This Saturday March 22 New South Wales voters will go to the polls to either re-elect Labor’s Bob Carr or try out a new leader, the Liberal Party’s John Brogden. Opinion polls have Carr’s Labor party out in front as the weekend looms.
Both leaders and their candidates have been on the media circuit promoting themselves this week, but in the past few days have found it hard to get air-time for state issues in the face of war news.
Because of the amount of air time available, radio has assumed greater importance to candidates, who have found their stories being pushed further back into the later pages of the newspapers and lower down in TV news bulletins.
ABC702, 2UE and 2GB have been covering the election in detail, as you would expect from talk stations, but candidates have also been heard on stations like Triple M and 2DAY, where Brogden and Carr were interrogated by the various breakfast crews and spoke to some callers. Bob Carr had to keep his sense of humour in the face of witty yet well informed questions from Wendy Harmer.
Radio advertising has also been used extensively by both sides in their media advertising mix. Some witty send-up songs have been part of the radio ad campaign.
On election night 2GB will mount live coverage between 6-11pm with Alan Jones heading up OB from the Tally room floor. Secial comments will include Peter Debnam, Liberal and John Della Bosca, Labour. Sponsorship of the coverage has been taken by the Australian Financial Review. 2GB has also reinstated the ‘Sundown Rundown’ in Philip Clark’s drive program which will now be heard between 6pm and 6.30pm weeknights, followed by SportsZone at 6.30.
2UE will also be at the Tally Room with a program hosted by breakfast Presenter Steve Price and afternoon presenter John Stanley. Both Price and Stanley have had extensive experience as reporters covering State Elections in the past. They will be joined by a panel of commentators from both sides of politics.
ABC702 will also be live from the tally room floor from 6.10pm on election night. Sally Loane and Trevor Thompson will co-host the broadcast on ABC Local Radio NSW and ABC News Radio. ABC Radio News’ John Thompson will also be providing updates and key figures on the half hour and ABC Radio News reporters Nino Tesoreiro and Jean Kennedy will be on the floor of the tally room filing stories. Radio Current Affairs department will also mount special coverage the following day.