How Stephen Conroy went from digital zero to broadband hero
Yesterday’s announcement on the government’s broadband plan has generated that rarest of things – good PR for digital minister Stephen Conroy.
After months of being made to look technically clueless over his plans for Internet filtering, a figure of fun via the fake Stephen Conroy Twitter persona and out of control of the broadband build process, today has seen almost universally positive press coverage for the minister.
But the stories also throw up a number of intriguing angles.
High on the list is the fact that it didn’t leak to the press ahead of time, creating the unusual spectacle of a press conference with a genuinely surprising announcement. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, this was achieved by keeping the work to a “secret team” of ministers since the plan was formed in January.
And the move could trigger a vastly important change of media ownership, with Telstra’s 50% ownership of Foxtel back in play. If it happeend, the move would see co-owners CMH and News Corp. The arrival of News Corp’s experienced pay TV man Richard Freudenstein on the Foxtel board looks increasingly important.
But most important for Conroy will be the turnaround in his image, with virtually every paper saluting his “bravery” and “imagination”.
The initiative will also have a direct benefit for the marketing sector. The SMH reports that there will be a marketing campaign to encourage the public to buy bonds.
But the last word on the affair goes to fake Stephen Conroy:
“Have you ever been so coked up that you couldn’t sleep and all you can think is ohmygodi’vegot42billiondollarsand30daystospendit?”
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