Laura McGann is the managing editor of The Washington Independent, a year-old nonprofit Washington-based Web site providing original content on a wide array of national topics. The Web-only product is funded by the Center for Independent Media, a nonprofit media group set up to meld blog technology with the standards of professional journalism. For her part, McGann helped get the fledging Independent off the ground and continues to manage its daily activity.

Why did you chose to work for an upstart Web-based news agency?