HM Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) -- News Coverage

Probably because David Beckham isn’t a reporter and the Aussie media contingent is there to report on the solemnity of the occasion and give a sense of the atmosphere and viewing process in the hall for those of us 17,000km away. Poor David Beckham.

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Especially when Nine has up to 100 staff in London (according to Amelia Adams at the network’s upfronts on Wednesday). I think News Corp is forgetting that the BBC, which provides majority of feeds, is also a state funded broadcaster.

That’s a bit harsh, seeming both 4 & 5 get their News Sourced out from ITN.

honestly I don’t know why there is such an uproar over the amount of coverage and the number of people they send over there etc etc like just let these companies do whatever the hell they want. what does it really matter ?? more coverage of big events the better imo

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Because it is over a week now since Queen Elizabeth II died. It would be alright the first weekend but now it is just overboard.

then just dont watch it

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Far out - both ITV and Sky have gone unjustifiably overboard with the simulcasts of their respective funeral coverages. In particular, would have thought CITV should be airing regular programming considering their target audience.

Considering the criticism it has gotten for its coverage of the passings of Prince Phillip and now Queen Elizabeth, it’s bizarrely the BBC that has the most measured and sensible coverage plans - especially because the BBC2 simulcast has a purpose in ensuring deaf people can watch the funeral.

Did anyone else notice that the Sky News feed Nine were showing was significantly out-of-sync? Thought it was just me at first but the audio and vision were out by a good few seconds.

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Two nights in a row. It came good after a while last night but it was pretty bad.

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I love all the whingeing over the coverage. Just imagine if this happened 20 years when FTA networks only had one broadcast channel. It would have been even more overwhelming, but it’s 2022 and all FTA networks have multiple other channels for the haters to go to!

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The main criticism I thought was some networks with multi-channels are/were broadcasting the same coverage over all their channels, or closing their other channels and showing a message to view the main channel. But in 2022 most people who don’t want to watch this are going to be watching a streaming service or if they don’t have one using iview,7plus,9now,10play etc.

I’ve not seen any Australian networks duplicate their coverage on multiple channels, other than ABC for the first 48 hours. Which I think was entirely warranted given they didnt even break the news until 15-20 minutes after it was announced and broadcast on all other Australian networks. ABC should have been first, but that’s another argument altogether.

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He didn’t have to queue. He was offered VIP treatment but chose to queue alongside everyone else as he felt the experience was “something to be shared together.”

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Im guess here… but with Dougal reading Melbournes weekend news, we may see Alicia pop up in London.

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This is a media discussion forum. I don’t get the complaints (ironically) about people complaining about too much coverage. It’s no different to complaining about lack of reporting on a story, excessive reporting can be the case too.

Her majesty’s death is a very important news story but it feels like the big two have used this as a dick measuring contest of how many resources they have and can throw at the story. This forum loves live news, OBs and rolling coverage and I get that, but it doesn’t mean it’s good or warranted to the level over the last few days (specifically from after last weekend).

More coverage, more resources ≠ better coverage

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I’ve given up watching the Australian coverage - the BBC and Sky UK are covering everything important without the bullshit that Australian media likes to spin. Its these major international events that really show how poorly we are served by our television news media who continually favour style and celebrity over substance.

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I’ve been watching coverage on BBC News and Sky News UK without the Australian stuff going on

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Totally agree. Something I’ve been saying for years.

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The BBC certainly benefitted from having a dry run with the death of Prince Phillip and seem to have learned lessons from it, though on the day of his funeral they switched to a football match immediately after it.

ITV and Sky clearly haven’t. It’s also a technical nightmare simulcasting several channels and just pointless spreading their own audience so thinly when they’ll both be soundly beaten by the BBC anyway. If anything just closing the lesser channels for a period rather than simulcasting would be more respectful.

I’ve no real issue with the news coverage so far on either the BBC or ITV - yes, it’s been significant, but it’s generally been proportionate and scheduled to cover the key events adequately, without rushing them but without being on air excessively around them.

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To be fair though, a lot of people here have put aside that and questioned/criticised the level of coverage various networks have given/are giving/will give to Queen Elizabeth’s death.

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I find that this is an another example of Australian networks’ tendency to catastrophise news. So that rolling coverage such as for fires and weather events like cyclones and floods goes on for too long and is inflicted on markets that aren’t impacted. There is the element of trying outdo each other in the coverage as well.

The length of the coverage on Monday is just ridiculous. Even, after seeing coverage of election days seeming to start hours before the polls are closed, it was a surprise to see the day coverage to be starting 8 hours before the funeral. But once Nine had announced their plans it wasn’t too surprising to see Seven with the same schedule. So after the midday start, the coverage will continue until 5am the next day with a break for news. Only the most diehard royalist could think that was warranted.

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