Canberra press gallery

The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the Australian Parliament. The name derives from the press galleries, which are enclosed viewing areas above the chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which the Speaker and the President have allocated to the media.

The expression "Canberra Press Gallery" also refers to the association of Gallery journalists which represents their professional interests in dealing with the Parliament. The current President of the Gallery is David Speers, political editor for Sky News. The vice-president is Andrew Meares and the secretary is Eliza Borrello.

Apart from the one and a half hours per sitting day of Question Time, journalists spend little time in the actual press gallery overlooking the floor of Parliament. Another area, also named the "press gallery" refers to the office space within the Parliament building, above the Senate chamber which includes television studios and radio booths where the gallery journalists spend most of their time compiling stories and communicating with editors.

Ian Ward says: "Gallery journalists are collectively responsible for the great majority of news stories about federal politics that appear in Australian Print and broadcast media." Many of the best known names in Australian political journalism, such as Paul Bongiorno, Malcolm Farr, Michelle Grattan, Laurie Oakes, Mark Riley, Hugh Riminton, Dennis Shanahan, Karen Middleton, Chris Uhlmann and David Speers are Gallery members.

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