Articles by John Chalmers

No surprises to see Wayne Swan win the most media mentions in budget week. But Tony Abbott shaded the Prime Minister in the fight for attention.

Tony Abbott is getting almost equal media time to the PM — as if he were now de facto prime minister.

Suddenly, it seems, both sides of politics have accepted that the point of fiscal policy is to use it to help the country adapt to changing circumstance.

Tony Abbott got more print mentions than the Prime Minister this week, and that may continue as more and more Australians see him as the likely next PM.

The Greens are the model supporters of the government’s education and high-speed rail plans, but Liberal state premiers are having none of it. And what’s happened to Kevin Rudd?

Julia Gillard’s visit to China is likely to result in a jump in the polls. Plus everyone is talking about the Coalition’s broadband plan and its midwife, Malcolm Turnbull.

Labor MPs are sniping over superannuation changes, and the PM is heading to China, no doubt hoping to poll better while she’s gone.

Senior Labor MPs went down in a blaze of media coverage after they fell on their swords following the spill that wasn’t.

The media love to talk about themselves and were breathless on Labor’s proposed media reforms. But audiences gave a big shrug, more interested in a new Pope.

Even Denis Napthine could not take political oxygen away from the PM, whose widely derided Rooty Hill visit seems to have paid off.

Politicians of all parties were talking immigrants this week, but whereas the opposition was raising the spectre of dangerous asylum seekers, the Prime Minister wants 457 visa holders at the back of the jobs queue.\

Western Australian pollies are on the move, with Premier Colin Barnett back in the Top 20 and challenger Mark McGowan hanging on in the last spot.

Nick Xenophon’s aborted trip to Malaysia grabbed plenty of headlines this week. But not more than the constant media speculation over the Labor leadership.

The biggest movers in political coverage of late are ALP rising star and Justice Minister Jason Clare and Sports Minister Kate Lundy following the release of the Australian Crime Commission report into drugs in sport, itself the biggest media issue in the country last week. Incredibly, moving into third place is MP Kevin Rudd for […]

Julia Gillard named an election date — then it all went south. Craig Thomson was grabbing the headlines, and Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance had everyone talking.

Between handing out gongs and visiting disaster-hit areas, Julia Gillard was the star of the media this week. But her boyfriend tried clumsily to steal some of the spotlight.

Moving up the Sentia Media political index this week were state politicians Campbell Newman and Jay Weatherill, while Lance Armstrong nearly doubled Julia Gillard’s coverage figures thanks to his Oprah confessional.

Julia Gillard returned to the desk early and soaked up media coverage on bushfires and the royal commission. And Jenny Macklin’s gaffe won her headlines for the wrong reasons.

Julia Gillard won plenty more media mentions than Tony Abbott in 2012, but the talkback radio and social media buzz was mostly negative. Sentia Media’s index tracks the year that was.

The front runners in this week’s social media top five are a fair reflection of the year that was. As we note week after week, Kevin Rudd is not going anywhere.

It was the politics of Canberra, not the policy, which dominated media headlines, talkback radio and social media chatter this week.

Clive can pretty much do or say whatever he wants, and we think Clive likes that

Rudd’s number one but will he ever be again?

Tony Abbott was back in the top spot on the social media top five.

The Press Gallery were awfully excited to start the Parliamentary year.