What else would you recommend I look into?
Content. You've described skills that could be used to put together a Website, but there's no mention of your literary or journalistic abilities.
Nothing is easier than launching a Web-based magazine. Nothing is harder than filling it with fresh daily content so people visit again and again.
Right now, I am (irrationally?) optimistic about content. This is as much about my friends and I creating something as it is a serious attempt at journalism or literature.
So, assuming that content is covered, would you expect the skills I mentioned to be sufficient for building and running a site?
I suggest going the wordpress route as the backend cms. It easy enough to beginner and fast enough for growing audition. Thus you need a person good on it to design and extend the functionality.
But still, good and enganging content always preceed technology. HN is a good example of that.