Talk:Australian government accused of neglecting regions

This article is part of the Australian Federal politics project, a project of Wikinews Australia. Everyone is welcome to expand this article, however you are encouraged to use original sources where possible.

Original reporting

Response from Minister for Transport and Regional Services (Warren Truss)

I contacted Brad Burke (press contact for Warren Truss) earlier today, and put Crean's comments to him. He is going to call me back if there is going to be a response from the minister or his department. No call yet. - Borofkin 07:12, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

I'd like to see a comment but think one would be unlikely. The government will probably ignore it unless it receives mainstream press coverage - Cartman02au (Talk)(AU Portal) 07:38, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Great Article

Nobody can accuse WN of neglecting regional Australia - Cartman02au (Talk)(AU Portal) 07:38, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Picture

Can somewikinewsie find a picture to the mainpage? International 14:43, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

WN parrots media releases?

There is always going to be this kind of bias here: people will naturally choose to write about causes they are passionate about. I sincerely would like to point out that articles like this are less likely to make me read wikinews. They smell of press releases being repackaged by contrarians. An honest headline would attribute the accusation to Crean so I could just skip the article entirely:

"Howard government neglecting regions: Crean"

Mind you, it's a nonactionable form of POV; it can't be measured. It's simply a request that personal disapproval for certain politicians does not result in giving a larger voice to their opponents. Releases like this are meant entirely to capture the uncritical eye of sympathetic journalists. I'm just not sure that Liberal press releases on important issues will get similar billing as the current top-page article. Cheers. 24.94.246.41 00:46, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

Your point about the article headline is entirely valid, it probably should attribute the accusation specifically to Crean. The only way to solve the other issues is for more people to participate. As a single contributor I can only hold a small part of the political world in my brain at one time. All I can do is read as many media releases from as many different sources as possible, try to get comments from the people involved, and try to write as neutrally as possible. Have a look at the Australian Federal politics project for attempts to get people collaborating on articles such as this.

Another thing to note is that other news sources probably wouldn't even state that their article was based on only a couple of press releases. At least here the limitations are there for all to see. "I'm just not sure that Liberal press releases on important issues will get similar billing as the current top-page article." ... have you read Australian government announces study of tax system? If you think this article deserves more prominence than other articles, you are welcome to move it to the lead story yourself. There is bias in the Wikinews system - the only way to counter it is to participate. Thanks for your comments, feedback is always welcome. - Borofkin 01:01, 28 February 2006 (UTC)