A new website funded by universities that claims to be an “independent source of news and views” is giving academics the right to veto what it publishes.
The Conversation was launched in Britain last week and aims to “rebuild trust in journalism” but does not disclose that academics from its funding universities can demand changes to articles, headlines, photographs and even picture captions.
A confidential prospectus sent to potential funders says that academics who contribute articles to the website have “ultimate control of the process: nothing is published without their sign-off”. It adds that the website provides academics with a “safe way to engage in public debate” and suggests that this is necessary because they cannot trust traditional media.
It says: “The Leveson Inquiry has