The Conversation (website)

The Conversation
Type of businessNonprofit
Type of site
Analysis, commentary, research, news
Available inEnglish, French, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese
FoundedApril 2010 (2010-04)
Headquarters
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Country of originAustralia
Area servedAustralia, Africa, Brazil, Canada, Europe, France, United Kingdom, United States, Indonesia, New Zealand, Spain
Founder(s)Andrew Jaspan, Jack Rejtman
Employees150+ (2020)
URLtheconversation.com Edit this at Wikidata
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
Launched24 March 2011; 13 years ago (2011-03-24)
Current statusActive
Content license
CC Attribution / No derivatives 4.0
ISSN2201-5639

The Conversation is a network of nonprofit media outlets publishing news stories and research reports online, with accompanying expert opinion and analysis.[1][2] Articles are written by academics and researchers under a Creative Commons license, allowing reuse without modification. Copyright terms for images are generally listed in the image caption and attribution.[3][2] Its model has been described as explanatory journalism.[4][5][6] Except in "exceptional circumstances", it only publishes articles by "academics employed by, or otherwise formally connected to, accredited institutions, including universities and accredited research bodies".[7]: 8 

The website was launched in Australia in March 2011.[8][9] The network has since expanded globally with a variety of local editions originating from around the world.[10][11] In September 2019, The Conversation reported a monthly online audience of 10.7 million users, and a combined reach of 40 million people when including republication.[12] The site employed more than 150 full-time staff as of 2020.[13]

Each regional or national edition of The Conversation is an independent nonprofit or charity funded by various sources such as partnered universities and university systems, governments and other grant awarding bodies, corporate partners, and reader donations.[13][14][15]

  1. ^ Zardo, Pauline; Barnett, Adrian G.; Suzor, Nicolas; Cahill, Tim (7 February 2018). "Does engagement predict research use? An analysis of The Conversation Annual Survey 2016". PLOS One. 13 (2): e0192290. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1392290Z. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0192290. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5802909. PMID 29415047.
  2. ^ a b Baker, Simon (6 October 2011). "In the virtual newsroom, scholars tell the rest of the story". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Republishing guidelines — The Conversation". theconversation.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  4. ^ Sherwin, Adam (22 March 2015). "The Media Column: The Conversation is capitalising on 'explanatory journalism'". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Wihbey, John (12 December 2014). "Journalism-school reform in the context of wider media trends". Journalist's Resource. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Global Editorial Guidelines" (PDF). The Conversation. 2021.
  8. ^ Greenslade, Roy (25 March 2011). "Jaspan is an editor for the eighth time with his new Aussie start-up". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  9. ^ Ketchell, Misha (21 March 2021). "How an Australian newsman's clever idea grew into a powerful global Conversation". The Australian. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  10. ^ "UBC journalism profs receive SSHRC funding for new Canadian media startup". School of Journalism, Writing, and Media. University of British Columbia. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  11. ^ Llano, Sara Malagón (21 May 2017). ""Los académicos son nuestros reporteros"". Semana (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  12. ^ Dickinson, Debbie. "Behind the scenes: creative commons publishing". The Conversation. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  13. ^ a b Schiffrin, Anya (12 June 2020). "The Conversation thrives during the pandemic". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  14. ^ Peters, Diane (10 July 2017). "The Conversation website, written by academics, comes to Canada". University Affairs. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. ^ Usher, Nikki (19 May 2011). "The Conversation, the startup Australian news site, wants to bring academic expertise to breaking news". Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism. Retrieved 10 October 2021.