Real Territory is an experiment exploring the flow of information in the supermodern era.*
We consider ourselves to be independently minded and inclined towards the open and free exchange of ideas. We consider ourselves to be non-partisan and non-dogmatic.
Mission
Real Territory will become what it needs to become in due course.
For now, here are some simple intentions:
- Explore themes and ideas that are of interest to the curatorial team; typically Australian context, art and philosophy.
- Customise and enhance the management system that underpins the content on this site. i.e. Get through all the early development issues and reach a stable (and user-friendly) build point; one that enables redistribution or agile future adaptation.
- Trial some custom-made content creation tools and innovations.
- See what happens with different types of content and share the learnings with the community.
- Create mechanisms for feedback and connecting with the community.
- Understand how AI will impact the media ecology in a cultural context.
We speak opinions, not facts. Our eyes see perspectives, not truth.*
– Marcus Aurelius
Vision
Here is a favourite ‘vision’ that will suffice this section for now. This photo was taken in a secret location between Tennant Creek and Mataranka.
Roadmap
- April / May 2023 – Launch v1 – Basic concept.
- September Qtr 2023 – Learn from initial offerings. Assess interest by looking at sign-up numbers, stats, interest in the content-market-model. Trial the custom innovations.
- November 2023 – Implement system changes as necessary/appropriate.
- Jan Qtr 2024 – Share the learnings with the community. What worked. What are numbers like. What is not working. (TBC) Launch V2 – with innovative curatorial model.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are open to ideas. Get in touch.
Keep in mind that Real Territory is focused on longer format pieces that are ‘intriguing’, ‘take the reader on a journey’, ‘have longevity value’ – or have a chance of becoming ‘reference pieces’.
(Concerning local and community news, you may wish to check out the progress of these projects here.)
‘Real Territory’ is a conceptual construct and at the moment is referring to an area of Australia that is part northern, part central, part regional and part heartland. There are good arguments to be made that Real Territory also overlaps into other areas and zones; we hope to explore these contentions in future editions.
At the moment contributors are based out of Alice Springs and Darwin primarily. Would be great to hear from anyone in Tennant Creek or Katherine who wants to contribute.
Real Territory’s primary audience are local and Australians who are seeking insights or alternative perspectives into how things work up this way.
This is an experiment and will continue for 12 months. That’s 3 or 4 editions – and some sporadic articles in between. After this period of time we will have a look at the viability of continuing into the future.
We are presently being supported by a small group of benefactors based in the Northern Territory. For now these benefactors are private, but we’re ok to let you know who they are, if you really want to know. Get in touch.
We are aware that over recent years there is much talk and analysis about how to make local news & media sustainable in regional Australia. We are interested in the many dimensions of this conversation but felt the best contribution we could make is by setting up an experiment that trials some innovations and provides some useful real world learnings.
Real Territory is focused, as a baseline, on 10 articles per quarter. So in the context of sustainability, creating magazine style content is a very different proposition than a ‘local news’ website.
Whatever the long term outcome, we feel there is a lot of learnings to be gained in the doing and we will report back to the community in due course.
Many regional Australian towns feel there is something missing without a printed local paper.
We are sympathetic to this concern, but can advise that Real Territory is not trying to be a local printed publication.
As per previous FAQ about the print version, Real Territory is not trying to become a local old-style newspaper.
However, if the local stories are relevant to ‘a bigger picture’, or are simply just interesting, let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
(Concerning local and community news, you may wish to check out the progress of these projects here.)
We are open to discussions. Real Territory is not intended to be super competitive and replace other sources of news and stories.
Big shout out and respects to other media producers doing the hard yards. Imitation is a
Good question. Not sure. We are actively exploring the implications and possibilities of AI.
Many people are saying, “You’d have to be mad to get into the content game in 2023, just as AI is becoming mainstream”. This is probably true.
For now we make two solemn commitments:
- Real Territory will not publish AI generated articles without a disclaimer.
- We will report back on the learnings after 12 months, including a comprehensive look at how AI was used, (or not used), and any other relevant observations.
