Has it really been that long?
Join NonDoc’s owners, editors and contributors Aug. 26 to celebrate one year of independent, responsible journalism in our city and our world.
We are meeting for The Powerhouse’s Happy Hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in OKC’s Farmers Market District. The bar has daily specials during that time.
Feel free to click “interested” or “going” on our Facebook event page.
The Powerhouse is located at 1228 S.W. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73108, and attendees are also invited to stay for the district’s monthly “fourth Friday” event that will feature music, vendors and food trucks at Delmar Gardens directly across the street.
Looking back: A year of changes
What started out as a five-person team eventually dwindled to a two-man operation but has now gained a third partner. The scope and volume of what NonDoc sought to do led former creative director Kathleen Shannon to bow out early on, as she already had obligations with Braid Creative and Being Boss. Likewise, her husband, Jeremy, would soon reduce involvement from an on-demand source of tech support to more of a contractor role, as his pre-existing full-time work demands limited his ability to maintain an ever-growing and increasingly complex news site. Last, founder/publisher Andrew Rice eventually took an offer he couldn’t refuse with Teen Recovery Solutions, handing over the business to editor in chief William W. Savage III and managing editor Josh McBee.
At the same time that Rice was planning his exit, another potential partner was planning her entry. Rosemary Meacham-Zittel began writing for NonDoc one year ago as a contributor and has now stepped up to assume the role of director of business development, in turn becoming a co-owner with Savage and McBee.
Currently, another partner is on deck to join the team, and details will be announced at our Aug. 26 celebration.
Finding our voice
Through all this flux, NonDoc itself, as a brand, has sought to define its voice and character through its content. We’ve published just more than 730 articles since Sept. 1, 2015, and topics have run the gamut.
From breaking the story about OU President David Boren’s penny-tax ballot initiative to celebrity coverage out of Tishomingo, our news efforts have attempted to provide compelling looks at interesting topics.
At the same time, commentaries that rankled hackles and commentaries that sought to heal helped NonDoc become a responsible public forum for diverse voices, as we like to say. Our Filter section has allowed for the curation and discussion of other online content, and we have dipped more than a toe into the waters of media criticism.
Our weekly editorial has allowed for strong statements on important topics, and our Sundaze arena for creative content has published weekly comics as well as poetry from across the globe.
Now, looking back, we know better what creates the “NonDoc take” on an issue, the kinds of stories our readers respond to and the overall tone of our editorial voice.
Come celebrate Aug. 26
As we continue to power through the various challenges inherent within the modern news industry and those specific to the economy as a whole, we hope you’ll join us Friday, Aug. 26, at The Powerhouse to celebrate the journey from where we began to where we are now.
