No matter where you’re reporting or what your role in the newsroom is, it’s almost a certainty you will have to cover some form of political story. From minor funding announcements to uncovering major scandals, there’s always something happening in the political realm which will require your attention.
So, when it comes to holding those in power to account, how do you do it?
Bridget Rollason shares her tips.
As soon as you get the politics round, or start a job in a new region, set up as many meetings as possible – with all of the local MPs, unions, political groups, experts on local issues and anybody involved in the political sphere. If you’ve seen a name pop up in reporting on local issues, it’s worth seeing who they are and getting in touch.
That’s everything on the politics round. Contacts are just vital.
And building contacts is as easy as simply asking people to catch up for a coffee.
Even if these contacts aren’t sending you groundbreaking news tips, just getting familiar with them means that if they are involved in a newsworthy issue they will be more inclined to chat openly with you when you get in touch.
Don’t be afraid to cold-call people, even ministers and MPs. You have to start building a relationship somewhere, and you’d be surprised at just how easy it can be to develop a rapport with MPs by simply getting in touch.
Don’t discount the opposition or minor party MPs. They are there in Parliament, and will likely be hearing whispers that you want to hear too. And you never know what will happen in the next election, where they may find themselves in government or wielding the balance of power.
If they’re local MPs, they’re also being contacted by their constituents – your audience – about the issues they want resolved. This means these MPs can direct their next big issue to you, complete with potential case studies.
Especially on sitting days, we get lots of reports from government bodies and various agencies. They can be extremely dry, and seemingly inconsequential – but you should always at least skim through them. You never know what nugget you will find that can become a story.
Even little pieces of new information can be turned into a strong topline for a story, and a strong update for coverage you’ve already produced on an issue.
Sometimes, these little nuggets of new information can lead to a snowball effect – and become far bigger stories that could easily have been overlooked.
Especially when you’re starting out in a new round or region, make sure you’re showing your face at pressers and events.
That’s how you build, maintain and strengthen contacts – particularly with ministers.
If they see you all the time, you’ll be front of their mind next time they have a decent story they want to drop. They’ll also be more inclined to speak openly with you next time you need to call them for comment or a chat.
You’d never re-write a media release for a story without interrogating the accuracy of what’s in it, so don’t take a politician’s words as gospel. Question everything.
The government, politicians and government agencies are always sugar-coating things, so be cynical. You’ll find that questioning – and sometimes challenging – information being given to you will rarely result in you being told a lie. Clarify specifics of announcements, and ensure you’re not regurgitating lines that may be misleading.
Keep up to date with the news more broadly, beyond just the political landscape. Particularly before heading to a presser, you should be abreast of the news of the day and be prepared to question a politician on issues and stories that could be relevant to them.
You don’t have to just do ‘he said/she said’ policy stories, politics is far more than this. It’s very easy to get bogged down in the Spring Street bubble, and the adversarial nature of politics.
Keep in mind that politics can be about people’s experiences, and what their elected representatives are doing to fix problems, or how our legislative system may be relevant to the real-world experiences of people in your community.
Anything can be a politics story.
Yes, the role of a politics reporter is to hold those in power to account and inform their community – but there is an undeniable aspect of community advocacy for any regional journalist.
One of the surefire ways to act as a community advocate is to effectively allow the public to use your platform to put pressure on pollies for funding pledges in the lead up to a Budget or election day. This is when the government is working out its spending announcements or election commitments, as well as it’s plan for gaining some good press
If your community has a major project it has been desperately advocating for, this is the perfect time for coverage. Ask the government if they’ll be funding the project, or why they won’t commit to funding it. There’s few better times to tease out an unequivocal response – ‘yes, we’ll fund it’ or ‘no, we won’t’ – from those clutching the state’s purse strings.
Bridget Rollason was ABC Melbourne’s state political reporter from 2019 until mid-2024, having started her career at Prime 7 in Canberra and Albury. She has consistently broken exclusive and major political stories.
Bridget was the 2018 RPCV Ray Frawley Young Journalist of the Year and was awarded a Melbourne Press Club Quill for Radio News in 2021.
She was born and raised in Maryborough, Victoria and is passionate about regional journalism.
