AUSTRALIA: The King Charles Coronation ceremony that ABC covered was labelled “despicable” by monarchists; nevertheless, the viewers gave the coverage a higher rating in all media networks. ABC’s coronation ceremony coverage portrayed 1,182,000 views on the channel, placing it ahead of Seven’s 1,096,000 and Nine’s 738,000 in accordance with OzTAM, which gives updated ratings that focus on the size of the audience, taking into account all platforms.
The ABC coronation panel had Jeremy Fernandez and Julia Baird as hosts, attended by journalists like Stan Grant, Teela Reid, a lawyer and Indigenous writer, Julian Lesser, a monarchist and backbencher, and Craig Foster, co-chair of the Republic Movement of Australia.
According to the Australian Monarchist League, the coverage incorporated “vitriolic attacks on the king, the monarchy, the British settlement, and everything that came after that.”
Radio broadcasters Neil Mitchell, Ray Hadley, and News Corporation condemned ABC for initiating a panel talk on Indigenous Australians’ rights, the ramifications of colonial rule in minority lives, and the appropriateness of the monarchy in 2023. The panel talk took place for 45 minutes and was over way before the event.
A newspaper company said, “The ABC’s coverage in the lead-up to King Charles III being crowned featured a panel dominated by pro-republican voices who spoke at length about colonisation and racism in Australia, which they blamed the monarchy for at the same time crowds were pouring into Westminster Abbey in London.”
Both ABC and Seven networks took the BBC feed, but the former did not send a group to London, while the latter sent David Koch, the Sunrise co-host, throughout the week in London, where the broadcast happened live from many places.
An ABC spokesperson mentioned in a statement that the role of a national broadcaster is to initiate diversified conversations from different factions and communities, adding, “Hearing from Indigenous Australians and reflecting on Australia’s history is an important part of this, especially as this year Australians will vote in a referendum on whether a First Nations voice in parliament should be included in the nation’s constitution.”
Also Read: “Vivat Rex!” Students Get Ready to Welcome King Charles For His Coronation
