Pell sentencing: blanket coverage at home, prominent abroad
Australia’s major TV stations live-broadcast the entire 70-minute sentencing, suspending normal programming.
The sentencing of George Pell, the Vatican’s former finance chief, for child sex abuse offences yesterday drew unprecedented coverage on television and radio across the country, and featured on international news websites.
Australia’s major TV stations live-broadcast the entire 70-minute sentencing, suspending normal programming, and local and international news groups ran stories prominently on their websites.
The unprecedented TV coverage came with a warning from the Victorian County Court that the sentencing included “graphic language”.
While it was not the first time sentencing had been broadcast, it was the first time all three commercial networks, the ABC and Sky covered a live court feed.
The broadcast consisted of the court’s own cameras fixed on judge Peter Kidd as he read the sentencing, with broadcasters crossing back to their own news and panel programs.
In Italy, where Pell was living before returning to Australia in July 2017 to face charges, the sentencing featured prominently on the websites of La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera newspapers. It also featured prominently in Argentina, where the Pope was born, on top news websites Clarin and Infobae.
In the US, TheWall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post carried stories online.
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