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2013 Stakeholder Report Academic rigor. Journalistic flair. 2013 Stakeholder Report 1 FROM THE EDITOR It’s been a big year for The Conversation: another The editorial high point this year was our Election We have raised the profile of The Conversation 12-months of rapid growth, expanded editorial coverage, which won many plaudits. It was our within schools as a classroom resource. service, globalization, and consolidation. first election and readers valued the range of independent voices, our engagement in scoping A Community Manager will join us in 2014 to We almost tripled the audience since last year and analysing policy issues, and the watchdog/ help monitor the quality of conversations and to 1.4m unique visitors a month, with one scrutiny activities offered by our Election have compliance with our Community Standards. million from Australia and the rest overseas. FactCheck service and Media Watch panel. We plan to appoint a Multimedia Editor to increase video, graphics and data journalism. The reach is much higher because media Michelle Grattan wrote extensively during the widely republishes our content in print and election (including an interview with Tony Abbott) And of course, thanks to our Partners, online. We publish under Creative Commons, and her Radio National contributions provided Members and readers who donated and making The Conversation an open (and invaluable insights. We were rewarded with high became Friends of The Conversation, without free) resource for the media for articles, traffic including 360,000 unique visitors for the final whom The Conversation wouldn’t happen. ideas and new people to interview. campaign week. A book of our Election coverage has been published which is being distributed free to It’s been a very busy and productive 12 months. In May, we launched the UK with a team parliamentarians, universities, schools and readers. And we have a lot planned for 2014 to ensuring of 12, now increased to 16. The UK continuous development and improvement in our newsroom is at City University, London. We’re We also launched the new Arts+Culture and quest to build a world-first platform of trusted appointing a Scotland Editor to help cover Education sections, which in many ways information. Thank you for being part of that quest, next year’s Independence referendum and these sections are the final pieces in the and for helping create better conversations. the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. jigsaw to provide “universal” coverage. Andrew Jaspan Editor and Executive Director 2 FROM THE CHAIR The success and growth in 2013 of The Conversation The launch of our new Arts section this year About The Conversation is proof that here is a great thirst for high quality has been a highlight. A great example of trusted information and better debate in our society. connecting arts academics to new audiences, How do we reignite, and provide for, informed particularly in a time where there has been a public discourse in the issues that matter today? Thanks to all my fellow board members, who have collapse in mainstream coverage of the Arts. How do we kick-start vitality and sustainability embraced the bold and ambitious plan for The into journalism and its business models? Conversation. We are all committed to making a I’m proud to be part of The Conversation real difference to public debate and discourse. and to be helping create a place for analysis, Born by the idea that we can turn the university There are many challenges in constructing such a debate and better, informed conversations. and research sector into a giant editorial resource radically different way of unlocking information and to drive a new, direct channel of information, disseminating it to the world, and the team has The Conversation aims to mine this intellectual showed enormous commitment to making it happen. gold, polish it and share it with the public. To our university founders and members and This re-imagining of journalism sees our team of CSIRO, we are only here with your support. editors unlock the global repository of knowledge, To corporate partners CBA, Corrs Chambers expertise and research that sits within the Westgarth, our Government funders and to “ivory towers” of the world’s universities. all the Friends of The Conversation who have donated money and time – we are very grateful. The Conversation translates academic complexity, from the world’s foremost thinkers and researchers, into useable plain English that is accessible to all. Putting informed and credible discussion back on the agenda, above the ever-growing sea of white noise. Robert Johanson Chair, Board of Directors 3 2013 IN REVIEW January • 4,600 authors, 28,000 newsletter subscribers, and May 660,000 unique visitors a month March • Launch of The Conversation UK • Massey University joins • 3 year anniversary • James Cook University joins February April June • Michelle Grattan joins as chief political • 1.3 million unique visitors a month • Maths + Science education series in correspondent at University of Canberra Canberra with chief scientist Ian Chubb • Curtin University joins • University of Sunshine Coast joins 4 July September November • Launch of Election FactCheck service • Our first Federal election coverage • University of Sydney joins • 10,000th article published • Australian Catholic University joins • 100,000 unique views to Job Board October August December • Launch of Arts + Culture, Education • 7,000th academic registers to write • Launch of our book “The Story of the 2013 • The first-ever hard-copy book “The Election” at Parliament House Explainer”, in collaboration with CSIRO, hits • 8,400 authors, 55K newsletter subscribers, bookshops and 1.4 million unique visitors a month • The book “ 99 medical myths and counting” is released • Australian National University joins 5 HIGHLIGHTS: ARTS + CULTURE Highlights Top 10 most-read articles • With the support of our university partners and • The trouble with gay marriage, by Annemarie Jagose Screen Australia, we launched in October. The at University of Sydney. section covers design, architecture, literature, fashion, performing and visual arts, film, music, • When Tony Abbott met Socrates, by Graham Priest religion, innovation, philosophy, TV, gender, social at University of Melbourne. issues and more. Responding to increasingly shallow arts coverage elsewhere in the media, we hope • Beyond words: how fonts make us feel, by Louise our Arts + Culture section will help satisfy readers’ McWhinnie at University of Technology, Sydney. hunger for something a little deeper than a product review, or entertainment dressed as arts coverage. • Does Australia get culture? by Julian Meyrick at Flinders University. • We have 10 columnists and several new authors. Among these several have been picked up on TV • Stop demonising McMansions, by Steve King at and radio. University of New South Wales. • Our Foundation Essays started conversations on • Google Books wins ‘fair use’ but Australian copyright issues such as funding the arts, whether Australia lags, by Nicolas Suzor at Queensland University of “gets” culture, the role of religion in contemporary Technology. Australia, and Indigenous Australia in 2013. • Schoolies, toolies and foolies – in the market for a • John Willsteed of The Go-Betweens (now at rite of passage, by Andrew Hughes at Australian Queensland University of Technology) wrote for National University. us as part of our coverage on the death of Lou Reed. Annamarie Jagose’s “The Trouble with Gay • Cultural cringe and Ja’mie, Private School Girl, by Marriage” enjoyed a large readership (over 20,000) Michelle Smith at Deakin University. and was widely commented on. • The Australians who created the sonic world of • Other highlights: Stop demonising McMansions, Doctor Who, by Liz Giuffre at Macquarie University. Beyond words: how fonts make us feel, and Google Books wins ‘fair use’ but Australian copyright lags. • What is a book in the digital age? by Zoe Sadokierski at University of Technology, Sydney. 6 HIGHLIGHTS: BUSINESS + ECONOMY Highlights Top 10 most-read articles • The Boomer housing bust: coming to Australia? by • Explainer: why the US government is facing (another) • Our economic and business academics provided Nicole Gurran at University of Sydney. shutdown, by Nicole Hemmer at University of expert explanation and facts for our election Sydney. coverage. • The sharing economy spooking big business, by Chris Riedy at University of Technology, Sydney. • The truth about FBT on cars: meaningful tax reform • We continued our monthly Shadow Board is hard, by Dale Boccabella at University of New coverage, which asks industry and academic South Wales. economists what interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia should set. • Making cents of a falling Australian dollar, interviewed: Mark Crosby at Melbourne Business • We ran a popular series on forces disrupting School; Graeme Wells at University of Tasmania; big business in Australia, such as collaborative Jakob Madsen at Monash University. consumption. Our series on the Trans-Pacific Partnership investigated the many issues of this • FactCheck: is Australia losing one manufacturing job controversial trade agreement. every 19 minutes? by Fabrizio Carmignani at Griffith University and Phil Lewis at University of Canberra. • Susan Harris Rimmer, from Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy at ANU, was on the ground at the G20 • The Coalition’s NBN policy is a triumph of short- Leaders Summit in St Petersburg, and provided termism over long-term vision, by Peter Gerrand at daily coverage on proceedings. University of Melbourne. • In a joint video project with SBS, Dr Ken Henry • Property bubble? That’s the theory, anyway, by Philip spoke about how Australia can reposition itself Soos at Deakin University. as a quality supplier of high grade goods and services to a growing Chinese middle class. • The future for Ford workers: literacy will be key, by Stewart Riddle at University of Southern • Other highlights: Explainer: why the US Queensland. government is facing (another) shutdown; The truth about FBT on cars; meaningful • Beware the pitfalls of the discretionary family trust, by tax reform is hard; Making cents of a Dale Boccabella at University of New South Wales.
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