Despite a world beset by bad news – floods in Queensland and NSW, the tragic invasion of Ukraine – this is written at a time of great hope for The Conversation in Australia and New Zealand.
With donor kind support we’ve continued to grow and make an important contribution to public knowledge. In 2020 our audience doubled and in 2021 it grew by a further 3% when many media outlets were shedding readers in the wake of Donald Trump’s departure from office.
But numbers only tell part of the story, and I’d like to share two examples of how what we do has a real impact.
We recently ran an article arguing it was a human rights abuse to prevent men from leaving Ukraine. A 29-year-old Ukrainian man wrote to thank us for the piece and describe the great difficulty he faces. He is opposed to war and doesn’t want to fight, but he is prevented from leaving. He’s trapped, and desperate, and considering taking his chances on an illegal border crossing. He wanted to let us know that the fact his human rights were being raised in Australia mattered.
Meanwhile, the floods in NSW and Queesland have been devastating for so many people and have led to an important public debate about how as a community we can build resilience. Throughout 2021 The Conversation worked with the Paul Ramsay Foundation on a series of articles on disasters and resilience that explored these vital questions. We also produced an interactive map of underinsurance across the country.
We will continue this work in 2022 as we look at how to address cycles of disadvantage and address the spiraling insurance crisis.
We are also gearing up to cover the upcoming federal election. The US journalism academic Jay Rosen takes a keen interest in Australian media and for many years has been critical of our over-reliance on polls and tendency to treat covering politics like calling a horse race.
Rosen says that too often the media allows the politicians to decide what gets talked about. This means important topics get neglected as the spin-doctors steer the discussion to areas where they think their party might have an advantage.
With this in mind this year we are determined to talk about what matters most to us. We are going to set our own citizens' agenda in collaboration with our readers, our key supporters, and the academic experts who provide our coverage.
As a first step we are calling on you for story ideas and to let us know what they think we should focus on. Send your ideas and suggestions to youragenda@theconversation.com.au.
Just one final thing that we’ve been able to do thanks to donor support – we have launched a new section covering books and ideas. At a time when the humanities are under relentless attack we are especially pleased to be able to focus on the sort of considered reflection and quality writing that we value most highly.
Thank you to supporters of The Conversation. This generosity makes our work possible, and imposes on us a great obligation to provide high quality information for the whole community. Thank you.
Best wishes
Misha Ketchell, Editor, The Conversation Australia
Books and Ideas launch
Last week The Conversation launched a new Books & Ideas section to provide expanded coverage of literary reviews, essays and research, as well as familiar features such as “Guide to the Classics” and some exciting new ideas. It will be led by Suzy Freeman-Greene (pictured left), with deputy editors Jo Case and literary critic James Ley.
Take a look at Zora Simic’s engaging review of feminist writer Laurie Penny’s new offering, ‘Sexual Revolution: Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback'; the first in a new series in which leading writers describe a book that changed them and psychologist Nick Haslam’s thoughtful discussion of unconscious bias.
At a time of shrinking literary coverage and frequent attacks on the humanities, we are excited to focus on new Books & Ideas coverage written by academic experts.
Why is social media so important? A word from our Digital Editor
At The Conversation, there are many steps that go toward our mission of sharing trusted information. The first and most obvious one is commissioning and publishing articles written by Australia and New Zealand's leading academics. The second, and maybe not as obvious a priority, is ensuring these articles are read far and wide.
As Digital Editor of The Conversation, it's my job to ensure our articles reach as large and diverse an audience as possible. We know that only a small slice of Australians actually read the news, let alone buy a newspaper or look up a news site every morning. More than half of Australia get their news and information sporadically from social media.
These readers have shorter attention spans and social media platforms are notoriously busy and competitive. Think of when you scroll on Facebook and how many photos, links and statuses you see in just a few minutes; it can be very hard to cut through and grab someone's attention!
The Conversation's audience team focuses on translating and reshaping articles to ensure they're accessible and eye-catching on social. For example, this week we published a detailed explainer on what thermobaric weapons are and why they should be banned. For our social media audience, we took the most important information from the article and presented it to our readers short, snappy, swipe-able tiles. If you use Instagram, feel free to look at it here.
This type of information sharing has never been more important. We wouldn't be doing our mission if we were simply publishing articles and hoping people read them. As a trusted source of news, it's our responsibility to exist and disseminate information on the very places where misinformation, conspiracy theories and dodgy claims are rife.
Molly Glassey, Digital Editor
New faces at The Conversation Australia
The Conversation’s audience team is excited to welcome two new social media producers.
Lee Constable joins us after freelancing as a digital presenter and producer with a focus on science, technology, society, climate crisis, justice and sustainability. She previously hosted Australian national science and tech TV show, Scope (2016-2020) and founded youth-run social justice and sustainability radio show, SoapBox. She also founded of Co-Lab: Science Meets Street Art where scientists and street artists collaborate to create research-inspired murals live for the public. She has also published a book, ‘How to Save the Whole Stinkin’ Planet’ (Penguin).
Gabriela Sumampow is a recent journalism graduate from RMIT who is about to begin her Masters in Journalism. Before starting at The Conversation, she was editor of The Swanston Gazette and a freelance writer for Vice Australia and Beat Magazine. Gabriela has an excellent understanding of social media trends among young people and will primarily work on The Conversation’s Instagram and TikTok accounts. Gabriela is from Jakarta and moved to Australia to pursue her studies.
Recognition for podcasts & visual storytelling
Anthem Awards
Our Flora, Fauna, Fire multimedia series won Silver in the Sustainability, Environment, & Climate research awareness categories at the inaugural Anthem Awards. The Anthem Awards honours the purpose and mission-driven work of people, companies, and organisations worldwide.
The Conversation has also been shortlisted in three categories at the Publisher Podcast Awards. The Conversation Weekly has been shortlisted for best launch and best news podcast, while The Anthill: Climate Fight has been shortlisted for best limited series. The winner will be announced in London in April.
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