Behind the scenes: How covering a federal election comes together

Looking back on the hectic year that was, the federal election seems like it was years ago.

But at the time, it was a massive part of the daily news cycle for me at the Eastern Melburnian. Covering it was something that took a lot of work, but was incredibly rewarding and was also the start of me regularly hearing from you, the readers, about what you wanted me to look into.

Approaching an election as a journalist can be daunting – with often an ever-growing number of candidates reaching out to spruik their election pledges.

And if you’re not focused on the major players or party leaders, it can be hard to know just who is trying to get your vote.

So, after realising there wasn't a lot out there specifically about the sitting MPs and candidates from the eastern suburbs, I made a comprehensive list of every candidate I could find that had all the available information on their background, plans, and promises.

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours: The guide was read a huge amount of times and  I even started getting tips from candidates – or even just people responding to my newsletter – with what sort of issues they cared about. – This was things like   childcare, climate, energy, jobs and healthcare just to name a few.

I was then able to report on all of these issues throughout the election campaign with a local, eastern Melbourne lens, reaching out tocandidates in my patches about what they thought about a given issue. 

I even did some interviews, like an exclusive chat with Energy Minister Chris Bowen about Labor’s pledge to knock 30 percent off the cost of a solar battery.

Eventually, I even started getting candidates asking to be put into my guide.

In total, we published about 15 stories and 12 videos around the election.

We also hit the streets to ask regular locals about what issues mattered to them or what would sway their vote in May.

From a personal level, and having covered elections before, I felt like I was able to read between the PR spin and let locals know what the real impact would be to them.

And in amongst all the positive feedback you sent in, I realised how much your tips, messages, and ideas could help me with what I reported on – and who I asked questions of.

It was just one moment in 2025 that showed how helpful having a local, involved, and personal relationship with the folks you’re trying to do work for can be.