The first politician I ever worked with professionally set my standard unrealistically high.
With every interview I had as a nervous reporter, scared of not knowing the background politics of the stories I was covering, the local MP for my paper would help explain the issues to me in layman’s terms. Then he would helpfully point me in the direction of his opposition with suggestions of questions to ask.
Of course, he had an agenda and of course, the answers to his suggested questions were always going to make him look good and the opposition not so good.
But he knew how important communicating with his community through the medium of the local paper was, and that is why he was consistently successful and had such support from his electorate.
Della Bonka, I mean Bosca, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know how important getting his message across to the people through local media was.
Covering the health round for the Champion, I have found myself at a few rehearsed press conferences and strategically planned Liverpool Hospital walk-throughs with Della Bosca.
To have a chat to him, even casually and off the record, often tested my communication skills. But as soon as a TV crew was about, his demeanour would amusingly change.
He doesn’t seem to have a good track record with the media. On May 15 last year he publicly apologised for using “unacceptable language” after reportedly telling a newspaper photographer and journo to “get a real job you f****** c****”. Good one mate, way to get the media on your side.
Last week I was working on a story, in which Shadow Minister for Health Jillian Skinner had offered comment. She directly attacked Della Bosca’s efficiency as health minister and so I went to his press officer with the opportunity to reply. I was told one would be sent to me by Tuesday morning. Of course, we all know what happened to the minister on Monday night, thanks Kate Neil. What an easy way to shrug off a community reporter that was.
Some previous attempts to gain comment from Della Bosca’s office on local health issues have also been unsuccessful. Once when I told a staffer at the minister’s office that my deadline was the following morning, he replied, ‘’It probably won’t be ready by then because I’ll be too hungover.’’
Do you think he would have given the Sydney Morning Herald or the ABC this excuse?
No? And why not? Perhaps it is because you would assume they have a greater reach, a larger audience?
Big mistake.
Politicians should never underestimate the power of a community newspaper.
The Atlanta Enquirer in the USA published the results from a readership study of the top 110 African American newspapers, uncovering the powerful role the
newspapers play in their ethnic community.
The results showed that 66 per cent of readers cited their African American newspaper as their primary or only source for local news and community event information, and that only 12 per cent subscribed to a daily newspaper.
OK, I know not many of us that read the Champion are African American, but you get my drift. There are countless other studies and essays out there that suggest the power of and importance of local newspapers as news references for the communities they are written for. And I think this is especially true now that people are counting their pennies. Local papers, which get thrown on your doorstep weekly, may be more accessible and cheaper for the reader than going to the newsagent to purchase a metro daily newspaper.
And as for the pollies, well they should do their homework and remember that local papers reach local readers, ie. local voters.
What do you think of politicians that don’t give local papers comment?
Do you think all politicians have a slimy agenda, or do we have some fair dinkum ones out there working to make Australia a better place?
Do you think cabinet ministers don’t need to comment locally, and that should be the role of local MPs?
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