“Stop and consider.” That is what the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is asking you to do with the messages you receive this federal election. This applied to communication tactics, disinformation and the use of AI. I don’t think they would have contemplated having to evaluate the content of podcaster Abbie Chatfield, but here we are and lessons will be learned from this for the future.
For those of you not across what happened, Abbie sat down for a long ranging chat with Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on her It’s a Lot podcast which was released on February 21, two versions – a shorter edit which was an hour long and an extended cut of an hour and a half. Three of the podcast interview’s posts on Instagram were shared to the Prime Minister’s own account, which you can safely say was done because the PM was happy with the outcome and what it reflected.
Then on March 11 Abbie sat down again, this time with with leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt. Again there were one hour and ninety minute versions. Then, a week later, across a series of posts, Abbie made very clear to her followers and audience exactly which way she intends to vote.
On Thursday April 3 the AEC found that the above episodes would not be considered paid advertising or to have been communicated by or on behalf of a candidate or party, and that it did not require any authorisation message. They are apparently still looking into the cross posting by both the Prime Minister and the Greens. Like radio, content creators are required to authorise posts that are paid for or shared on behalf of a political entity.
Abbie had shared another post that week too with comments made about her by Liberal Senator Jane Hume and followed that up with her own comments about how young people hate the Liberal party. She says that she did approach Liberal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Malcolm Turnbull for interviews too, but they declined.
Peter Dutton hasn’t ignored podcasts and the longer format conversations they offer him. He has spoken to Kate Langbroek for the Mamamia podcast No Filter, to former 3AW morning presenter Neil Mitchell on his Neil Mitchell Asks Why and his first attempt was with former Olympian Sam Fricker on his Diving Deep. No Filter was 45 minutes, Diving Deep an hour, and his conversation with Neil Mitchell nearly 90 minutes. Both Kate and Neil have spoken to the Prime Minister this campaign and the PM also shared to his socials the Mamamia chat.
There will be more podcast conversations that I haven’t mentioned for the three, and many to come. What podcasts offer is something largely lost to commercial radio, and that is (to paraphrase Sam Fricker) a deep dive. You can talk about the policies, the party and the future, but it also offers a view into the person, something Anthony Albanese is adept at where ex-police officer and detective Peter Dutton is reluctant. But he’s trying, evidenced by a confession to Fricker that he doesn’t actually know how to dive.
Whoever it is interviewing the Prime Minister, Opposition leader or Greens Leader, commercial radio, community or podcasting, they are always damned if they do and damned if they don’t. One question will be condemned for not being hard hitting enough, another too soft, a third will show evidence of your bias, a fourth self serving or ignorant.
Having read through the comments on Abbie and Sam’s posts after their podcast episodes with the PM and Opposition Leader respectively, I would really like to know, once this election is done and dusted, how much these conversations affected a person’s vote. Both have comments saying they have.
If the selection of our 18-30 year olds is what swings it, then the AEC will have to stop and consider themselves the role of long format audio in shaping the future of our nation.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster.