Magazine showcases depth of research at School
By Sean Daly Ground-breaking research at RSPAS often receives wide media coverage, with results featuring in local and sometimes international radio and television news bulletins and newspaper articles. Since 1996, however, the School has had its own publication to highlight its activities. The Asia-Pacific Magazine, a glossy quarterly, has received praise from academics, politicians and media experts as having struck the right combination of news, analysis and research. Executive editor, Elizabeth Kingdon, said the magazine was established as a means of taking the School's academic research to an audience beyond that of the purely academic journal. Ms Kingdon said the growing reputation of the magazine and its format had seen the number of contributors expand. It provides informed discussion on regional issues in a style more suited to a wider audience than that of the usual academic journal, she said. "Basically you've got newspapers which tend to be reactive and respond to day-to-day events, but we have the benefit of being able to call on academic contributors with their longer-term research expertise," Ms Kingdon said. "But our authors are not just from the ranks of the academics. We also receive and commission pieces from other professional contributors including professional journalists." "The magazine is a forum for them also, if they've got a bigger tale to tell. If they've got particular interests and expertise, like many of them do, it's an opportunity for them to provide a story with deeper analysis which newspapers are not able to provide the space for." The print run varies between 1,500 and 2,000 for each issue. It has a predominantly Australian readership, although it also enjoys a strong overseas following. Ms Kingdon said that although the production of the magazine was almost exclusively an RSPAS/ANU effort (apart from the assistance of two of the Associate editors), authors were commissioned from around the world. "It's a global venture in that sense, it is intended to be an international magazine, we try to adopt an international perspective, it's written for an international audience and our contributors and subscribers are international," she said. The magazine's editorial advisory board also reflects this global approach. As well as the Australian representation, members include diplomats and academics from the US, Asia, Pacific Islands and Britain. "It was once described as reading like a list from an International Who's Who," Ms Kingdon said. On the production side, the magazine is supported by the Cartography Unit of RSPAS and Coombs Photography. Neville Minch, a graphic artist in the Cartography Unit, provides the design and layout expertise. Because of family commitments, Ms Kingdon works temporarily from an office in the School of Asian Studies at the University of Western Australia. She also has an office in RSPAS and liaises with Mr Minch and contributors electronically. The move away from the ANU has also been an opportunity to further broaden the magazine's outlook, reducing the temptation to use mainly ANU or Canberra-based contributors.