Week 9: The Speaker Squabble: the sparring continues

2 articles: SMH & ABC

http://www.smh.com.au/national/no-end-to-speaker-squabble-20100926-15rz6.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/26/3022207.htm

I can’t resist articles with an adversarial slant, but these two articles were so full of combative comment between the government and opposition on the issue of parliamentary Speaker arrangements it was almost overkill. That isn’t to suggest, however, that either article was inflating the issue, and weren’t merely reporting the goings-on. No - the content of both articles is extremely indicative of the relationship the government shares with the opposition: a fraught one.

We endured their squabbling in the lead up to, during, and after the election. For a while I found the back-and-forth insults hurled between both sides captivating. I’m not so sure anymore.

The SMH article starts with PM Gillard likening Abbott to a “bull in a China shop” for reneging on parliamentary reform. It then jumps to reassurances by Christopher Pyne (opposition), to accusations by Anthony Albanese (Labor), finger-pointing from Pyne, a denial by Albanese, more criticism from Pyne, and culminating in imputations from deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop. My head was spinning.

In terms of standout quotes, Pyne hit the nail on the head with: "It's a bit of an arcane debate for the public”. His comment that the pairing of speakers would be similar to “asking a Collingwood player from yesterday's grand final to play for St Kilda next week” injected some (needed) humour.

In relation to content, there isn’t much to differentiate the ABC article, and it has all the same players: Gillard, Pyne, Albanese and Bishop. However there is less jumping around and a steadier, more concise flow.

ABC utilised fitting quotes displaying the hostility. Pyne refers to politics as a “battlefield”, and Gillard’s frustration is palpable: “Mr Abbott says 'my job is to be a wrecker'… That's all he wants to do - smash things, trash things, break them up."

The article ends with the revelation that Gillard and her partner have finally moved into The Lodge after delays. However it left me thinking: human interest or irrelevant?

Nevertheless, I preferred the ABC article. Its extensive multimedia on the issue is impressive, and photos brightened up the story. SMH have included a short video, but they have disappointed me of late with their lack of multimedia - something online articles ignore at their own peril.

Week 5 - Labor's Campaign Launch

2 articles: ABC and news.com.au - 16/08/10

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/16/2983933.htm

http://www.news.com.au/features/federal-election/julia-gillard-launches-labor-campaign-in-brisbane/story-e6frfllr-1225905777085

There were multiple articles in the news covering Labor’s campaign launch today but these two, which compared Julia Gillard’s slogan “Yes, we will” to Barack Obama’s “Yes, we can”, caught my eye.

The ABC News article documented the events at the launch, with more than half of the article referring to Gillard’s speech. It also pointed out that the campaign was low-key, that Gillard did not mention the war in Afghanistan nor foreign affairs, and that only a passing mention was made to climate change.

Quirky quotes by Bob Hawke - likening the election to a horse race - and by Wayne Swan form the latter part of the article. A mention of Gillard’s partner’s attendance ends the story on a light note.

A wealth of related multimedia is provided via a photo slideshow containing photos from the campaign launch, a video, two radio clips, two related stories and a link to special election coverage. There is also a comments section.

Unlike the ABC article, the news.com.au story offers a link to Gillard’s full campaign speech transcript. The news.com.au article is longer and more comprehensive, including more coverage and quotes from the event. It also mentions the nominal reference made by Gillard to climate change, but also quotes The Greens’ critical response. This, along, with a comparison to The Liberals’ campaign launch, inject more vitality into the article.

The news.com.au article ends strongly with the latest poll results. In terms of multimedia, there is a vast amount – links to related coverage, multiple hyperlinks throughout connecting to election-related articles and information, a photo slideshow, a video, and most strikingly a “Vote A-Matic 2.0”. This quiz feature requires readers to answer 15 questions and then reveals, via percentage points, which political parties they are most and least likely to vote for. The quiz may be unscientific but it is entertaining, allows readers to linger on the page and I found my results to be accurate!

I believe the news.com.au article to be more engaging for an online medium. The comments section, with over 300 comments from readers, is testament to the popularity of the article.