Ipolitical Robot

The modern-day politician is no longer seen as human. They are more robotic than ever as they serve up the same old lines ripped straight from a politically dull script which they've rehearsed until word perfect. What happened to our great political orators - the Whitlams, the Keatings and even the Costellos? These days, is there anybody that makes you even remotely interested in politics?

All the blame shouldn't fall on the shoulders of our politicians. Some responsibility must fall on the media who have created the 24 hour media cycle and social media tools like Twitter are part of the problem. 

Last week while in Canberra I was lucky enough  to talk with Anthony Byrne - Federal Member of Parliament for the Victorian seat of Holt. Among the many things we discussed, we talked about how politics had changed since he entered parliament 13 years ago. He said the biggest impact on politics had been the creation of the 24 hour media cycle. 

In Byrne's view, once upon a time there were six daily media cycles (3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon/evening). But now because of social media tools and technology, the media cycle is never ending. Politicians who were once willing to let their guards down in public are now cautious not to get caught out making a mistake.

Byrne says that even though the media now crave 'natural' politicians, the media are still hungrier than ever to slap them down if they make a mistake. This situation has created the stage-managed spectacle that is modern day politics.

What is more worrying is if we follow the path that's been set in the United States. Both the Democrats and Republicans employ staffers to follow the opposing party's candidates around 24 hours a day with a video camera. This is done in the hope that they catch that election winning 'foot-in-mouth moment' some politicians deliver.

So the next time you hear another robotic politician speaking, maybe you'll understand why they don't freelance....

How to survive doing a live blog...

It’s US election season folks, and even though we’re ‘Down Under’ it’s hard not to get swept up in the drama and excitment of the world’s biggest marketing campaign. It’s the Presidential Election race of course.

This week was the Democrats (Obama’s party) turn to host their convention and these things aren’t your average weekend get-togethers with mints in the middle of a table. It’s more like a rock concert with politics thrown in. Think Foo-fighters. Think 20,000 screaming people waving signs. Think world-wide coverage. Think George Clooney. Now you’ve got the idea. 

So in the spirit of this week’s lecture on live blogging, I thought I’d have a go at covering the final night of the convention using Twitter. To begin with, it sounded so easy but trust me, the novelty soon wears thin. So this is what I learnt from my first stint as a live blogger – 

1.       Pick a short event – WOW, who would have thought that politicians loved talking so much? If you can choose an event to live blog, pick something quick like a 50 metre swimming event (unless ‘Eric the Eel’ is swimming) instead of an all day event like I foolishly did 

2.       Be prepared – Live blogging is intense and draining. Chances are you won’t want to move from your seat in case there are important developments. Therefore have food, water and damp towels to wipe your forehead at the ready. To complicate things, as a result of consuming food and water, chances are nature will call so use a portable device to blog (e.g. Ipad) because it’s hard to carry a desktop computer to the loo!

3.       Do stretches – No matter what type of device you use, by the end of your live blogging session you’ll have the hands of an 80-year-old. To avoid this, have a rest and stretch those fingertips.

4.       You don’t have to be on the spot to be ‘Johnny on the spot’– I was watching the convention on the internet thousands of kilometres away from Charlotte. Yet I broke the news on Twitter that Barack Obama had accepted his party’s nomination before the New York Times correspondent who was based at the convention did.  Most big events now have their own live web feeds, so use them. 

5.       Don’t get caught up in the moment –I fell into the trap of blogging nearly every statement Vice President Joe Biden made because I got fired up about it. Don’t do it - even if you’re passionate about the subject take a step back. Yes it’s hard but remember you’re a journalist, not Alan Jones or Kyle Sandilands who gets paid for their opinion. Be objective and try to make readers feel like they’re at the event themselves. 

6.       If watching an event online, DON’T do it at QUT because chances are you’ll exhaust your internet quota.....

  

See my full live blogging coverage on Twitter  @TayBunnag