Contribution by Anthony Dockrill
When politics, outrage and an opportunity to be extra outraged pop up, make sure you let everyone know how truly outraged you are, even if it’s a game you have probably played with your mates.
On a podcast called Bush Deep (think about that title for a second), Anthony Albanese tried to show he’s just a normal bloke, but did he forget the one fact we can’t ignore? He is the PM.
Was Anthony Albanese out of his depth on the Bush Deep podcast? At times. Did he handle being asked who he would Shag, Marry, Date well? Not really. Was it the end of the world? What do you think?
Why did he ever agree to go on the podcast?
I can tell you why. The media has completely fractured, and reaching audiences, especially young audiences, is getting increasingly difficult. One Nation has been going up in the polls, not just due to a heady mix of the cost-of-living crisis and increasing anxiety about the future, but also because they have
used, engaged and exploited podcasting and online spaces better than the other two major parties.
So Labor needs to get its media strategy together. There are a lot of risks in this; case in point, the question about Kylie Minogue.
Albo is, of course, on a hiding to nothing.
Don’t answer the question and you’re a wowser. Answer it and you’re lowering the office and being sexist. Most of this is, of course, because of the office he holds. The fact that he is Labor is also a small part of it, just as the fact that he is a bloke feeds into accusations of sexism. And people calling him sexist do have a point but if Pauline Hanson were asked the Shag, Marry, Date question about Mel Gibson, would it cause any outrage? Well, I highly doubt I’d be writing about it.
Another problem here, as I have written about before: podcasting is not broadcasting. But it is when the guest is the Prime Minister. How can Albo manoeuvre in a space he distorts just by showing up?
How many people subscribe to Bush Deep? On YouTube alone its over 150k. Was a single regular listener of that podcast offended? Probably not. All the outrage is coming from outside this space.
Let’s be clear about all of this and cut through the outrage and posturing: Shag, Marry, Date is a game you play with your mates at the pub, but most of us, I hope, know not to play it in the office, unless you want to get to know HR on a first-name basis.
In this space podcasting is the pub, just as RN Breakfast is the office. Yes, Albo should have known better, but it’s understandable why he messed all of this up.
My advice to Albo is don’t retreat after this mess, but remember you are always wearing a tie wherever you go, even when you’re wearing jeans and a Joy Division t-shirt. When everyone else is hanging out at the pub, you are at work.
All of this means. as PM he can’t go on podcasts and exploit the medium’s real strength, relaxed causal conversations that connect.
When is the last time you hung out at the pub with the PM?
Anthony Dockrill is a Digital Producer at Pod Jam and the former Program Director of 2SER FM Sydney.
Nova image supplied.