NFP ‘The Conversation’ to Launch Overseas
25 March 2013 at 11:50 am
Melbourne-based Not for Profit online information service, The Conversation, is to open its doors in the United Kingdom, editor Andrew Jaspan has announced.
Based at City University, London, The Conversation UK will launch in May, with new staff starting next month.
The Conversation is an independent news and information service sourced from the university and research sector, delivered to the public.
The announcement comes as the Conversation team celebrated its second year of success at an anniversary party at RMIT University, hosted by Vice Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner.
The Conversation says its UK site will also be a Not for Profit educational trust, with an initial staff of ten.
It will initially launch as a pilot, with the expectation of a fuller launch at a later date.
UK Project Director Jonathan Hyams said: “At a time when the public are increasingly suspicious of the media, The Conversation UK will offer the public a source of trusted comment and analysis, combining academic rigour with journalistic flair.”
Thirteen UK universities have reportedly committed support for TC-UK along with The Wellcome Trust, The Nuffield Foundation, HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England), HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales) and the Scottish Funding Council.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol and Chair of Universities UK, Professor Eric Thomas, said: “Universities have a leading role to play in public engagement, whether that’s in the area of science and technology or politics and social affairs.
“The Conversation will provide a space for the dissemination and understanding of important information and knowledge, unlocking information and making it widely accessible to all.”
The Conversation editor Andrew Jaspan said that there is “a huge public demand for independent, high-quality, authenticated, and trusted content”.
“In effect we are moving towards a global newsroom in which we will all work together to get the best content from around the world for our readers, but with an emphasis on being relevant and compelling to regional audiences,” Jaspan said in a statement.
The Conversation’s Megan Clement will head to London for six months to help with the launch.
