''On Line Opinion'', or ''Online Opinion'', is an open access

electronic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

, specialising in social and political debate. The journal is published in Australia, although content is not necessarily limited to Australian issues, and extends at times to publication in wider areas, such as, religion, ethics, and philosophy.

Owner and publisher

''On Line Opinion'' is owned and published by

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

based

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

political '

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

' the Australian Institute for Progress Ltd (AIP). The AIP receives funding from property developers, and according to the Executive Director, it is 'ideologically centre-right', with its criticisms favouring right-wing political parties. Prior to 2014 the AIP was called The National Forum. In 2009, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' reported that the board of The National Forum had editorial oversight over ''On Line Opinion'', and had involved itself in rejecting an article that the editor had previously agreed to publish.

Political links

The owner AIP has strong links to the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other ...

. Editor Graham Young was once the vice-president of the Queensland Liberal Party. ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' reported that Young "was shown the door f the Queensland Liberalsin 2007 for "something like" bringing the party into disrepute on his well-regarded Online Opinion website."

History

''On Line Opinion'' was established in 1999 by political commentator Graham Young. In 2012, the report of the Independent Inquiry into Media and Media Regulation by former Federal Court judge Raymond Finkelstein stated that: "While the start-up costs for new print publications have been prohibitive and inhibited new enterprises emerging, the streamlining of the relationship between content producers and consumers has led to many new websites and web-based services. Among the most important such websites that have grown up in Australia over the last decade are '' Inside Story, Australian Policy Online, Online Opinion, The Drum,

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robe ...

'', and ''

New Matilda newmatilda.com, commonly known as New Matilda, is a left-wing independent Australian website of news, analysis and satire. History The website was established by John Menadue in August 2004. Its founding editor was Natasha Cica. The website is ...

''." The journal is referenced by the

Australian National Library The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

, with .Australian Public Affairs Information Service
Electronic Journals and Conferences
/ref>

Purpose

The contributors to ''On Line Opinion'' constitute a wide range of writers, including politicians, academics, and ordinary citizens with no particular public profile. Research suggested that ''On Line Opinion'' had a greater audience interactivity, but lower objectivity to comparable citizen journals. It also suggested that, in comparative terms, publication within ''On Line Opinion'' is more timely than is the case with other citizen journals. Graham Readfern suggests ''On Line Opinion'' has given a platform to several climate science deniers.

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{Cite web, date=2003–2019, title=About On Line Opinion, url=https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/display.asp?page=about, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619174805/https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/display.asp?page=about, archive-date=2020-06-19, website=onlineopinion.com.au {{Cite web, date=2020, title=On Line Opinion Author Index, url=https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622170701/https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp, archive-date=2020-06-22, website=onlineopinion.com.au {{Cite web, date=2014-11-01, title=Historical details for ABN 67 101 843 396, url=https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=67101843396, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.today/AiD3x, archive-date=2020-06-25, website=Australian Business Register {{Cite web, date=2019, title=On line opinion lectronic resourceurl=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4395745, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620191741/http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4395745, archive-date=2017-06-20, website=Australian National Library Catalogue {{Cite news, last=Duffy, first=Michael, date=2009-03-20, title=Many voices in a net spread thin, url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/many-voices-in-a-net-spread-thin-20090320-94dk.html, url-access=limited, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.today/6bEsQ, archive-date=2020-06-25, work=The Sydney Morning Herald, publisher=Fairfax {{Cite news, last=Houghton, first=Des, date=2014-10-31, title=Free radicals rally to challenge the Left, url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-free-radicals-rally-to-australian-institute-of-progress-to-challenge-the-left/story-fnihsr9v-1227108841731, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.today/4WCMC, archive-date=2020-06-21, work=

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northe ...

, publisher=News Corp Australia, location=Qld. {{Cite web, last=Readfearn, first=Graham, date=2017-11-22, title=The climate science denial promoters behind Queensland's energy scare election headlines, url=https://reneweconomy.com.au/climate-science-denial-promoters-behind-queenslands-energy-scare-election-headlines-49474/, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.today/uMAbT, archive-date=2020-06-25, website=RenewEconomy {{Cite web, last=School of Law, date=2020-06-19, title=The Australian Institute for Progress Ltd v The Electoral Commission of Queensland & Ors

020 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

QSC 54, url=https://law.uq.edu.au/research/our-research/human-and-civil-rights/human-rights-case-law/australian-institute-progress-ltd-v-electoral-commission-queensland-ors-2020-qsc-54, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.today/FRYeR, archive-date=2020-07-01, website=

The University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

{{Cite news, last=Walker, first=Jamie, date=2018-07-21, title=LNP at 10 is imperfect but it's here to stay, url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/inquirer/lnp-at-10-is-imperfect-but-its-here-to-stay/news-story/422b93c41d71f28706f129435a768417, url-access=subscription, access-date=2020-06-25, work=

, publisher=News Corp *{{cite web , title=Tony Abbott's Support Page , url=https://m.facebook.com/Conservative001/posts/auspol-tonyabbott-turncoattraitorthe-lnp-merger-was-the-biggest-mistake-ever-and/1821569401244021/ , archive-url=http://archive.today/2vE0M , archive-date=2020-06-25 , url-status=live , website=Facebook {{Cite news, last=Baker, first=Richard, date=2009-07-15, title=Net journal cans Turnbull story, url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/net-journal-cans-turnbull-story-20090715-dli5.html, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.today/8Jav8, archive-date=2020-06-25, work=

, publisher=Fairfax, url-access=limited {{Cite journal, last1=Taylor, first1=A., last2=Cokley, first2=J., date=2013, title=How citizen journalism websites are working in Australia: news and discussion, url=http://ejournalist.com.au/v13n2/TaylorCokley.pdf, url-status=dead, journal=Ejournalist: A Refereed Media Journal, volume=13, issue = 2, page=12, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510143356/http://ejournalist.com.au/v13n2/TaylorCokley.pdf, archive-date=2017-05-10 Open-access archives Social sciences literature Australian political websites