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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/membership/2015/feb/26/join-us-to-discuss-debate-argue-and-co-create-some-great-journalism

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Join us to discuss, debate, argue and co-create some great journalism Join us to discuss, debate, argue and co-create some great journalism
(14 days later)
Newspapers at their best are like good friends. You want to hang out with them, check out what they think and get a fix on what’s going on. I have been hanging out with the Observer long before I had the privilege of writing for it - and I know I will carry on as a reader until I drop.Newspapers at their best are like good friends. You want to hang out with them, check out what they think and get a fix on what’s going on. I have been hanging out with the Observer long before I had the privilege of writing for it - and I know I will carry on as a reader until I drop.
I liked and like its liberal decency, its deftness of touch, its celebration of great writing, its campaigns for justice and the way it understands in its marrow that ideas move the world. Above all it is generous. It is my Sunday companion.I liked and like its liberal decency, its deftness of touch, its celebration of great writing, its campaigns for justice and the way it understands in its marrow that ideas move the world. Above all it is generous. It is my Sunday companion.
Over the last year or two we’ve been experimenting with deepening our relationship with our readers. We have tried a couple of TedXObserver events that have sold out, and our Festival of Ideas at the Barbican in London last year was an astonishing success.Over the last year or two we’ve been experimenting with deepening our relationship with our readers. We have tried a couple of TedXObserver events that have sold out, and our Festival of Ideas at the Barbican in London last year was an astonishing success.
Many of you came, and you helped ideas and stories take off. This was journalism in real time, combining the reach and stretch of social media with the age-old delight of face-to-face interaction and argument.Many of you came, and you helped ideas and stories take off. This was journalism in real time, combining the reach and stretch of social media with the age-old delight of face-to-face interaction and argument.
Now, together with our sister paper the Guardian, we want to take it further. We invite you to join our new Membership scheme. It’s a two-way deal: We undertake to lay on events and festivals around the country for our members, and as we go on, readers can gather, argue and propose ideas and stories for us to cover. You get to meet the writers, the editors and the people whose ideas we think you will find stimulating – and together we will co-create some great journalism and writing.Now, together with our sister paper the Guardian, we want to take it further. We invite you to join our new Membership scheme. It’s a two-way deal: We undertake to lay on events and festivals around the country for our members, and as we go on, readers can gather, argue and propose ideas and stories for us to cover. You get to meet the writers, the editors and the people whose ideas we think you will find stimulating – and together we will co-create some great journalism and writing.
The British liberal tradition is under siege at the moment. Everything from respect for human rights to the case for more inclusive capitalism seems in retreat. Darker forces are abroad. The Observer, like the Guardian, under the determined ownership of the Scott Trust which is pledged to uphold editorial independence in the service of the liberal tradition, will hold out, have no fear (Full declaration: I am a Scott Trust member and I know I speak for all my colleagues). But we can hold out better if you are alongside us.The British liberal tradition is under siege at the moment. Everything from respect for human rights to the case for more inclusive capitalism seems in retreat. Darker forces are abroad. The Observer, like the Guardian, under the determined ownership of the Scott Trust which is pledged to uphold editorial independence in the service of the liberal tradition, will hold out, have no fear (Full declaration: I am a Scott Trust member and I know I speak for all my colleagues). But we can hold out better if you are alongside us.
And it will be fun, too. Become a founder member today. And it will be fun, too. Become a member today.