New pecking order in the Canberra chook pen?

Despite the obvious need for media reform, Malcolm Turnbull seems to have little appetite for changing the current regulatory framework. Stephen Conroy's suicide bombing mission on this put paid to any attempt to fix the structural issues created by media convergence. Nor does Malcolm appear to have any appetite to take an axe to the ABC. This is in part because Malcolm has a genuine affection for the ABC. Annabel Crabb with Kitchen Cabinet and Tony Jones with Q&A have done a great PR job with Malcolm for the ABC, and many of Malcolm's Wentworth constituents will be ABC luuvies. Despite Chris Mitchell's rant in The Australian (October 29) calling for a review of the ABC, the only change we are likely to see are more thin lipped libertarians on the ABC, under the ABC's principle of what Will McAvoy calls "balance for the sake of balance". It is also unlikely that Australia's least trusted media will be able to influence an inquiry into Australia's most trusted.

Moreover, given the declining influence of newspapers, and the contestability of the proposition that the Murdoch press actually influenced the election, there is no doubt that Murdoch damaged his brands by being so obnoxiously partisan. The recent Kirribilli soiree of the Abbottorati didn't help. Whether the Coalition suffers collateral damage remains to be seen.

The Bill Shorten show

The ALP cannot effectively challenge the New Order. The election of Bill Shorten at the behest of the factions, despite the popular vote for Albo, means business as usual for Labor. The first thing to come under scrutiny will Shorten's media style. He needs to get rid of the sad eyed spaniel style of public presentation; become sharper, more incisive, and yes start polishing some three word slogans. Why? because that is what Opposition Leaders do. Sharpen the debate.

For Tony Abbott the risk of his media strategy is that eventually, to rephrase that great Australian adage: "Your chooks may grow into emus, and kick your dunny down."