The gap between the views of the top brass at The Australian and its readers continues to be marked with the paper still searching desperately for the best possible light to shine on the Coalition campaign while Labor is the clear choice of the consumers of those very same stories.

The evidence is there for all to see in one of those reader polls on the paper’s website this morning with 64% saying they will vote Labor, 25% for the Coalition and 9% for the Greens. The result is very little different to the last such unscientific attempt to determine what the readers think.

But at least The Oz continues to give serious coverage to the campaign which is more than can be said for the rest of the Murdoch press where if it is not an opinion poll a story does not seem to rate as interesting. And if a paper does not have a poll to give guidance about what people actually think then a round-up of the betting markets will do.

My study of the media as part of Crikey’s Realilty Check leads me to believe that Neil Evans of Centrebet, Michael Sullivan of Sportingbet and Gerard Daffy of Lasseters are the three leading political commentators in the country. Certainly their views are given more weight than Laurie Oakes, Michelle Grattan and Glenn Milne when radio stations seek a little guidance on which team is doing best.

Over the weekend it was again a very low key coverage of campaign events with perhaps the most significant being 60 Minutes choosing last night to bring global warming into the homes of a large number of Australians. The Labor campaign director could not have asked for more.

Sydney Morning Herald

  1. Year 7 sex filmed: police investigate
  2. Time for Gretel to go as fans get nasty
  3. Johns ties the knot
  4. Facebook security loophole warning
  5. Family’s fear: Dean’s dad investigated for sex assault

The Age

  1. Behind the stats, a family grieves
  2. Diggers say no to allies’ plan
  3. Howard takes heat over Kyoto revelation
  4. Smart money on Labor as words say more than polls
  5. Hammer horror – the curse of the streets returns

The Australian

  1. Dollar driving Toyota to wall
  2. PM’s mate in insolvency dispute
  3. Muslim leader blames women for…
  4. Yunupingu backs Howard
  5. PM picks jobs as rate hike looms

ABC

  • Lismore declared a natural disaster area
  • SAS a hard target in Afghanistan, expert says
  • Coalition targets Labor on jobs, union links
  • Labor dismisses ‘fear campaign’ on unions
  • Teacher’s rape sentence challenged

The West Australian

  1. Daylight saving starts this weekend
  2. Perth real estate ‘will fall as rest rises’
  3. Daylight saving starts
  4. Qld left behind in daylight saving
  5. Daylight saving starts today

Sydney Telegraph

  1. The Right Brain vs Left Brain
  2. Big Brother dumps Gretel
  3. Joey’s magical island wedding
  4. Sex video killed TV star
  5. Fat women more jolly

Melbourne Herald Sun

  1. Right Brain v Left Brain
  2. Widow’s story of anguish
  3. Time to go … Gretel
  4. Comet Holmes on its way to…
  5. Delta’s mum in cancer battle

Advertiser

  1. Lightning, storms lash state
  2. Porn scandal rocks Family First
  3. Woman pack-raped in daylight
  4. Love in full bloom
  5. Gretel leaving Big Brother

Courier Mail

  1. Darren Lockyer gets married
  2. Shaky Libs in internal uproar
  3. Come home, Queenslanders
  4. Widow tells of health warning
  5. Left Brain v Right Brain Test

news.com.au

  1. Wife told of Crazy John’s health…
  2. Kyle answers Big Brother’s call
  3. Porn scandal rocks Family First
  4. Prince Philip could be gone in a…
  5. Sex-on-job policeman cleared of…