- Published:
- Monday 21 September 2015
The future of The Conversation will secured with today's announcement that the Andrews Labor Government will provide a $3 million investment towards the news and commentary site.
The funding commitment of $1 million per annum over 3 years will safeguard the jobs of 32 employees – including 26 Melbourne-based staff.
Earlier this year, the website suffered a major setback after the Federal Liberal Government decided to end funding support for the highly regarded platform.
Since its launch in 2011, The Conversation has provided readers with an independent source of news and views sourced from Australian and international academics and researchers. It has grown to become one of the country’s largest independent news and commentary sites, attracting 2.5 million unique visitors every month.
The Conversation will now also provide teachers with a range of resources linked to the Victorian Curriculum as well as articles to promote community discussion about education.
The website has a global monthly audience of 25 million through Creative Commons republications. It has expanded to a global team of 85 with editorial teams based in Africa, the UK and US. All sites operate on The Conversation's world first technical platform, developed and run by its Melbourne based software engineers.
Today at 7am The Conversation’s France site launched in Paris with the support of 65 French universities. The service will be in French. There will be continued expansion into international markets as TC develops its global service in conjunction with the world's university and research community.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“Our $3 million commitment will allow The Conversation to continue operating for the next three years while it works towards becoming self-sustaining.”
“The Conversation has established itself an invaluable source of news and views from local and international academics and researchers, earning a large and loyal readership around the world.”
“This partnership with The Conversation is another example of this Government’s commitment to making Victoria the Education State, where we are world leaders in education and research.”
Quotes attributable to Executive Director and Editor Andrew Jaspan
"The funding commitment from the Victorian State Government has secured all our 32 jobs and allowed us to focus on delivering and growing our service. The three-year commitment also provides the bridging support we need to secure our long-term sustainability. We are mightily relieved.”
"The Conversation was born and built in Melbourne and has gone global. It reinforces Melbourne as a global knowledge and education hub and leader in digital innovation.”