Hi Tony and welcome! I'm excited to see what fun things you do with this wonderful platform.

I have one interesting tweak that I think would make a big difference: Allow writers to submit articles to two or three (not too many) publications simultaneously and the first one who publishes or schedules it gets it and the other(s) don't. That's capitalism at its finest. Competition for top articles will improve the speed at which pubs react, and build a climate of urgency and value.

Regardless - best wishes to you!