Thread by @davrosz

In just over a month, on the 24th of June, it will be 10 whole years since I created Independent Australia and it started publishing. I love @independentaus and I am pretty proud of it, so please indulge me as I offer a few reflections.

I've seen independent publishers come - some of them very well funded, with millions from rich entrepreneurs en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Globa… - and I've seen them depart. Get worn down and disintegrate. In fact, only two independent publications of any note still exist from those days.

One of the joys of being an "elder statesman" of the independent media world now is being interviewed often by fresh-faced journalism and media students - usually on Zoom - eager to know why IA has survived and prospered, while others have disappeared.
Well, let me fill you in.

One of the traps I never feel into was overextending myself. We had a modest nest egg that I used judiciously and sparingly to fund @independentaus, but I have never (or my wife hasn't allowed me to) borrowed a cent to fund IA. I was prepared to start small and build very slowly.

The 2nd trick I applied, this one acquired from my long career in commerce, as well as my years reading newspapers every day in London, was to stand for something and not try to be all things to all people. @independentaus seeks to appeal to progressives- and we do, unashamedly.

And yet, though we appeal to progressives, @independentaus is absolutely non-partisan. People still occasionally call us a front for the Labor Party or the Greens, sometimes both, but the truth is we are absolutely unconnected with any party. We are progressive *and* independent.

From the start, I insisted that every factual claim in our stories was referenced, if possibly via an embedded hyperlink.
This allowed people, firstly, to fact check our stories immediately; you might disagree with our stance, but you can argue with our facts. We tell the truth.

Our editors follow a cfirm rule: "Link on the claim and link on the name."
One of the other virtues of this approach, apart from instant verification, is to allow our readers to drill down into topics if they wish and learn more. My inspiration there was the Hitchhikers' Guide...

Anyway, over 10 years I have experimented and innovated, and, yes, made lots of mistakes. I could talk for hours about our focus on investigative journalism, our willing embrace of multimedia, our focus on Twitter, our goal of engaging our audience, not so-called "influencers".

I will add one last thing, though, and that is Independent Australia - and myself too - have always aspired to be genuine. What you see is what you get, from both me, IA and its brilliant editorial staff and writers is no BS.
I reckon that has helped @independentaus most of all.

The other advantage @independentaus had is I had, as a 40 year-old, a bit of extra cash. And so I have put in at least $100k to IA since we began. I don't regret a cent, but I am unfortunately running out of money. I mean, I haven't received a paycheck for a decade. That's okay.

Times are hard, more so right now - but, please, if you can afford to, may consider supporting @independentaus in some way. Whether it be via a subscription (they start at $5 independentaustralia.net/about-ia/subsc…) , a buck in the kitty independentaustralia.net/about-ia/donat… , or simply by sharing IA's stuff.

Thanks for indulging me with my reflections on 10 years at @independentaus . They have been the best years of my life. I feel blessed to do what I do, despite its lack of financial return. Who cares. IA is important to Australia. A beacon of truth in a dull sea of disinformation.

@threadreaderapp unroll