APPENDIX (2)
BARRIE WIGGHAM/AUST PAGE 16
Media exposure:
As planned, media exposure was generally low-key. No attempt was made to present Barrie Wiggham as a talking head for radio and television and someone seeking headlines at media briefings.
In-house briefings were given to editors at the Sydney Morning Herald, News Limited, the Canberra Times, The Age and the Australian Broadcasting Commission. These were not intended to produce media coverage but rather to sow some seeds of balance for editors to consider when covering future events or commenting on issues/events in the runup to 1997.
These briefings are generally covered in Appendix (1).
Seperate interviews were given on request to SBS television, ABC radio/current affairs in Melbourne and Radio 2GB Sydney (part of the national Macquarie network).
Material was used on Radio Australia, the ABC's national World View programme, on national ABC radio (both networks) and on the ABC's major Current Affairs radio programme in Melbourne. Also on 2GB.
In print media, The Australian carried one (incorrect) and one (correct) report; the Australian Financial Review carried a small piece. Australian Associated Press (the domestic wire service) carried a number of reports from Sydney/Canberra/Melbourne, both on the general news service and the business news service. The UPI correspondent in Canberra. The UPI correspondent in Canberra, John Rogers, taped an extensive interview for use by his other outlet, Radio Germany.
At the time of writing, material which may have appeared in newspapers or on electronic media in other States has not been received through the monitoring network.
comment: THe media generally was preoccupied in the second and third weeks of an election campaign for a new Federal Government. Most senior reporters were involved in election coverage and/or "on the road" with political leaders.
THe media generally is very poorly briefed on Hong Kong/China and the Vietnamese refugee situation. We were able to correct this to some extent at senior editor level and through some of the exposure received but an ongoing flow of information is required.
NOTE: Copies of the Sydney address to the HKABA were distributed in Sydney to the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, The Australian, Australian Broadcasting Commission and Australian Associated Press. The same address was distributed in Canberra to the Australian Financial Review, the West Australian, the Melbourne Herald and Australian Associated Press.
The Melbourne address to the HKABA was distributed to The Age, the Melbourne Herald, the Melbourne Sun, ABC Radio, ABC Television and Australian Associated Press.