Aunty, context and narrative selection

As I woke on Sunday morning, May 3, and was preparing for my regular bicycle ride with a group of friends, I checked the news overnight and discovered, yet again to my dismay, how the ABC really sees the world and how, as journalism éminence grise Michael Gawenda put it, how political activism is the new not-journalism.

That weekend, a very important Victorian state by-election was held, testing the Liberals vs One Nation vs independents. That was a story about real votes, real consequences and real impact on Australian politics. It was listed 14th on the ABC news feed.

Meanwhile, a Gaza flotilla story – effectively a fringe international PR stunt – was elevated near the top of the feed. It appeared as the fifth ABC news story.

That is not a marginal call. That is editorial judgement, and it’s wrong.

By any serious standard of newsworthiness – proximity, consequence, relevance – the by-election matters more to Australians. With a Victorian state election looming in November, by-elections are a litmus test of voting intention and determine political priorities.