Independent WordPress Journalism

In WP Legends Episode 167, Rae Morey shares her journey from laying out a 20-cent community newsletter by hand at age 14 in rural Tasmania to becoming Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Repository, the independent news publication she quietly ran nights and weekends for five years before finally going full-time after WordCamp Asia 2024 in Taipei.

They dig into what it took to keep an independent WordPress newsroom alive through a newborn, a pandemic, and a full-time career, why she built The Repository around working with up to 10 sponsors at once instead of just one, and why she believes the WordPress ecosystem, now powering over 40% of the web, still doesn't have enough serious journalism covering it.

Visit Us: https://seahawkmedia.com
Learn more about The Repository: https://www.therepository.email/
Follow Rae Morey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raelenemorey/

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro & Bluehost Sponsor
1:11 Guest Introduction: Rae Morey & The Repository
2:59 Welcome to WP Legends
3:16 From Contract Work to WordCamp Asia: How Rae Went Full-Time
7:40 The Origin Story: Starting The Repository with Kim Gjerstad
10:57 Has a Sponsor Ever Been Unhappy About a Story?
15:47 Will The Repository Ever Cover More Than WordPress?
20:38 SEO, GEO & Why Rae Never Optimized for Search
23:36 What Makes a Story Worth Covering
28:00 What's Holding WordPress Back: Marketing
31:49 The Road Map for the Next 12 Months
33:25 How Far in Advance Rae Plans Her Reporting
34:54 Tracking Which Stories Take Off
36:42 Long-Form Analysis vs. Breaking News
38:27 Advice for Anyone Starting an Independent Publication
40:22 Closing Thoughts

Music Credits: Live Like Legends (Nightcore Remix) by Ruelle

Hashtags: #WPLegends #WordPress #JournalismMatters #TheRepository #OpenSource #WordPressCommunity