Leaders hold up well as week-long party keeps the media monsters at bay
July 18, 2008
This article written by Stephen Mayne appeared on The Age on November 9, 2002.
The key media players in the 2002 Victorian election are not much different from those who reported and analysed the 1999 contest.
774 ABC's Jon Faine and 3AW's Neil Mitchell are the two most important voices on radio, providing depth that television news can only dream about. Faine is planning at least five head-to-head policy debates; forums that will test relatively unknown shadow ministers.
It was odd that Mitchell did not turn up to work on Monday when the election was called. In week one, he devoted less time to the election than Faine.
In a short campaign, Virginia Trioli could lose eight full programs to the cricket during her ABC 774 drive shift, giving rivals Stan Zemanek and Jeff Kennett a real opening.
Election 2002 has given Kennett the chance to revive his disappointing 3AK radio career. And he began well, providing excellent insight into the thinking of both leaders and giving airtime to previous enemies such as independent MP Russell Savage.
3AW is missing Steve Price's insights in the drive shift. His replacement, Zemanek, seems confused about local issues and is already siding decisively with the Liberals. "They're all mad," was one of his recent observations about the ALP, although Police Minister Andre Haermeyer got good exposure on his program this week.
The key television reporters are familiar faces. Seven's Brendan Donohoe is doing his fourth straight election and is again up against his former boss, David Broadbent, on Nine, and Gareth Boreham on 10. The only change from 1999 is ABC television's Michael Magazanik, who was covering state politics for The Australian.
Bracks won the opening week on television. Tuesday morning's flying visit to Kyneton yielded warm TV vision, mingling with voters, while Robert Doyle could offer only racetrack pictures.
The Age relies on state editor Ewin Hannan, who covered the 1992 and 1996 campaigns for The Australian. The Herald Sun's state politics reporter, John Ferguson, is covering his first Victorian campaign.
The Age and the Herald Sun have the same editors as in 1999, in Michael Gawenda and Peter Blunden.
The papers are breaking what limited fresh news is around, but it was of little consequence this week.
In a week characterised by sanitised made-for-television set pieces, last night's debate was the first chance for electors to see the leaders uninterrupted.
Bracks got great mileage from Wednesday's strategically important logging policy, considering most of the bans won't come into effect until 2008.
After a slow start, the Liberals got their first media traction that day with their policy to abolish zone three on the public transport system, which scored well with a page three lead and colour graphic in Thursday's Herald Sun.
It was a particularly good week for the Greens. With Bob Brown in town, several media outlets gave them previously undreamt-of exposure. Why did Ten feature the Greens gambling policy as their second item on Thursday? Why were the Greens allowed to piggy-back on Kevin Chamberlin's announced candidacy as an independent in the seat of Melbourne on Wednesday?
Labor's 20-strong PR machine outguns the three-person Liberal equivalent and has enabled the government to respond swiftly to Liberal policy announcements.
Police Minister Andre Haermeyer would have been particularly pleased to turn Thursday's police numbers statement into a ``Liberal bungle" line on the high-rating Nine and Seven news, thanks to an error in the Liberal media release.
The "Dad's Army" quip from police association secretary Paul Mullet, picked up by the media in response to the Liberals' policy of re-employing retired police, also showed how a clever line can cut through a pedestrian campaign.
So far, both leaders have performed well. The media monster has been kept at bay. But as the state returns to normal after a week-long party in the sun, the pressure will build and we could yet see a repeat of the 1999 campaign when the media played a decisive role.
* Stephen Mayne is publisher of crikey.com.au and a former Kennett government press secretary.
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