The quality of Australian political reporting is “shallow horse race coverage”, according to the launch editor for POLITICO’s push into Canberra.
Ryan Heath, the former editorial director for global growth at the US news website, is set to launch the firm’s Canberra Playbook on Monday and has promised a new style of political reporting that will shake-up both Parliament House and the Australian media, and serve as a morning briefing to public servants and political staff.
The Playbook newsletter represents a significant investment in Australia, with a reported staff of 15 being lined up and key reporters already poached from The Australian Financial Review, Capital Brief and The Canberra Times.
“You know, we’re not trying to be a better version of the Financial Review,” he told Central News. “We’re trying to look at power and policy with a different sort of lens.
“What is true is that people don’t often think that the policy element of it is sexy and dramatic. So you get a lot of this good, but ultimately shallow horse race coverage between Albo and Angus Taylor, and Pauline Hanson, or the polling between the parties.
“I think we just missed some of the other stuff. And that’s not to say, there isn’t great Australian journalism, there really is … but I do think there are other ways to look at all of this money being spent, all of these challenges the country faces.”
Heath, an Australian who launched a similar Playbook in Brussels in 2015, said the newsletter would be a different take on Australian politics, “putting faces to processes” and “the many, many, layers” of democracy in Australia.
We haven’t been given access to any office space … and that’s deeply disappointing because there are four empty offices in the press gallery.
“The coverage here in Canberra is very focused on Parliament House, and much less on who’s running the government departments, and what decisions they’re making with the money,” he added.
“Why did we get this massive class of consultants, and all these scandals that came with it? There were reasons and stories behind that.”
But the reception in Canberra to POLITICO’s foray into the national capital has so far been less than welcoming despite its pulling power in the US and Europe.
“You do get a lot of positive positivity and people who’ve read it in America or Europe and are excited about the idea of being part of that,” Heath said. “And then you have some people who just don’t return your emails and calls.
“We haven’t been given access to any office space by the Department of Parliamentary Services. And that’s deeply disappointing because there are four empty offices in the press gallery. So, it does feel like a department that is not making an effort.
“I’ve met a lot of amazing people who make the building happen, but the disregard with which our request for office space has been treated is very noticeable.”
Speaking to Central News, Crikey Media Reporter Daanyal Saeed said that despite little fanfare, POLITICO’s Australia launch was a significant commitment for the global publication.
“That’s an enormous investment, from a salary perspective,” said Saeed, speaking on the potential size of POLITICO’s newsroom which The Australian reported would have as many as 15 reporters and eventually be expanded to Sydney and Melbourne.
“My understanding is there’s quite a few roles, and that is, in my view, very positive. I guess, for the Australian landscape, there’s jobs going, people are getting fired, left and right, so the more competition, the more money in the Australian market, the better.”
We will be one of the biggest reporting teams here in Canberra and that they will have to deal with us.
Saeed added that backing from parent company Axel Springer would be a significant factor in the sustainability of POLITICO’s Australia presence.
“The good thing about foreign money is that it’s not reliant on the Australian ad market,” he said.
Founded in 2007, POLITICO’s original Playbook covered politics and policy in Washington, later expanding across the EU with similarly styled newsletters based in Brussels, London and Berlin.
Joining Heath in POLITICO’S Australian office will be Paul Karp, the former NSW political editor at the AFR, as Canberra Playbook editor, Capital Brief’s Finn McHugh and Miriam Webber of the Canberra Times.
“That doesn’t quite make it an Australian publication, but it means there’s a good, strong Australian DNA inside the company,” Heath said.
“They (Canberra’s mandarins) will in time learn that we will be one of the biggest reporting teams here in Canberra and that they will have to deal with us,” said Heath.
Central News contacted the Department of Parliamentary Services for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.
Main photo of Ryan Heath supplied, montage made using Canva.
