There are interesting happenings in the online blogging world that just happen to coincide with big changes here at VivirLatino.

The first was the AOL – Huffington Post merger, which on twitter I proclaimed was a sign of the need for more support of REAL independent, radical/left media makers. You see HuffPo launched the same year that VivirLatino launched (HuffPo beat us by a few months). I don’t know how much it cost to get VL online, as I started here as just an editor, but certainly it did not have the backing of millions of dollars. And yet, my personal/political blogging, which I began doing in the late 90′s before it was called blogging, has gathered attention. I have covered major political and entertainment events. I am not saying this because I want some big company to buy me out but rather as a parallel. HuffPo, where I think one of my pieces was published once upon a time, became known for taking posts from independent media makers and using the talents of writers for free while it raked in millions. The new merger, according to some, threatens to widen that gap.

Ever since I became part owner of VivirLatino, we struggled to pay our other writers. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. There were times that other editors were paid while I didn’t and then there were times when no one got paid, because the site fees were ridiculous and again there are no millions, no investors, just incredible generosity from donors like individual readers, like some of you reading this right now. And now VivirLatino, with me scrambling to figure out a new model and funding besides my own strained bank account.

A few years ago, when I attended the Allied Media Conference, I proudly claimed the title of Radical Media Maker Mujer of Color. Radical Media Maker Mujer of Color because while the mainstream left mourns the loss of spaces like Open Left, spaces like that and others (who shall remain nameless for now) never represented the interest of women of color who wrote/write about politics, policy, and how the two really function in our cocinas y communities. So it is not a loss that I feel. This was/is more than blogging. This was/is more than a career. This was/is me extending reality onto a computer page and not capitulating to the demands to stay on message, to be marketable, or to follow the rules of capital J journalism and I will continue to do that.

This space is not going anywhere. I will continue to experiment with models and ideas to make this space more open, more real and yes that means I need the help of others. I am looking at collective models to help build various areas of this site.

Abrazos y pa’lante siempre

P.S. : if you want to be down to help me build this space hit me up via email, twitter, facebook…ay you all know how to find me.