Time to say goodnight?

Margo Kingston's Webdiary is closing down:

"Webdiary will close at midnight tonight. Thank you to everyone who contributed and helped me try to make it work. Unfortunately I couldn't get funding in time to stop me going broke, and certain events have proved to me that my skin is not thick enough to survive in this game.

"When I decided to go independent I thought long and hard if I could accept failure in what was always a high risk venture. I decided I could, and I will.

"Webdiary's closure marks the end of my career in journalism. It's time to move on."

Webdiary has been one of the strongest sites of journalistic dissent in Australia over the last years. After spending years at the Sydney Morning Herald website, independence brought true editorial freedom but major financial concerns.

I have known Margo for nearly three years. She supported my work and encouraged dissent. She published my chapter in the best-selling Not Happy, John! I was a Webdiary columnist. I always believed, and still do, that corporate media is not the answer for a questioning and challenging future.

I spoke to Margo earlier this week and she told me of the current financial issues, as well as other problems. She hoped to overcome them and perhaps she still will. In an age of commentator conformity, Webdiary is even more essential.

If this is truly the end, it's the passing of a brave, frustrating, challenging and bold experiment. Alternatives are needed.

Thank you, Margo.