ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on three formats which have captured a significant amount of attention as hybrid political media, and which do not fit easily into normative definitions of news or current affairs broadcasting. The first is The Project – a prime time news/talk hybrid which has aired on Channel Ten since 2009, with great ratings success. The second, Kitchen Cabinet, blends politics and cooking, and features political journalist Annabel Crabb in conversation over a meal made by a prominent politician. The third is Gruen Nation, notionally a satirical/light entertainment program, but one that specifically addresses how Australian political parties and leaders communicate and engage with the public as voters and citizens. One of the key trends since the 1990s, however, has been the shift in Australia and comparable democracies such as the United States to open up that discussion to 'outsiders' who are not conventionally knowledgeable about the minutiae of democratic processes and political strategy.
