ABSTRACT
Media coverage is always important for political parties. In this brief chapter, the way the party leaders were covered by the media and the news frames used by reporters are discussed, along with the role of election “debates.” The news media in all its platform variations had a significant role in the 2022 Australian federal election. Not only did it report and comment on the campaign, but individual journalists played an active role through their gotcha-questioning interventions and their campaign news framing. So, too, did analyses of the campaign by senior commentators. The chapter discusses how four basic news frames were applied to the two major party leaders before and during the campaign: image, competency, positive, and negative.
The chapter ends with an argument that although they do not hold the balance of power, the combined first preference votes for the Teals and other independents across ten House of Representatives seats almost equalled those of the two major parties who suffered historic falls in their primary votes. That result has meant a slim majority for Labor in the House of Representatives based on preference flows, and devastation for the Liberals, whose Coalition partner, the Nationals, maintained their position. This new political architecture in Australia has ended the tight control over political issues debates inside and outside Parliament traditionally held by the major parties.
