Barely 10 years ago, the dynamics of the government/public relationship was such that the Prime Minister neither lifted nor depressed the party vote very much, says Possum Comitatus. But with the rise of PR-driven politics, just check out the charts now…
Political journalism
McManus out as Herald Sun ’streamlines’ its politics
Herald Sun political reporter, Gerard McManus, has left News Limited amid mutterings of discontent in the Canberra Press Gallery, with their political coverage being “streamlined”. Or, downgraded.
Watching the slow death of traditional political TV, part 1
Is traditional political television dying? Have the likes of Insiders and the Laurie Oakes interview been left behind by new media and canny politicians? Bernard Keen weighs-in in the first of a two-part series.
Pollies: please just answer the question
Politicians are experts at ignoring questions and spinning answers to their own agenda. It irritates journalists, and more importantly, frustrates voters, writes Leigh Sales.
Lies: the constant of journalist-politician relations
Lies and politics go hand in hand and they’re the bane of political journalists’ lives. But was Malcolm Turnbull’s lie about Labor politicians wanting him in the ALP calculating or just delusional? asks Chris Wallace.
Elections slip out of newspapers
Australia’s newspapers have a problem: over the last three decades, there’s been a marked decline in front-page coverage of federal elections, according to research released yesterday.
Courier Mail journos can’t get the facts right
Why are Ministers dodging talking to the Brisbane Courier-Mail and putting answers in writing? Because the Courier’s journos regularly get facts wrong, writes a former QLD government spinner.
Peter Costello: My Part In His Downfall, by Glenn Milne
Glenn Milne’s latest re-telling of the story behind the story behind the story of the Howard-Costello agreement shows up some of the basic problems of the cloistered world of federal political journalism, writes Bernard Keane.
How the pundits got it oh so wrong on Afghanistan
Crikey / Jeff Sparrow / Monday, 7 September 2009
Given the almost universal recognition that the Afghanistan campaign has become a bloody mess, it’s worth revisiting some of the pundits who initially sold us the war.