Deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and Shane Warne captured our hearts, but we couldn’t shake Covid

The Covid pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and Shane Warne were among the top stories in Australian media over the past 12 months.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 was one of the most read ‘single-day’ news stories of the year. Picture: Getty Images

Most Australians tried to put Covid behind them in 2022 but that didn’t stop the pandemic from being the biggest news story of the year.

While the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 and legendary cricketer Shane Warne on March 4, and Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine on February 25, were among the most read “single-day” news stories of the year, the ongoing health, social and economic effects of the coronavirus dominated the headlines in Australia overall.

Russian president Vladimir Putin – who is in his fourth term as the country’s leader – was the most-mentioned person in the Australian media in 2022, according to analysis conducted for The Australian by media intelligence company Streem.

The Streem report tallied up the news stories that spent the most hours in the top 10 spots on 20 major Australian news websites from the beginning of the year through until last week.

The flood crisis and the disastrous scenes of inundated townships, which left thousands of homes underwater in Queensland and NSW, featured heavily in the local news cycle across various times of 2022, and was the fourth biggest overall story of the year.

Shane Warne, who died suddenly in March. Picture: Getty Images

Streem’s communications spokesman, Jack McLintock, said there were many overarching issues that led news websites throughout the year, including the stresses of ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

“While many hoped that 2022 would be the year that we moved past the pandemic, the wall-to-wall Covid coverage in the opening months of the year ensured it would be the top story of the year,” he said.

“As the year unfolded, numerous other major news events took place, including the war in Ukraine, the 2022 federal election and the death of the Queen.

“Add to these significant events strong undercurrents of cost-of-living pressures, including inflation and energy prices.”

The ongoing health, social and economic effects of the coronavirus dominated the headlines in Australia overall. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Matray

Australia experienced high levels of inflation throughout the year, making it the fifth biggest news story.

The inflation rate in Australia was 5.1 per cent at the end of the March quarter, rising to 7.3 per cent at the end of the September quarter.

The merry-go-round of British prime ministers drew widespread coverage in Australia — Boris Johnson’s (eventual) departure in September was followed by Liz Truss’ historically brief 45-day tenure in the top job, before the ascension of Rishi Sunak on October 25.

 

The delivery of two federal budgets in Australia — one in March by the former Coalition government and a second in October by the new Labor government — was the seventh biggest news story of the year.

Other stories to make the top 10 included the controversy during the Australian Open in January surrounding the world’s No. 1 tennis player, Serbian Novak Djokovic.

He had his visa revoked and was subsequently deported from Australia after failing to comply with vaccination rules.

The ongoing debate about energy prices remained a prominent issue throughout the year and was the 10th-biggest news story of 2022.

Originally published as Deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and Shane Warne captured our hearts, but we couldn’t shake Covid