When you subscribe to the Daily Telegraph you get so much extra: “extra, extra every day”, says the glossy new TV commercial for Rupert Murdoch’s Sydney tabloid.
Subscribe to the Daily Telegraph Plus and you even get the premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, thrown in.
Sharing equal billing with the paper’s right-wing columnists Andrew Bolt and Miranda Devine is the Liberal member for Manly who apparently saw no downside in agreeing to be in a TV commercial filmed on a Sydney train with the cast of high-profile writers from the Tele.
“Subscribe today and get extra, extra every day,” viewers are told as they see three Daily Telegraph star writers – Bolt, Devine and NSW political correspondent Andrew Clennell – smiling at the pure joy of riding in a carriage opposite the lovely Baird, who also happens to be the minister for infrastructure and the minister for western Sydney.
“With the journalists you know and trust and a new app for iPad that brings your daily paper to life, subscribing to the Daily Telegraph Plus is now even better value,” the voiceover says as a lone male commuter is joined by the team from the Tele who surprise him by popping up in the empty seats.
A close-up of the Tele iPad app shows a helpful article: “Tackling the issues affecting the state” under which the smiling team of Baird and Clennell are pictured. Yep, the state government is working hand-in-glove with the newspaper to make NSW a better place to live.
A spokesman for the premier told Guardian Australia: “The premier would be happy to appear in an ad for the Sydney Morning Herald if asked. He thinks it’s a good thing for people to be buying and reading newspapers.”
Inside the Tele on Tuesday, Clennell admits the paper has a big influence on the government. He talks up the “campaigning” role the paper has played under editor Paul Whittaker in ensuring major projects such as Badgerys Creek airport and the WestConnex motorway go ahead.
“The paper’s position has been a big driver for governments, state and federal,” Clennell writes.
“The Telegraph has captured the public mood and influenced it. Sydney is fed up with the inertia and wants things built and the city improved. Poll figures show that more than three quarters of Sydneysiders supported a second airport after our campaign.”
Baird’s surprising train cameo came just one day after co-star Devine supported her News Corp colleague Sharri Markson in a stoush on Twitter over her article in the Australian about journalism schools.
Markson, the Australian’s media editor, argued it was outrageous that journalism students were being taught that Murdoch’s News Corp was too powerful and had too much influence on how the government is run.
News Corp Australia’s group marketing director Damian Eales said a unique commercial had been created for each market, so there is also one for the Herald Sun, the Courier-Mail and the Advertiser.
But only the Telegraph’s features the leader of the state.
“Our journalists and journalism differentiates us from other news outlets,” Eales said. “They are the reason why almost 4.5 million readers come to the Daily Telegraph; more than four million readers go to the Herald Sun; why more than three million readers turn to the Courier-Mail; and why almost 1.7 million readers engage with the Advertiserfor the best news, sport and entertainment. By having our journalists and contributors feature with prominence in our campaign and [TV commercials], we are effectively communicating the core of what we offer readers.”
A News Corp Australia spokesman told Guardian Australia: “Among other things, the campaign highlights that our mastheads deliver outstanding local news coverage.
“This is why we have shot locally with our journalists, contributors and special guests, such as the premier, on the iconic public transport of their local city.”
