Week 3 - Julia Gillard's Family Benefits Policy Announcement

2 articles: The Australian and SMH - 02/08/10

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/people-in-politics/julia-gillard-unveils-668m-family-payment-boost-in-bid-to-keep-teens-at-school/story-fn5oa9i5-1225899932518

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/society/gillard-pledges-boost-to-family-benefits-20100802-11286.html

The Australian and SMH both covered Prime Minister Julia Gillard's announcement on Monday of an increase to family payments, intended to encourage children to stay in school.

A large photo of Ms Gillard features at the beginning of The Australian's article, under which a sub-heading conveys a quick summary of her policy and the article's purpose. These elements captured my attention immediately, which is extremely important in an online environment.

The article places the newly announced measures within the context of existing government policy, and uses statistics to outline the significance of the changes. Quotes are well placed throughout, and a seamless transition to a related education issue is also achieved.

The article flows smoothly toward the ending, which is rounded off with an interesting quote by Ms Gillard about her father. This lightens up the article and appeals to a human interest angle.

A comments section is situated under the article, and additional features include a side bar with related coverage, a poll results tracker framing the top of the story, and the option for readers to share the story over social media sites.

The slightly shorter SMH article approaches the story from a different angle, focusing more on the budgetary implications of the new policy. The article tends to be repetitive with its information and quotes – Gillard’s claim that not “one cent” would be added to the budget bottom line is mentioned three times. This undermines the impact - unfortunate for such a short article.

However, the article’s inclusion of quotes by Tony Abbott lends an adversarial angle to the story which adds some interest. A side bar links to related coverage, but there is no comments section or photos.

I believe the article in The Australian is more engaging for an online medium. It presents the story as a package – the photo and poll tracker are visual drawcards, and the comments section allows readers to linger on the page. The SMH article’s redeeming factor is that it is quite short, which is often an advantage for online stories.