Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston |
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Management Team
G'day. In March this year I advised Webdiarists in Club Chaos general meeting that I could no longer cope with Webdiary on my own, and several people offered to help. Discussions continued in comments to Club Chaos GM: my thoughts, Jack R to pull beers at Club Chaos and Upgrading Webdiary: a call for volunteers. When it became clear that Webdiary would need to go independent to pursue its vision interested Webdiarists rallied to make it happen.
I'm the buck stops here person. I set the overall direction for Webdiary and have overall responsibility for the content of the site and the direction we take. Harry Heidelberg created our temporary home and threw a sensational 5th anniversary party for Webdiary which brought those of us dreamers who could get to Sydney a chance to meet for the first time. Jack Robertson was contributing editor at a crucial time - the time when I would have given up without assistance to meet the demands and expectactions of Webdiarists. Hamish Alcorn is our transition manager, Kerri Browne is our comments manager, Marc Macdonald is our strategist and PF Journey has taken charge of the challenging task of working out how to make Webdiary financially sustainable. David Roffey is our troubleshooter and Polly Bush is our official historian and pisstaker. Caroline Compton looks after planning and administration. Carl Baker is our website designer. Ian McPherson, David Browning , Nigel Sim and James Woodcock are building our permanent home and Roger Fedyk is our archivist. John Augustus found me a fantastic lawyer and David Roffey, Roger Fedyk, Craig Rowley, Michael Ekin Smyth and Caroline Compton pitched in to edit comments.
We haven't finalised the structure of the independent Webdiary yet, and I'll let you know all about it as soon as we do. Webdiary is not a a political party, a lobby group or a charity. It is not lefty and it is not righty. The priority here is independent media.
If you'd like to join the team, or help in any capacity you wish, let me know.
Margo Kingston
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| © 2006, Webdiary Pty Ltd |
| Disclaimer: | This site is home to many debates, and the views expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the site editors. Contributors submit comments on their own responsibility: if you believe that a comment is incorrect or offensive in any way, please submit a comment to that effect and we will make corrections or deletions as necessary. |
re: Management Team
Just heard Margo interviewed on the Media Report.
I hadn't heard of Webdiary before, mainly because I live in the bush, on a very low income and don't buy newspapers (can't afford to).
But I do afford to subscribe to an ISP and I am totally convinced that the internet will have significant impact and permanently influence the distribution of news and possibly sensible thought pieces (as opposed to trivia).
Finding a viable economic model will be difficult but I hope you succeed. I wish you well and I will certainly be a reader.
Margo: Then I will succeed! Thank you for having a drink at Club Chaos, John.
re: Management Team
Margo, more power to you and your merry band. Wouldn't it be great to form an independent firm under Comrade Tom Burton? I see Mike Game of f2 is touting the possibility of Ffx TV and radio, both ideas we scoped six years ago at smh online. Money can be made out of good editorial, and you CAN do it. From little things big things grow ...
Margo: Hi Sean. Feel like joining the Webdiary tech team? They're basing the permanent Webdiary site on something called drupal - know anything about that? I'd love someone of your journalistic experience and technical calibre on board. How's Bribie? Guess where the techie epicentre is? Townsville, mate. How cool is that!
re: Management Team
Also just heard Margo's interview on the ABC's Media Report. The approach and committment is to be encouraged. Have you considered the co-operative enterprise model to house the Webdiary? Everyone who becomes a member jointly own it. Membership is not the principal income stream and could be $1 or $100, with primary revenue source coming from sponsorship & limited advertising).
The Co-op has been an integral part of country community growth in the early 19th & 20th Centuries - mutual support within and for the community (of interest not just of a geographical location).
Globalisation has seen the demise of co-ops and country communities. Perhaps the online community is an ideal location for the re-emergence of the co-op?
Best Wishes for a successful future.
Margo: Thanks Michael. The structure of the independent Webdiary is exercising my mind a lot. To achieve what I want to achieve it will have to be innovative. My bottom line is complete transparency to Webdiarists, and that includes a finance thread where Webdiarists can query the books and suggest priorities for investment. I have a great lawyer who will put his mind to our legal needs structurally once the legal bungfight with Fairfax over my departure has abated. In the meantime, Webdiary's revenue team has nearly completed a proposed structure to see if I'm comfortable with it.
re: Management Team
Woke in time to hear the ABC Media Report interview, and just wanted to add my best wishes in your new venture. I'm glad to see you're basing much of your site around open source web software. I take it your website team are familiar enough with the variety of software available for both content management and database integration.
I was using a thing called Mambo recently which was packed with lots of features that may enable expansion of various aspects of the site allowing sections that provide financial returns without neccesarily impacting on the main focus of the site - the discussions.
Basically you'd provide some section of the site dedicated towards financing/support activities while leaving the main pages dedicated to the debates/contributions (journals).
However I am neither a journalist, nor a legal expert, so exactly how you go about sourcing assistance will be up to your team. Any other technical advice about use/implementation of whichever website presentation you ultimately go with you will probably find much technical support through the local linux user group (LUG). I'd be happy to help out with other technical details if your web admin wants to ask me, though I'm based in Sydney.
Basically I just wanted to wish you all the best, I've long enjoyed your weekly discussions with Phillip Adams on LNL.
Margo: We'll get back to you, believe me. And thanks for caring.
re: Management Team
I thought people might be interested in a booklet called Handbook for Blogger and Cyber-Dissidents, published yesterday by Reporters Without Borders.
It includes sections on ethics and how to remain anonymous. The section on anonymity includes an interesting example of a public servant trying to report wrong doing in her department.
I guess this post is a little off topic, but there doesn't see to be a section for general comments in the new Webdiary. I figured the above best fitted into 'community'.
re: Management Team
Is there any way that the comments can run so that the oldest are at the top, and the newest at the bottom?
ed Kerri: Bai, see the discussion from here and up the page...
re: Management Team
Good on you Margo, and best wishes!
Leave that Fairfax farrago to the mild-mannered footballer who's good with marketing and Money - he and his lackeys can keep working out the revenue model for their bread and circus business. (What exciting times these are for the venal classes!)
As for me, I'm an ordinary Aussie malcontent Guardian-reading MPI kind of soul (Mostly Permanently Indignant), still given to flights of hope, and I would happily subscribe to Webdiary (e.g. $50 - $100), whereas I am too frugal to send dollars to New Matilda (my Doreen does), or any of the others I know which charge.
So three cheers for Margo - you're a tonic!