On the campaign trail: How small media players are iced out
With the federal election campaign in full swing, both major party leaders have hit the road to vie for the votes of Australians from all around the country. And they’ve both got a pack of journalists in tow, watching their every move.
The campaigns direct where journalists stay, despite the bill being picked up by the outlets themselves, resulting in some interesting dynamics (not to mention independent outlets being substantially locked out of the campaign owing to the cost involved). Notably, journalists and editors aren’t told where these stays might be, or how much they’ll cost.
Neither campaign responded to inquiries from Crikey, nor requests for the schedules so far. But there have been some hints from the journalists embedded within the respective press packs.
The Dutton campaign has stayed in a variety of ritzy hotels. One source told Crikey that the campaign had stayed at the following hotels over the first week:
- W Brisbane
- Fullerton Sydney
- W Brisbane (again)
- Park Hyatt Melbourne
- Pan Pacific Perth
- W Sydney
- Hilton Darwin
- Ritz-Carlton Melbourne
- Marriott Liverpool
The Ritz-Carlton in Melbourne was heard to be a welcome stopover on the schedule, given the hectic nature of touring alongside a campaigning opposition leader. SBS’ Naveen Razik posted a “GRWM” [Get ready with me] video at the hotel, noting that it was no holiday: “Not many junkets start with a 4am wake-up call”.
The ABC’s Isobel Roe also described the gruelling work schedule for journalists on the campaign bus, posting on LinkedIn that it involved “19 hour days with barely any food [which] really pushed reporters to their limits”.
“In just a week the Dutton campaign traversed four states and a dozen or so electorates, with reporters told almost nothing about where or when we were going,” she wrote.
Transport arrangements are equally notable. A source told Crikey that the chartered flights have been managed by the Royal Australian Air Force and that the charges sent back to the various media outlets for each leg of the hectic journey were comparable to economy airfares.
The planes have tended to be narrow-body Fokker 70s (compared with previous campaigns, which often started on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules).
The price tag of all of this is exorbitant and charged back to major outlets with the ability to cover those costs. Crikey asked the ABC what the cost per day was to embed a reporter with a campaign, and how much it cost the national broadcaster to embed reporters on the last federal election, but didn’t hear back.
One estimate from a source at a media company (which negotiates discounted bulk accommodation rates) pinned the cost at just over $1,000 per reporter per day to cover this election.
Some sources explained the costs are difficult to estimate with a number of variables, including the seniority of embedded reporters as well as the fact that most embedded journalists don’t necessarily spend the entirety of an election campaign with one particular candidate.
The campaign still has just under a month to go, with the leaders set to continue jet-setting around the country.
Have something to say about this article? Write to us at [email protected]. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
