Seattlebrief gives you the pulse of Seattle in a few minutes. It's an automated newsfeed which gathers articles from more than 20 sources, updating every 15 minutes. You get news and commentary from across the political spectrum.

founder

Hi, I'm Steve Murch. I love Seattle, which has been my home for more than 30 years. I created Seattlebrief because there's lots of news and commentary happening in Seattle. I wanted a quick way to scan local headlines, commentary, blog posts and even press releases from government officials. It's a quick place to scan Seattle-area news.

simple

Seattlebrief is a simple news aggregator. It's automated. I'm not trying to boil the ocean, or make a profit. There's no curation staff; it's a rollup of what the sources choose to publish. I'm just trying to provide the simplest way to catch up on some of the key headlines and views happening in the Seattle area at any given time. It also checks national publications like the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal for Seattle mentions.

You are very likely to see headlines which you disagree with, because Seattlebrief indexes commentary/news sites on the left, right and center. Currently, Seattlebrief catches headlines from The Stranger, The Urbanist, KUOW, MyNorthwest and more. So you'll see and hear voices from left, right and center, often right next to one another. And that's OK. In fact, more and more, I think it's essential.

It's automated, and some algorithms will be used to trim out national/international stories, unless they are Pacific Northwest perspectives on those stories. You'll see some continued work on this over time, as the filter mechanisms get a bit better tuned. It draws from the RSS feeds (remember them?) of several Seattle-area publishers, organization and neighborhood blogs, and commentary sites, which you can find at any time on the sources page. There are no search features (yet at least); this site is meant for browsing with a cup of coffee.

benefits

In fifteen minutes, you can scan what Seattleites are writing about, and drill down for more. Seattlebrief will make you more informed about some news and views from around town in less time. It helps connect newcomers and long-time Seattleites with publications, resources and voices they might not have known about.

bookmark it. share it.

Seattlebrief will improve over time, and I'd be happy to hear your suggestions. Tweet to @seattlebrief on Twitter, or jot an email to seattlebrief[at]gmail.com.

known issues

Occasionally, national stories, or stories which have nothing to do with the Pacific Northwest, will slip through. Over time, the algorithm will be tuned to keep it as northwest-focused as possible. Again, this is an automated service: inclusion or exclusion doesn't imply endorsement or lack thereof.

We don't break paywalls. Think of Seattlebrief as a friend who simply grabbed every headline from these newsfeeds. Photos and summaries come from the Open Graph information the sites themselves share, and attribution is provided exactly as published.

Publishers are generally included if they meet technical requirements and if their content focuses on Seattle news, views and commentary, and is well-formed RSS. More information on the sources page.

api

Do you have a website or mobile app where you'd like to feature Seattle headlines? Get on our api waiting list by jotting an email to seattlebrief[at]gmail.com.