Week 10: "GI Julia" visits troops

2 articles: The Herald Sun & The Daily Telegraph

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/prime-minister-julia-gillard-visits-afghanistan/story-e6frf7l6-1225933363986

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/gi-julia-gillard-surprises-afghan-front-line/story-e6freuy9-1225933509982

The Herald Sun features a picture of Gillard as we’ve never seen her before – in army helmet and flak jacket - during her “whirlwind”, “gruelling”, “high-profile” “surprise” trip to the “war-torn” nation to visit “embattled” Afghan President Karzai and Aussie troops.

The adjective-rich Herald Sun story by Mark Kenny about Gillard’s visit to Afghanistan emphasises that public sentiment is turning against Australian involvement in the war. We are told Gillard assured forces that their role is in the “national interest” and that it’s been “a really hard year, a really hard few months”. This quote provides an opening which the Herald Sun disappointingly doesn’t utilise – no figures on Australian troop numbers, or recent troop casualties, are provided. (It’s a shame the article did not divulge this important and highly relevant information, but considering the article highlighted increasing public disapproval with Australia’s involvement, maybe skipping this information was deliberate?)

However a link to a short Sky News video filled in some gaps, revealing that the roughly 1,500 Australian troops in Afghanistan are to be withdrawn within four years. Links to other articles on the war are provided.

Kenny is also writer for The Daily Telegraph’s significantly shorter story. It contains very similar, but more compact and succinct, content. Extra details are disclosed – the 21 Australian troop casualties, and that Gillard’s trip was kept secret for “security reasons”.

I’d describe the accompanying multimedia as voluminous: the “multimedia showcase” is extensive - even disproportionate - for such a tiny article. So while last week I lamented a shortfall in multimedia (SMH article), this week I’m bemoaning the excessive multimedia in the Telegraph. But I believe that for multimedia to be effective, it should always be well-placed and appropriate.

17 comments under the Telegraph’s article indicates less hits than the 69 for the Herald - could this be because readers were too overwhelmed by all the multimedia to comment (or even read the article)?!

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.