MediaGuardian.co.uk memories

MediaGuardian.co.uk launched on Tuesday 5 September 2000, 10 years ago yesterday. I was there, as the site's broadcasting reporter. Judging by this blast from the past , we covered "Minister criticises BBC1 after ratings flop" and "Big Brother boost for Channel 4 ratings" – some things never change, others do. More generally, I remember that in those early days we were all swept up in the excitement of the first series of Big Brother, which was drawing to a close after the drama of "Nasty" Nick Bateman's eviction. It was probably the first time I watched streamed video on the web – oh, the novelty. The big adjustment I had to make, having come from weekly trade magazine Broadcast where everything was geared towards press day on Wednesday, was the rolling nature of online news. We soon settled into a routine of covering breaking news and press released stories through the day, while seeking off-diary items to lead the site the following morning. There was also a period of adjustment for media industry PRs used to the rhythm of daily newspapers and weekly trade press. But the smartest ones soon figured out that getting their line on the MediaGuardian website quickly could help shape the direction of big breaking stories, as media and showbiz journalists from other print and online publications were reading us too. Colleagues on other papers admitted that in the early days after the website launched they could even take our stuff to their newsdesks and present it as new stories. But that didn't last – within a few months the newsdesks were reading us too. Here's an example of what an early front page looked like, courtesy of Wayback Machine . Emily Bell was editor-in-chief of MediaGuardian.co.uk at launch. she gave birth not only to the site, but to number two son George . "Sadly I will miss the fun of launch, having taken the easier option and booked into the labour ward..." Janine Gibson, who was executive editor, said in our opening gambit on 5 September 2000 : "Feedback, comments, requests and well-meant advice all gratefully received. Scurrilous gossip would be even better... ." Here are some thoughts from a couple of others who worked for MediaGuardian.co.uk in the early years. Lisa O'Carroll MediaGuardian.co.uk's first editor, 2000-2005, went on to work on the launch of the London Paper, now freelance Being MediaGuardian.co.uk's first editor was one of the two most exciting jobs I've had (the other being the launch of the London Paper). It was amazing to see the site go from 7,000 unique users in September 2000 to a million in March/April 2003, courtesy of a little trouble in Iraq. We set up a "War Watch" - logging the claims made by the coalition and then logging the truth when that came out hour or days later. It got picked up around the world. When we started I knew we had to make noise to get noticed. Nobody really used the web as a news resource in those days. That meant being first with the news. One of the first milestones I remember was in November 2000 when Richard Desmond, then reviled as a porn baron, was on the verge of making a takeover bid for Express Newspapers. The web really was in its genesis and certainly wasn't renowned for breaking stories like it is now. We got a tip off from a well-nurtured contact and we ran the story . I took a call from a friend on the Express who said that everyone was printing out our story and passing it around – those were the early days when maybe only one hack in 100 even knew MediaGuardian.co.uk existed. Suddenly we were on the map. Our figures shot up. We cemented our position a week later with another great tip-off – this time a list of "favoured" staff who were getting nice juicy bonuses from the departing owner . Dynamite. I knew we were absolutely in business for the long haul when a call came in from a senior Express executive who screamed down the phone, telling me we were creating massive resentment in the newsroom, were just "nothing more than a parasite" and I should stop publishing this patent nonsense. Nothing like another journalist shooting the messenger, is there? Oh how I loved the mischief of it all. Best five years in my career. Bobbie Johnson MediaGuardian.co.uk sub-editor, became Guardian technology correspondent, now a freelance based in San Fransisco When I started writing for MediaGuardian as a freelance in 2001, nobody knew I was fresh out of university. A year later, when I joined the website team, I was terrified that they'd spend their time hazing me as the new kid. It turned out that I didn't need to worry: my first day coincided with a big story about TV presenter John Leslie . Forget baptisms of fire – this was more like napalm. Back then I was part of the subbing team; a trio of calm, indefatigable copy warriors who would take stories from our colleagues, strip out any mistakes and (if we were lucky) avoid adding any more in. We didn't get many bylines, of course, but it was a lot of fun: being one step ahead of everyone else was always exciting, and it was gratifying to work with a team of reporters who kept the industry on its toes. Everybody read what we were working on, but some took more notice than others – not least Piers Morgan, who seemed to spend more time on the phone complaining about our coverage of the Mirror than he did editing the paper (which may explain something about his reign there). After a couple of years served on the media beat, I was paroled off to other parts of the Guardian and, eventually, other parts of the world – but it's always been my spiritual home.