The politics of punditry

Milne has also made an impact as a purveyor of stories from the Costello camp. Again his anonymous sources have been able to show how a recent development was really a triumph for Costello or that it was time for the Liberal party to turn to Costello. With the Liberals in government these stories have attracted great attention (although not always to Costello’s political advantage), but such scoops are going to be merely quaint curiosities once Costello is in the wilderness of opposition.

This article has looked mainly at examples from within Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited, the most politicised of news organisations. It raises the larger question of where Murdoch’s allegiance will go in the coming election. There is sometimes journalistic commentary on how politicians come courting Murdoch, but less about Murdoch’s need to court politicians.

Murdoch needs to be seen as on the winning side and many of his changes in editorial support over recent decades owe much to this. While posing as the creator of bandwagons, his publications have more often been followers rather than setters of political fashion.

At the moment his tabloid papers are still feral in their anti-Labor appetites, and it will be interesting to see whether - if Labor’s poll numbers hold up through the campaign - the Murdoch press will try to jump aboard before polling day. Publicly Murdoch has rediscovered coyness and refused to make any comment, saying he will leave it to his Australian editors. The self-image they present as being the people’s champions will be rather dented if the people vote the other way.

Apart from journalistic posturing, being on the winning side is also important to Murdoch’s corporate lobbying. When a result seems clear, prudent interest groups start positioning themselves to live with the new reality. This may partly explain recent behaviour by Telstra and Archbishops Pell and Jensen. Murdoch’s media interests are so intertwined with government that a sympathetic ear in regulatory and policy matters is crucially important to him. As he knows very well, a government that has won without his support, or even worse in the face of strong opposition from him, is likely to need more persuading.