iTWire joins Fed Gov press gallery
iTWire has become the first specialist IT title to earn a place in the Federal Government Press Gallery, with James Riley now officially ensconced in Parliament as the publication's national affairs correspondent.
The publication celebrated the foundation of its Canberra office at an event at Parliament House on Monday, where the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy welcomed Riley and iTWire to the gallery.
Beer said that he was delighted with the event which was attended by Conroy, Senator Kate Lundy, Senator Louise Pratt, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, ministerial staffers, industry association representatives including AIIA chief Ian Birks, as well as executives from vendors and recruitment agencies.
"Government is such an important factor in IT&T... yet every report that comes out of Parliament House concerning the IT or telecommunications industry has been written by the non-technical press and we felt that was a big gap that we thought was important to be filled," he said.
"We saw the opportunity with James to do that - it's not easy to get into the press gallery, but James has already been there and he had the right connections and the right profile to be able to that."
Beer said that he hoped the depth and quality of coverage Riley would be able to deliver, by being part of the inner-sanctum of government, would make iTWire a "must read" for anyone in the IT industry.
"We believe we'll have the best coverage of government IT&T in Australia. While the majors have members of the gallery at Parliament House, they don't have someone dedicated to the tech industry," Beer said. "We're the only ones dedicated to covering parliament for the tech industry."
Beer hoped that the initiative would lend further credibility to online-only titles like iTWire and their ability to set the editorial agenda and be as important as print media titles.
That was a standpoint backed up by Senator Conroy in his welcome speech.
"As with many specialist publications, iTWire provides focussed and in-depth coverage on a wide range of industry-specific topics," Conroy said.
"It helps set the agenda and provides an important reference for mainstream media as stories make their way through the news cycle. Not that ICT is niche - in fact, the launch of iTWire’s Press Gallery office highlights the very prominent role for information, communication and digital technologies in the emerging economy."
The publication celebrated the foundation of its Canberra office at an event at Parliament House on Monday, where the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy welcomed Riley and iTWire to the gallery.
Beer said that he was delighted with the event which was attended by Conroy, Senator Kate Lundy, Senator Louise Pratt, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, ministerial staffers, industry association representatives including AIIA chief Ian Birks, as well as executives from vendors and recruitment agencies.
"Government is such an important factor in IT&T... yet every report that comes out of Parliament House concerning the IT or telecommunications industry has been written by the non-technical press and we felt that was a big gap that we thought was important to be filled," he said.
"We saw the opportunity with James to do that - it's not easy to get into the press gallery, but James has already been there and he had the right connections and the right profile to be able to that."
Beer said that he hoped the depth and quality of coverage Riley would be able to deliver, by being part of the inner-sanctum of government, would make iTWire a "must read" for anyone in the IT industry.
"We believe we'll have the best coverage of government IT&T in Australia. While the majors have members of the gallery at Parliament House, they don't have someone dedicated to the tech industry," Beer said. "We're the only ones dedicated to covering parliament for the tech industry."
Beer hoped that the initiative would lend further credibility to online-only titles like iTWire and their ability to set the editorial agenda and be as important as print media titles.
That was a standpoint backed up by Senator Conroy in his welcome speech.
"As with many specialist publications, iTWire provides focussed and in-depth coverage on a wide range of industry-specific topics," Conroy said.
"It helps set the agenda and provides an important reference for mainstream media as stories make their way through the news cycle. Not that ICT is niche - in fact, the launch of iTWire’s Press Gallery office highlights the very prominent role for information, communication and digital technologies in the emerging economy."
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