Katherine Viner (@KathViner) spoke about the state of journalism in Melbourne recently. Her talk serves as an update to the thinking inside one of the world's most interesting and daring newspaper companies today, the Guardian, as they continue to innovate. Viner herself heads Guardian Australia, a newish online publication that is in some ways a pure test case of the innovations and insights Guardian folks have accumulated over the last few years. A few highlights from the talk:

• The idea that the press's role as "truth-teller, sense-maker, explainer" is unchanged even though in our digital age the tools, methods, and partnerships involved are radically transformed. The idea that knowledge has been become much more "living, evolving, limitless, relentless." The idea that readers are smart and experienced and want to be involved and if they can't be involved they will move on. The idea that people want to be respected enough to be offered transparency, to see how a paper or a politician works. The idea that the web creates opportunities not just for readers but for newspapers that can attract informants and collaborators. The idea that the form of a publication can now be adapted inventively to the needs of an audience and the nature of the story being told, rather than always appearing in columns on paper. The idea that there is no excuse now for having a crowd of middle-aged white men speaking at a passive audience. The idea that through experimentation and paying attention to readers the web teaches the press how it is working today. The idea that paywalls defeat the openness that is currently teaching journalism the way ahead. The idea that linking out makes a site far more valuable. [well-established by now] The idea that light moderation can help protect vulnerable citizens but leave enough openness for public exchange to improve all of our views. The idea that journalism is a set of actions, not a job title, and that many can participate in journalism without having a press pass, and that we are all enriched by new varieties of voices. The idea that there are real skills that journalists bring that we really need for a healthy society. The idea that some around us are still more interested in having journalism serve the powerful but that speaking truth to power will always be its real role. The idea that the internet is vulnerable to commercial and political interests and might be taken from us. And more.