IT WAS MEANT TO BE A WEEKLY ONLINE COLUMN ON FEDERAL POLITICS, a mere change in the forum for my work. It was my price for agreeing to do another stint as the Sydney Morning Herald's chief of staff at our Canberra bureau in 2000, so I didn't lose my public voice while doing a behind-thescenes organisational job. A year later it was my full-time job, yet until I agreed to do this chapter I hadn't systematically considered the ethics of it all, or how my ethical duties as a journalist were adapting to the Internet experience.

After Sydney Morning Herald editor Paul McGeough gave me the column, online editor Tom Burton pointed me to a couple of journalists' weblogs in the United States, where specialist reporters jotted down developments in their area, inside stories, and comment. The advantage for me was that I had no deadlines, so could write something now and then when I had time.

I had a quick look, got scared, and decided to start with a blank page and see what happened. When the technical people sent their design for the Webdiary page, I was horrified that they'd included my e-mail address. I had organised a silent home number after receiving hate snail mail and abusive phone calls while covering the Wik legislation and Pauline Hanson's 1998 federal election campaign, and the last thing I wanted was to invite an onslaught. ‘Get used to it’, Tom said. ‘Interactivity is the future’.