Media outreach and impact:

One of the things we’re most proud of at The Conversation is the reach of our content, which we give away for free to news outlets of all varieties and sizes, reaching audiences of all kinds, across the nation and the world. This year our content began to be republished by Yahoo! News, one of the largest news sites in the nation, and was read over 2.2 million times in July. We’re also proud that our content began to be republished by BK Reader, a hyperlocal African American-focused news site in Brooklyn, New York, where we were read by 233 people.

Another thing that cheers us is how a story on Jesus’ portrayal as a white European was republished by the conservative website National Interest, the leftist Consortium News and FastCompany in the business-oriented center.

Sadly, we were forced by the pandemic lockdown to cancel our planned fifth anniversary celebration, but we forged ahead with a video that tells you about what we do. Please take a watch and share it with your friends:

Bijal is one of The Conversation's science and technology editors, and an award-winning journalist specializing in biology, medicine and health. Her work has appeared in Discover, Scientific American, New Scientist, Wired, Science, Nature, The Economist and National Geographic. Before joining The Conversation, she was an editor for the NIH director’s blog. She holds a BA in biochemistry from Oberlin College, an MS in molecular/cell/developmental biology from UCLA and an MA in science journalism from NYU. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two children and is very grateful for recently finishing her first book.

1. What brought you to The Conversation? 

I love science, and the opportunity to work one on one with university scholars who are experts in their fields was too exciting to turn down. With the rise of what was termed ‘fake news,’ I was keen to work with scientists with decades of experience in their fields to write authoritative and entertaining stories for a general audience.

2. What type of stories do you look for when working with scholars?

I’m looking for research that demystifies complex biological science and gives readers a peek into the human body, disease and life on Earth. I’m also passionate about space exploration and how mankind will colonize other planets.

 3. You just finished a book that will be published in September - what is it about and why did you pursue it?

I began working on the book, “Breath from Salt: A Deadly Genetic Disease, a New Era in Science, and the Patients and Families Who Changed Medicine Forever,” after writing a magazine story on a new drug for cystic fibrosis, a rare lethal inherited lung disease that used to kill children before their first birthday. I was drawn to the story after discovering how a group of phenomenal and driven parents formed a small foundation and used venture philanthropy to fund the early research that led to treatments for some 90%-95% of patients with the disease. 

New additions to staff:

Daniel Merino is a Junior Editor covering science, health and the environment. He’s a marine biologist-turned-science journalist.

Stacy Morford is Health and Environment Editor. She’s covered environment and sustainable development issues for over a decade at InsideClimate News and at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty and the World Bank.

Matt Williams is a General Assignment Editor. After a stint as weekend editor for the Guardian, Matt worked for Al Jazeera America and ABC News. 

Anurag Papolu is our new Multimedia Editor, with a background as a graphic designer, photographer, documentary video editor, and motion graphics artist.

Eric Smalley is a Technology Editor with 30 years of experience including at The Boston Globe, CNet, Discover, Nature, Science, Scientific American and Wired.

Katrina Aman is our Journalism Evangelist, working on growing our republishing network and social media presence.

Hannah Sussman is our University Relations and Development Associate, bringing experience in development support from nonprofits such as Ceres, GrubStreet, and Harvard University.

Welcome!

The Conversation in the news:

A successful spring campaign:

Our fundraising campaign in June was a big success, raising $45,000 – a 50% increase over last spring’s campaign. More importantly, more than 300 people stepped up to become monthly donors, which doubled our recurring revenue base. 

Thank you for your support, which is truly vital to ensuring the sustainability of our important work.

Beth Daley
Editor and General Manager