, we also take pride in some of our editorial standards that strive to show readers respect. This Columbia Journalism Review piece offers one example of how sites sometimes do their readers a disservice.
I Googled various versions of “connecting with readers” in hopes of finding some of the old quotes that I vaguely remember from journalism school, but my search results were full of obnoxious listicles, so bah-humbug to that.
You’ll just have to take our word for it — we like all y’all a lot.
Thanks to the writers — a fun crew
One of the best things about starting NonDoc has been working once again with talented, smart and funny people who Josh, Andrew or I already knew.
In addition, we have had the privilege to meet and work with many new writers for the first time.
In all, 57 different people have contributed pieces — reporting, commentaries, poetry, prose, etc. — to NonDoc so far, and there are more coming.
The concept of so many people working to support this site is humbling. While each and every NonDoc contributor deserves (and has received in private from us) thanks, we all have food to prepare/devour. So let’s just note our four most prolific contributors by number of posts.
Mike Allen, 10: Mike and I met in college when he applied to be a cartoonist on The Oklahoma Daily opinion page. I don’t think either of us had a clue that 10 years later we’d be at it again … pairing Mike’s clever takes on current events with creative writing for something we have branded Sunday Funday.
Danny Marroquin, 8: Danny is another OU Daily alumnus — an entertainment reporter and movie reviewer back then and our most prolific general reporter now. It gives me great pleasure to send a Norman Mailer enthusiast to interview Gov. Mary Fallin.
Lisha Dunlap, 4: Lisha reached out to NonDoc in August when we were starting to herd all the cats necessary to form the site. We couldn’t have asked for a more passionate, committed and pleasant voice for our digital pages. (OK, so she’s pleasant until she gets annoyed by a little misogyny.)
Gary Peluso-Verdand, 4: Gary is the president of Phillips Theological Seminary, which has provided funding and content for our running series of “Vital Conversations” which discuss issues in religion.
Once again, thank you to all of our contributors. You all deserve recognition
Thanks to our sponsors
As just noted, Phillips Theological Seminary sponsors “Vital Conversations,” even when the pieces posted therein come from non-PTS-related theologians.
NonDoc has been fortunate to have other sponsors and advertisers so far, and, as pretty much any publication would say, we could use a few more.
Thanks to St. Anthony’s Hospital, Fulmer Group and Langston’s, which have purchased ad space so far. Other sponsors have donated to support our mission, and several readers have already offered support through our new Pay What You Want concept.
In short, everybody who has helped keep NonDoc afloat so far deserves our thanks.
So, without further ado, enjoy your meals, enjoy some football (if that’s your thing), enjoy some NonDoc posts if you need pre-tryptophan-nap reading, and please accept our thanks for reading and being part of NonDoc.
