Guest Post: National Times will respect, not ridicule, our readers
Fairfax’s new comment site, National Times, launches today. In this guest posting, editor Darren Goodsir sets out his plans.
There is clearly a huge yearning in the community for intelligent, level-headed debate about the news. Not just the headlines. There’s already more than enough of that around. But concise, intelligent commentary and analysis about what has happened; and what the news really means.
It is also clear that readers increasingly want to be part of a debate; to exchange ideas and feelings about current events, and breaking news, in a place where their views are respected, rather than pilloried.
Readers are expressing a desire to learn more, and to have their thoughts challenged and provoked, without ridicule.
Fairfax Media’s new online site, the National Times, will deliver the best in Australian journalism – giving readers an unprecedented depth and diversity of views and opinion…but also giving them a say.
It will be a home for the most lively, intelligent and engaged debates.
The nationaltimes.com.au will showcase the best analysis, commentary and opinion from Fairfax Media’s established print and online mastheads.
It aims to become a must-read destination for those seeking the most authoritative and sought after views on politics, current affairs and social analysis.
The nation’s most celebrated and respected journalists and commentators, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, brisbanetimes.com.au, watoday.com.au – and more than 160 of our rural and regional titles – will be featured on the site. Household names like Peter Hartcher, Michelle Grattan, Ross Gittins, Tim Colebatch, Catherine Deveny, and Paul Sheehan will join with an expert team of contributors and bloggers – posting analysis through the day on matters as diverse as arts and politics, religion and sport, cinema and philosophy…as and when news happens.
The National Times newspaper – from which the site takes its name – started in 1971. Almost immediately, the National Times masthead set itself apart for its rigorous and provocative stories and images – quickly building a reputation for adventurous journalism.
Perhaps, more than any piece, the National Times is best remembered for its publication of secret case summaries from the Costigan Royal Commission – and the ensuing label Goanna.
(The royal commission had given the code name The Squirrel to a prominent business figure it claimed was allegedly involved in drugs and corruption, later revealed to be Kerry Packer. To try to disguise Packer’s identity, the newspaper toyed with a new label The Possum until an inspired Adele Horin chimed in with the Goanna. The tag stuck, and the Goanna series caused near hysteria throughout the country – although the accusations were never sustained. Packer eventually outed himself as the Goanna.)
The site will revive the Goanna as its signature columnist; a national and political sketch-writer and diarist.
The website, nationaltimes.com.au, will focus on local and international commentary, analysis and opinion. In all that it does, it will seek to emulate its forerunner’s dedication to the highest journalistic standards and ethics – and to giving its readers the best words, pictures and art.
The National Times encourages debate and discussion – comment and criticism, on everything that it publishes. Readers will be able to post comments, exchange ideas and debate in online forums with our award-winning columnists and journalists as well as with other dynamic voices from around Australia.
The site will also link to important journalistic resources from around the world, and the globe’s leading newsrooms.
With a team of expert reporters and commentators in Canberra and across the country, our mix of quality editorial, commentary and analysis, combined with links to other voices from around the world, will ensure that readers have access to multiple articles, essays, opinion pieces and blogs on topics of interest to them, re-enforcing Fairfax Media’s reputation at the market leader in online news and opinion.
It’s an exciting time to be in this space in Australian journalism: it is growing fast, and is competitive and dynamic.
- Darren Goodsir is Editor of Nationaltimes.com.au
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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I think I’ve seen this somewhere before…. Didn’t someone else launch something similar a couple of months back? Who could it be?
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I thought that Mumbrella was already doing better job of this type of journalism than traditional press?
My question is how will this new platform handle some of the commentary when it is about its advertisers? If Geoff Emerson of The Prosperity Principal had of been featured as an advertorial or was a large advertiser would the discussions have been as open?
I can understand that the new National Times website may have more flexibility than other Fairfax properties but I can see that certain brands/companies now be off limits… If the discussions dont trend well for the advertiser will comments be closed or left in limbo and not approved?
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no more PR releases please mumbrella.
Hi Ben,
Fair comment.
I extended the same invitation to The Punch – https://mumbrella.com.au/with-the-punch-we-want-to-celebrate-journalism-6049 – when that launched, so it seemed fair to offer it to Fairfax too.
One brief, two editors, two approaches. I guess it’s for readers to decide based on that who is likely to offer the more engaging site.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
good point re the punch editorial
reason i love reading the ‘brella is because you don’t get the same old ‘guest articles’ (ie free content) that B&T and Adnews pass off as news.
good work on mumbo report video – very enjoyable, really liked the harold i/view
So you can have three uni degrees and still be allowed to read NT site?
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FairfaxDigital seems to have lost all interest and competence in executing the modest ideas they have from time to time. A long list of poorly executed ideas over the past few years
Check what they’ve done online with thegoodfoodguide – just a waste – they really don’t care.
And National Times. Should be easy for them to at least make this a positive experience for all concerned. Its a fail so far.
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Just sounds like Fairfax’s version of the Guardian’s Comment is Free site, which launched a few years ago, and arguably brought blogging into the mainstream UK press. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree
What I find interesting is the differences in design of the The National Times and The Punch. The former presents itself like an online newspaper, the later uses a more blog-style layout.
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@Lyn visually it seems closer to the UK paper The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/
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How smart can it be to start something new by talking about an obscure and distant past that will mean little or nothing to most readers under 50? And “celebrated” journalists? I don’t think there are many “celebrated” journalists these days. Might be smarter to be a bit more humble and try and engage readers rather than telling them how wonderful you are before the fact.
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David – it’s also interesting to note that where both Australian models vary from the UK equivalents is that in the UK, papers don’t pretend that their opinion/blog sites are anything other than a collection of opinion pieces/blogs written by their staff writers and regular contributors, and open for debate. In Australia, both models seem to want to pretend they are something more than this. Which they are clearly not.
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@lyn agreed i hope that if they actually provide enough support/finance then National Times will be an Australian version. Im not sure if they are pretending maybe its they just dont really know what they want to be?
As I think a few people have pointed out in other discussions and in this article by @jerrys Fairfax often builds great online products then sinks them with poor investment…
It could possible be a platform where advertisers are able to have public debate but with a higher level of control with the off switch. It would make more sense to work with existing blog/opinion platforms as most people dont really read more than a few, why further fragment the market?
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If we’re going to get all misty-eyed … bring back The Nation Review.
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If the Guardian’s Comment is Free is the progressive/left-wing offering, here, out of interest, is the conservative effort: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/
And from Murdoch: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/ (though this doesn’t ‘stand alone’ as much as the other offerings in terms of original online content).
I guess another difference between the Oz and UK approaches is that most UK papers are stand-alones and can therefore take a newspaper-branded approach to their blog/opinion sites, whereas the Fairfax and News Australian models need to take content from across their respective empires in order to make it credible editorially.
Still, UK (and US) comparisons are worthy as both are further advanced in this sort of publishing (and the take up of it by readers) than Australia seems to be.
The Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/news/blogs/), the St Petersburg Times (http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/) and the larger Washington Post and New York Times have all been doing this stuff well since 2005, or earlier.
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Yes, it’s nothing new, and a well worn trail blazed by os media.
No one has mentioned that this is a shameless me-too in response to the very quickly successful News Limited ‘The Punch’.
The readers and lovers of the by-gone glory days of The National Times will be very sad to see what has become of the mast head.
Farifax fail.
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Livenews is dead! The campaign is OVER!
Wicked!
Fred the saboteur
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