If Peter Dutton really is going to share the details of his nuclear energy proposition this week, he better get a move on.
In the Canberra press gallery, many journalists are wondering exactly when the announcement will be dropped. Last week, some reporters were told the announcement would come sometime this week.
One well-connected journalist at a major publication speculated to Crikey that if the news is indeed to be communicated this week, it will have to be done on Thursday with an embargo to lift for publication on Friday. That would mean the reporters selected for the drop would get to have a look at the information and prepare stories, but not publish anything until the embargo is lifted. Such embargos are often used to give newspapers time to slot the news into their print runs.
Newspaper editors and journalists generally have a good idea of what will be in the next day’s paper by the early afternoon the day before, and find it less than ideal if big announcements are dropped too late in the workday.
“Good media advisers understand and appreciate that our day doesn’t start at 4pm,” the person said, speculating that a Thursday drop would be the most convenient time for everybody involved, including those writing for print newspaper editions.
“They’ll probably give a few of the details as a preview on embargo — when it comes to drops, the parties tend not to shove the whole thing out the door, but give a snapshot instead.”
Other journalists speculated the announcement could come next week instead. That may be politically smart for Dutton, given the news cycle this week has been bad for the prime minister.
According to one journalist, the thinking goes: why change the subject and interrupt the media when it’s busy hammering Anthony Albanese?
On the other hand, the longer Dutton waits, the closer it gets to Christmas, a time when it’s typically assumed news consumers have less time for dense political discourse.
That being said, and as Crikey has reported previously, the full details on Dutton’s nuclear plan have been promised many, many times before, so perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to wait a bit longer?
Dutton’s office declined to comment.
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