The No campaign for the Voice to Parliament is winning the media battle

The No campaign is winning the battle for media coverage on the Voice to Parliament, new media monitoring data shows.

According to data from media monitoring firm Streem, key figures on the conservative No campaign led by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton secured 54.2% of Voice coverage in print, radio and television between February 23 and April 20, compared with the Yes campaign’s 45.8% share of 6309 mentions.

Media mentions were counted for key figures from both mainstream camps. On the Yes side, coverage was limited to Indigenous Minister Linda Burney, Indigenous Voice to Parliament working group members Professor Marcia Langton, Pat Anderson, Professor Megan Davis and Thomas Mayo, as well as Senator Patrick Dodson and From the Heart director Dean Parkin.

On the No side, mentions were limited to the opposition’s Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Recognise a Better Way president Warren Mundine, and Opposition Leader in the Senate Simon Birmingham, and former opposition Indigenous spokesman Julian Leeser until he resigned from the shadow cabinet on April 11. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s and Dutton’s mentions were also tracked, but with tighter parameters to distinguish between issues. For both men, mentions were clocked only if they fell within a 10-word proximity to the words “Indigenous Voice to Parliament”. 

In that coverage, both dominated mentions with 2562 (27.4% of the total figure) and 2409 (25.08%) appearances, respectively. Albanese’s mentions spiked on March 23 when he revealed the referendum question, whereas Dutton’s appearances spiked on April 5 when he announced the Liberal Party’s decision to oppose the Voice.

The only other key figures with more than a 5% share are Burney with 1102 mentions (11.8%), Price with 843 (9%), and Mundine with 593 (6.3%). 

Some of the campaign’s most authoritative voices secured the fewest media mentions. Anderson, the Uluru Dialogue co-chair, had just 1.5% of total media mentions, the lowest share over the campaign’s first two months, and Mayo accounted for 1.8%. 

Davis made up a slightly higher share of mentions, at 3.9%, but Langton emerged as the most prominent non-government spokesperson for the Yes camp, securing 386 mentions, or 4.1% share of coverage. 

However, the Yes campaign’s disadvantage in raw total mentions may be outweighed by its larger reach on its appearances, according to one measure. Streem provides a “potential audience reach”, which estimates how many people see media coverage based on what time and what format it’s published in. 

By this measure, Albanese dominates all other figures with 40% of potential audience reach (estimated at 267.8 million impressions), followed by Dutton with 12.7% (84.9 million) and Burney with 10% (67.1 million).

The Yes side also has an early head start on social media so far, thanks to bigger established audiences on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. But the No side is ramping up its spending to target specific voters with Facebook, Instagram and Google ads to make up for their organic disadvantage. 

Radio stood out as the favoured media over the period, hosting 54.9% of total coverage, television had 25% of mentions, and the remaining 20.1% reached voters in print.  

Have campaign ads and media reports changed your mind on a Voice to Parliament? Write to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.