Yesterday saw the launch of a significant new presence in the Australian online media landscape. Joining Crikey, New Matilda, Online Opinion, the ABC’s The Drum and News Limited’s The Punch is The Conversation. Backed by five of Australia’s biggest universities as well as the CSIRO, The Conversation is a non-profit publisher of content generated from within Australia’s academic institutions - hence its .edu suffix. It’s designed to bridge the gap between academic discourse and the broader public debate. The website publishes its charter and its editorial standards.
Content is to be sourced initially from the Australian Group of Eight universities (Adelaide, ANU, Melbourne, Monash, NSW, Queensland, Sydney, Western Australia) plus University of Technology Sydney, CSIRO, and the Australian Science Media Centre. The Conversation is edited by Andrew Jaspan, formerly the editor of The Age, The Observer (London), The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday.