E-Election 2007? Political competition online

Abstract

This paper examines the use of new media in the 2007 election. This election is commonly seen as a breakthrough for the use of Internet in electoral campaigning due to the high profile use of Internet channels in the ‘Kevin 07’ campaign and its association with the change of Government. The paper examines the impact of the technology on the presentation of political campaign messages in the campaign. In this election, the Internet played a more visible role in both centralised party and individual candidate campaign strategies. The paper concludes that while some innovation occurred, the overall application of new media was modest, which parties and candidates face unprecedented challenges from a wide variety of alternative online voices. The degree of political engagement with online channels remains limited, however, by the continued dominance of mainstream mass media channels.

Keywords:

• political competiton
• new media
• World Wide Web
• social networking services
• blogging
• YouTube
• video

Notes

 1. Hugh Atkin, Howard and Rudd—War of the Ads [Internet video], 2007, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mfBag40-BQ, accessed 22 October 2007.

 2. Deborah Cornwall, YouTube videos impact campaign commentary, Lateline, ABC, 27 October 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2072083.htm, accessed 28 October 2007.

 3. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Patterns of Internet access in Australia, ABS, Canberra, 2007, p 18.

 4. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007, Australian Government, Canberra, 2007, p 48.

 5. ABS, op. cit., p 9.

 6. Ben Anderson and Yoel Raban, The Social Impact of Broadband Household Internet Access (Chimera Working Paper 2005–06), University of Essex, Chimera Institute for Social and Technical Research, Colchester, 2005, p 11.

 7. Mark Deuze, Media Work, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2007, p 78.

 8. Conversely, the Greens reported some delay in putting their campaign team in place and were still in preparation at this point in time (Peter Chen and Lucas Walsh, ‘Interview with Peter Davis, National Election Communications Officer, Australian Greens’, 19 December 2007).

 9. Peter John Chen and Lucas Walsh, ‘Interview with Simon Banks, Communications Manager, Australian Labor Party’, 17 February 2008.

10. Hitwise, Hitwise Australia—Top 20 Websites, 2007, http://www.hitwise.com.au/datacenter/rankings.php, accessed 8 January 2008.

11. ‘“Kevin 07” just a media tart’, ABC News, 7 August 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/07/1998490.htm, accessed 8 August 2007.

12. This assessment is based on formal content analysis of online content undertaken over the two-day period (24–25 November 2007).

13. Hitwise, op. cit.

14. The Nationals did not use AdWords because of perceptions of a lower match with its support base, whereas the Australian Democrats were limited by budgetary pressures (Peter John Chen and Lucas Walsh, ‘Interview with Brad Henderson, Federal Director, The Nationals’, 10 December 2007; Peter John Chen and Lucas Walsh, ‘Interview with Senator Lyn Alison, Leader, Australian Democrats’, 28 November 2007).

15. Google.com, 12 November 2007.

16. J Collins, ‘Chaser's war on everything’, ABC, television broadcast, 31 October 2007.

17. Davis, ‘Interview’, op. cit.

18. Based on a small survey of candidates undertaken in November and December 2007 (n = 54).

19. Based on an online search and content analysis undertaken over the period 3–6 November 2007.

20. Simon Jackman, ‘Incumbency advantage and candidate quality’, in Marian Simms and John Warhurst (eds), Mortgage Nation: The 2004 Australian Election, API Network, Perth, 2005, pp 335–47.

21. ABC News, op. cit.

22. ABC News, op. cit.

23. ‘You decide 2007’, ABC Media Report, 29 October 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2105881.htm#transcript, accessed 30 October 2007.

24. © 2007 Hitwise, reprinted with permission.

25. Damien Murphy, ‘Meet Family First's member for nowhere’, Age, 29 October 2007, http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/28/1193555566190.html, accessed 30 October 2007.

26. Davis, ‘Interview’, op. cit.

27. Peter John Chen, ‘e-lection 2004? New media and the campaign’, in Marian Simms and John Warhurst (eds), Mortgage Nation: The 2004 Australian Election, API Network, Perth, 2005, pp 129–35.

28. ABC Media Report, op. cit.