With the political test match well under way, I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to the team bringing you our coverage.
Opening the batting is Michelle Grattan, who yesterday published her 200th article since joining The Conversation. Michelle’s 200 appearances at the crease have generated 675,000 reads (easily out-batting Sachin Tendulkar who scored a mere 15,837 runs in his 200 Test outings).
Captain and Vice-Captain are political editors Rory Cahill and Michael Courts, who also worked on the US Presidential campaign. They in turn will be leading a team of more than 30 academic political analysts who will cover the election with a straight bat. Other features include:
Election FactCheck will continue to test assertions made by politicians, lobbyists and others seeking to spin us a line. The unit’s editor is Gay Alcorn. She will be supported in the slips cordon by Liz Minchin and Bella Counihan, and a panel of around 150 academic experts to monitor every aspect of the election. Every FactCheck will continue to be subjected to a thorough editorial appraisal, and then double checked by an academic reviewer (a third umpire, if you will) before the verdict is published.
Policy review will set out to evaluate the various party manifestos and policy announcements.
Our Media Panel will comprise an elite team of 25 academics to monitor the performance of the Fourth Estate during the campaign.
Oz polls: Adrian Beaumont, Australia’s answer to Nate Silver, will explain the numbers that will ultimately determine the result.
So play on, and enjoy our match coverage unparallelled in its depth and experience.
Just what the very baggy Aussie team needs.
Andrew Jaspan, Coach and Tour Selector