Why I was suddenly left in the cold after a series of tough opinion pieces about Anthony Albanese’s woes

When given the choice between a blunder and a conspiracy, one should usually assume the latter.

That was my choice this week when I found that, after a series of harsh (but in my opinion fair) commentary pieces about the woes of the Albanian government, I had been removed from the all-important email distribution list that the Prime Minister’s media team sent to political journalists sends. .

I checked with colleagues from other media organizations, but they were all still receiving emails from the Prime Minister’s office. Except me.

For those not in Canberra, the email list keeps journalists informed of press conferences, announceables, state visits, media interviews, you name it.

Without such advance information, it is slightly more difficult to cover the government’s actions, and reporting and commenting is delayed. So it is not difficult to become suspicious if you disappear from the list after a period of criticism.

I must admit that I immediately assumed it was a conspiracy on the part of the Prime Minister’s Office, so I contacted the head of Albania’s 11-person media unit to find out exactly what had happened.

But I’m clearly too cynical by half. Just like politicians, you should always believe what their aides tell you.

Eventually I was put down, convinced that it was a simple case of incompetence that saw me consigned to the naughty corner, unable to receive any communication from a team with communication in their title.

To be fair, he didn’t phrase the failure as incompetence, that was my way of putting it. But if you’re going to assume a conspiracy, it’s better to assume things, which amounts to the same thing.

Apparently something went wrong with their technical systems, because I have two email addresses that somehow prevented me from receiving anything at all.

It had nothing to do with the timing of the recent criticism of the Prime Minister and his ministers!

When the explanation got a little more technical, I had to admit defeat and accept the merits of what I was being told. I struggle to turn on my computer at the best of times every morning, so the head honcho had me beaten when the conversation turned to IT details as part of the explanation.

The PMO’s distribution list often also includes sending out transcripts of interviews and press conferences that ministers have done. In the past these transcripts have not always been accurate, but to be fair I am talking about what happened in previous Prime Minister’s offices, not Albo’s.

Missing words or figures that have been slightly altered here and there have come to light in both mainstream media and social media after transcripts were uploaded to official government websites.

Sometimes the transcript will say “inaudible” next to a difficult or poorly answered question, even though the audio sounds pretty clear when you read it back and check it.

I have had bad luck in the past when I have fallen off the distribution list while working at other media organizations. Also when I was driving a PM faster than normal.

I guess it’s just an unfortunate coincidence.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ poorly received budget and rising inflation have also come under scrutiny

Readers will be happy to hear that I’m back on the list. I have both email addresses. So now I get two copies of everything, just in case one of them becomes unavailable.

Is it too soon after complaining to ask to be taken off the list again? Probably.

What has nothing to do with conspiracy theories or blunders is the reality that there are different levels of access to what is being disseminated by the government and the opposition. Some journalists are given more access than others. A longer lead time with the heads-up about upcoming events, for example.

This game of providing better or worse access based on how compliant a journalist is has long been played by those who run the country. Or perhaps more accurately, those who work for those elected to run the country.

Politicians love plausible deniability. They like to blame their staff so they don’t have to take the blame.

Political staff members are considered an extension of the minister they serve, meaning they cannot be summoned before parliamentary committees to be investigated for their actions.

But when a minister presides over a failing government, those same political staffers often throw up their hands to take the blame, thereby saving the minister’s career. They inevitably turn up in another office soon after. Or take an outright government appointment as a thank you for participating in the patronage racket that is modern politics.

It’s a dirty business, but someone has to do it, because without politicians the country wouldn’t be able to govern itself. Or maybe it could…