The Channel Seven Independents
The Seven Network is under fire this week over a competition to find six new political candidates for the upcoming federal election. The segment called “Vote for Me” on the network’s “Sunrise” program is searching for people who want to stand as independent candidates, and Channel Seven will give ten thousand dollars to each of the winners. Contestants will be judged by a panel of experts, then Channel Seven viewers will vote for the finalists. But there are serious concerns about the competition, with some observers questioning the idea of media companies playing such a direct role in politics. Dr Geoffrey Hawker is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Macquarie University. Mark Robinson asked him about the idea of the “Channel Seven independents”.