Former Qld premier Campbell Newman blames media for election loss

Former premier Campbell Newman has blamed the Queensland media for his election loss, saying he was misrepresented, accusing members of the media of supporting his opponents to bring down the government.

Speaking to ABC's Landline in his first interview since losing office, to promote his new agricultural venture, Mr Newman said while he considered it an honour to have served as Premier, he would never return to politics.

Former premier Campbell Newman Credit: Glenn Hunt

Mr Newman, who will launch his book next month, said his time in office was marred by incorrect reports, with the media portraying him as "a bad person".

"We see particularly the electronic media portray politics in the same way as a reality TV show," he told the program.

"It's not about voting the bad guys out of the house.

"I took a stand on a number of issues that were misrepresented. For example, in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme - [I've] always supported it.

"What was then portrayed? Somehow I was uncaring and [a] bad person ... there is no real debate.

"The media do have to take a big responsibility for what's going on. It's all about advertising revenue ... you need people to click on your story online, so the more outrageous or inflammatory or exciting or titillating, the thing is, the more clicks you get.

"That's what driving journalism.

"Journalists are just so important in keeping governments honest, I get that. What the community needs though, is to know that journalists are actually going to really properly manage themselves, and their profession."

Mr Newman had an at times combative relationship with the Queensland media, as he struggled to sell the government's message amid fights with key stakeholders and an increasingly mistrusting public.

In the final year of the Newman administration, the government attempted to change tack, instigating Operation: Boring, a strategy designed to restrict discussion to government announcements of the day, in an attempt to stay on message.

But Mr Newman told the ABC he was a victim of a new "template" in Australian politics, where the media worked to bring politicians down.

"I have a firm view that it was the tactics of my opponents, with the support of members of the media, that actually did that," he said.

"...And that's the template today ... It's not about the idea that are being expressed, it's not that, say 'Premier Campbell Newman had a bad idea', it's 'Premier Campbell Newman is a bad person', that's the way the game is being played."

Landline will screen its full report on Sunday at noon.