Sunday, May 22, 2011

Reporting on the NBN - a local perspective

Just back from Canberra, something that I will write a full post on. But for now, I want to introduce you to a most wonderful post  providing a very particular and personal country journalistic context to a major national event.

In NBN & Armidale, I talked about the mainland launch in Armidale of the new National Broadband Network.

I have mentioned Janene Carey before. She is a very good writer living in Armidale who works part time for the Armidale Express. Some of her pieces have achieved national coverage.

This piece on her personal blog, Covering the PM's visit to Armidale on Wednesday May 18, gives a particular local perspective on the national media caravan as it hits a particular area. I quote just one para: 

At the press conference, I was struck by the boldness of the young female reporters, particularly one sporting jeans and long hair with an insouciant I'm-not-impressed-by-you attitude and no qualms at all about asking questions designed to be confrontational. I asked no questions myself - I just took notes, and the criticisms and responses became one of my stories. The only question I did consider asking - do you all (the panel was Gillard, Conroy, Windsor, Quigley) - see the NBN as an important legacy of your time in office? - seemed too nice, too polite, almost a Dorothy Dixer. Given the negative tone of what had been posed previously, I thought it would probably be greeted with howls of derision. I did try it on Windsor as he left, but he was rushing to catch up with the rest of the gang and seemed wary of sounding immodest and claiming too much credit for himself.

Do have a look at the full post. It's really quite funny while providing insights into the media circus. I suppose that it points (among other things) to the difference between reporting, telling a story, and reporting, creating to story.  

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