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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Malcolm Farr

The gotcha question is all about reporters doing a star turn. It’s rudeness journalism

Labor leader Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference on Day 25 of the election campaign, in Sydney, 5 May 2022.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference on Day 25 of the election campaign, in Sydney, 5 May 2022. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The gotcha question has returned to the already damaged election campaign news coverage and reporters, and consumers of their reports, will suffer.

It’s a branch of what I call rudeness journalism, a close cousin to the style of some radio shock jocks and after-dark TV presenters who cultivate a confusion between shouty-ness and authority.

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