“In a time when media can no longer rely on the big budgets of the past, we should be doing really well. And the last barrier has been removed: in the digital world, we’re all equal.”

That’s Wilson da Silva, editor of the innovative science publication Cosmos. Some are more equal than others, of course. In one of the most probing and perceptive documentations of the media landscape and its future, renowned independent journalist Gideon Haigh finds the challenges for mainstream newsrooms run as deep as the opportunities for them — and others — are infinite.

If there’s a single message in Haigh’s introductory essay today — Crikey will roll out his investigation over the coming weeks — it’s that habit is death. Innovation is the best driver of growth, in the practice and business of journalism.

You might have noticed things look a little different around here, from a new-look Crikey Insider newsletter to the wholesale reconstruction of our website (read about the bells and whistles of the new site here). It’s a fresh face on a serious commitment to quality, fiercely independent journalism. We’ve even stamped it in the logo.

Crikey has led the development of online media in important ways. The need to innovate demanded we go further, and we will go further still. We want to know what you think of the new look — drop us an email; we’re reading and responding to all feedback where we can — and what we should do next. (There might be some bumps on the road as we make the transition; sorry for the delay in today’s edition.)

Haigh speaks today to a number of leading media players, from editor Chris Mitchell to journalist David Marr and online start-up entrepreneur Wendy Harmer. The latter perhaps encapsulated the mood of many:

“No one knows what the f-ck is going on … Eventually something will crawl out of the primordial soup, grow legs and walk on land. We don’t know what it is. But isn’t it fantastic to be in this soup?”

We reckon so.