The Conversation - From the editor: an important question

Dear Reader,

As a former longtime science and environment reporter at The Boston Globe, I spent years working to get academics to share their research with me for the public good. It could take me months to root out important work. It took even longer to build relationships strong enough that researchers would trust me to report accurately on what often was their life’s work.

The Conversation upends that model – and the public is benefiting. Our editorial team independently chooses topics important for the public to know and learn about. Then, they assign reporters – the researchers who know the subject better than anyone else – to write the story. The final product is a professionally written, freely shareable news article that can be read by anyone in the world. Not behind a paywall. Outside the walls of academia.

Important work gets out quickly. And once it’s published on our site, hundreds of news outlets publish these articles, in the U.S. and around the globe. These websites and newspapers hunger for quality, fact-based content.

Creating this work isn’t free. We rely on foundations, universities – and readers like you – to help us keep the lights on, the newsroom humming and the insights flowing.

Would you consider helping us with our important work? We’d so appreciate a recurring monthly donation of $5, $10, $25 or whatever you can afford. 

Please, help us unlock knowledge for the public good. We can’t do it without you.

And thank you, as always, for reading.

Beth Daley
Editor and General Manager
The Conversation U.S.