Yesterday we launched the WA campaign for the Australian Sex Party. A good result; we got coverage in the daily paper, the talk radio station and two of three commercial TV stations.
I was struck by the high level of engagement by the media people who attended. Much nodding of heads when we spoke about 25 years of ludicrous censorship laws, the power of very conservative people in parliament and the need for more secular people to stand for election.
I asked Fiona Patten, the party leader, if this was typical of the response as she travelled the country and she said it was very much the case. It seems if the election were confined to members of the media, the Sex Party would form Government.
Why are the media (privately) so positive about the Sex Party? Clearly they are among the most politically engaged people in society. It would be interesting to test the proposition and research what is driving this. Here are my own speculations on the subject.
* People who have close access to what really goes on are not impressed by the nature of two party politics in Australia. This would follow naturally from cynicism in the media.
* The media, like the Sex Party, are frustrated that Australia lags in progressive social policy. This would result from idealism; another problem known to affect the media.
* The media dislike the narrow agenda that results from following the major parties. This would result from boredom :p
I think it would be a great tactic for one of the networks (and for our democracy) to publicly declare a Major Party Blackout Week during the election campaign and see what issues emerge. I suspect they would develop a far more interesting agenda and alter the course of the election.
Chances are slim. Today was the drawing of the ballot in all electorates; the only opportunity before the election for the media to gather all the candidates together in each constituency. In my electorate, Swan, no-one from the media attended. Neither did any media attend the draw of the Senate. They were all out following Julia Gillard. Boy, does that work – flying around the country visiting towns/cities for fractions of a day! The media might not like it, but they lap it up.
Somehow an image of members of the press nodding sagely over important issues does not sound credible. I say bullshit. I thought they were the main problem, not frustrated democrats. The idea of the press pack thinking seriously about anything, leads me to believe you are yanking someone’s chain.
I grew up knowing many people in the media and they incline towards cynicism but they care, have higher standards generally than the mainstream and they want society to improve. But then I think that about politicians too. In both cases the individuals are constrained by the nature of the institutions but there are people who rise above that.
Also, I think you have to be careful tossing a whole profession into one character vat. Are all nurses saints? Are all accountants diligent? Are all engineers without emotion?