Is the Labor leadership issue a bizarre beat-up entirely confected by the news media? Certainly not. Is it an unstable and shifting situation, which may lead to a challenge, and which is notoriously difficult to report? Absolutely.
Lenore Taylor, Sydney Morning Herald
In response to claims that the media is whipping up a frenzy over the Labor party’s leadership, some journalists have raised their heads above the parapet to defend their profession. Lenore Taylor of the Sydney Morning Herald is one, insisting that the seemingly basis speculation in fact reflects an inherently complex, fast-moving political situation. While Kevin Rudd doesn’t have the numbers for a challenge, Julia Gillard also can’t count on having a solid base of support either. There is a large bloc of potentially swinging MPs who are willing to consider alternatives — whether it is Rudd or somebody else.
Still, there’s something wrong with this picture. Taylor asserts that the rapid change in momentum in 2010, from Rudd to Gillard, made a coup inevitable. But momentum doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is fuelled by media coverage. That is precisely the intent of the Rudd camp — to use the media to create the appearance that Gillard is toast, and that Rudd in turn is the only viable option to succeed her. For journalists, there should be a difference between objectively reporting facts and allowing yourself to be a central tool that drives the story. Much of the recent coverage seems to be far closer to the latter than the former.
The unnamed sources briefing journalists may be senior, well-informed and largely reliable. It doesn’t mean they’re not playing the media for fools though.
