CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Australia’s media are this week well and truly playing the role of a loyal backwater British colony, as almost zero local news manages to penetrate the 5 days of rolling coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.
Finals football, state government corruption, and countless major crimes across the metropolitan news markets have been unable to get even the slightest look-in, as the Australian media landscape is dominated by the loss of our 96-year-old monarch.
Even the Australian Federal Government has decided to suspend Parliament for two weeks – in order to give the media conglomerates more space in their news breaks to discuss the fairly natural phenomena that usually happens when people are nearly 100 years old.
In fact, given the close eye that our nation’s major TV networks, newspapers and radio stations are keeping on this news event – many Australian audiences could be forgiven for assuming that this is a developing story.
However, day five of this salivating news story only confirms the fact that the Queen’s situation has not improved – and she is still not alive. Which means the story is not developing at all, and we are only being updated with news we already heard the day we found out.
Whether it’s the free-to-air breakfast panel hosts that have been relocated to a desk in front of Buckingham Palace, or it’s Sky News host Paul Murray dressed like an absolute slob hitting the streets of London for some soundbites from peculiar locals – Australians are being made to take this period of mourning seriously, by consuming as much Royal news as humanly possibly – with no real end in sight.
With another week until what will most likely be the biggest funeral in the history of the Commonwealth, Australians can look forward to learning even more about one of the most documented figures in modern history.
However, amongst all the euphoric montages and eulogies, there is one rather interesting Royal story that will remain untold out of respect – as Prince Andrew hovers in the side of frame throughout all coverage, alongside his brother, the new King Charles.
