Week 6: The Governor-General's Dilemma

2 articles: SMH and The Australian - 23/08/10

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/gg-seeking-advice-over-shorten-connection-20100823-13i9k.html

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/gg-seeks-advice-on-political-role-following-concerns-about-her-personal-position/story-fn59niix-1225909030637


The SMH article reveals that Governor-General Quentin Bryce is seeking advice on her connection to son-in-law Labor MP Bill Shorten, in relation to Australia’s hung parliament.

We are told that Mr Shorten is one of the Labor members behind Kevin Rudd’s dumping, and that a betting agency has him as favourite to lead Labor into the next election. Ms Bryce’s single-line statement concerning the issue is disclosed. However, the article ends weakly. To the question of whether Ms Bryce should step back from the decision-making process, SMH quotes Labor MP Richard Marles: “Far be it from me to give advice to the governor-general”. This quote merely fills space and doesn’t add to the story.

Nevertheless, this is a good article in terms of providing basic information about the situation, and excellent for readers interested in further election-related articles as there are links to an extensive amount of related material. The photo located at the top, of Bill Shorten and his wife on their wedding day, adds a human interest element. It also ends with a poll asking if the Governor-General is “too compromised to play a role in resolving the hung parliament?’, allowing readers to reflect on the issue.

The Australian’s article is twice as long but benefits from the extra content. Background is provided about the issue, and the political implications are also spelled out. Ethicist Leslie Cannold’s claim that Ms Bryce should step aside adds some edge, as do slightly heated quotes from Bill Shorten.

The article is balanced out with the opinion of Professor of Law Donald Rothwell who says he does not believe there to be a conflict of interest for the Governor-General. A lack of photos is a shortfall for The Australian piece, but the poll tracker framing the story and links to related election articles keeps it squarely within the context of the – very newsworthy - election. In my opinion The Australian’s article is more engaging due to its multifaceted content.

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.

Week 4 - Kevin Rudd's UN role

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

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/un-role-confirmed-for-rudd-20100810-11v83.html?rand=1281401227097

http://www.news.com.au/features/federal-election/kevin-rudd-lands-un-job-report/story-fn5taogy-1225903350417

The SMH story is framed by a photo of Rudd and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and a quote to the left gives a quick sense of the article. This article is succinct and to the point, with no superfluous use of content or quotes which makes for an easy read.

The lead coherently explains the article’s topic – Kevin Rudd’s new UN role – and the following paragraphs give more detail. The story weaves in relevant quotes from Ban Ki-moon, and a hyperlink connects to a story on the UN News Centre website announcing the high-level UN global sustainability panel.

Background to the issue is provided with the mention that the UN position had recently placed a question mark over Rudd’s future. There is a hyperlink to an SMH article from one month ago which documents Rudd’s trip to Washington and speculates on the prospect he will take up an international position.

Quotes from a Rudd spokesman conclude the article and answer some lingering questions. “Related Coverage” and “Top Federal Election Articles” sidebars contain links to relevant articles and give readers the opportunity to view other government and election stories.

The news.com.au article contains similar content. However, the news.com.au story does diverge slightly with its inclusion of comment from Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard. Mr Abbott’s comments provide an antagonistic element which delivers audience appeal.

The “Election 2010 Campaign Map” and “Snapshot” of the election placed around the text provide points of interest, placing the article within the context of the election. As the election is very newsworthy, this is a smart move. All “Related Coverage” in the sidebar refers to Rudd or Labor. There is also scope for reader comments.

I believe that both articles were packaged well and the inclusion of additional multimedia content – such as photos, hyperlinks, linked coverage and election information – work very well to capture readers in the online domain.

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.

MDIA5003 - Online & Mobile Media

This is a blog I have created for my MDIA5003 course as part of my Master of Journalism & Communication degree at UNSW. The purpose of this blog is to track online news articles and briefly analyse why the stories work - or why they don't - in an online environment. I have chosen hard news with a focus on politics as the style of the news articles I will be following over the coming weeks.
This is the first time I have used a blog so hopefully I will get the hang of it soon!