On March 22nd, Kensington Palace released the Princess of Wales’s video, where she announced that doctors had found cancer after her abdominal surgery and she was undergoing chemotherapy. The video was carried everywhere, on television and online. Several American channels carried the video live as it was released, and obviously it was major news across the board in the UK. Apparently, people took issue with the BBC coverage of Kate’s announcement and the BBC’s seemingly wall-to-wall coverage thereafter. Similar to the deaths of QEII and Prince Philip, the BBC went way overboard and there were complaints. The Daily Mail says that the Beeb received “more than 100 complaints,” which honestly sounds like a pretty low number? In any case, the BBC issued a statement:
The BBC has received more than 100 complaints over its ‘excessive and insensitive’ coverage of Kate’s cancer diagnosis, it has emerged. The Princess of Wales announced she was undergoing treatment for cancer in an emotional video on March 22. The BBC aired the full video and has hit back at criticism saying it was ‘mindful’ of its reporting approach, and did not speculate on details that had not been made public.
In a statement responding to the complaints, the corporation said: ‘We broadcast in full the highly personal video message from the Princess of Wales, in which she spoke directly to the public about her cancer diagnosis. Our coverage reflected the significance of this story and the outpouring of support for the princess from around the globe. We explained to our audience what was known about Catherine’s condition, but did not speculate on details that had not been made public.’
The corporation detailed its reporting approach and said it always gives ‘careful consideration’ to the editorial decisions made.
The statement continued: ‘Our reporting made clear that this is a difficult time for the princess and the rest of the Royal Family; we have been mindful at all times to approach our coverage with sensitivity.’
‘As part of our analysis, we examined the intense speculation there had been in the preceding weeks about the princess’s health. We also reported on Catherine’s request for privacy and detailed the statement from Kensington Palace regarding the princess having the right to privacy in relation to her medical issues. We always give careful consideration to the editorial decisions we make. While we have a responsibility to report on stories that are of interest to our audience, we appreciate that not everyone would have approved of the approach we took.’
“As part of our analysis, we examined the intense speculation there had been in the preceding weeks about the princess’s health.” Ah, I guess that was the reason for the complaints. Honestly, though, I’m on the BBC’s side in this limited issue – they were contextualizing the reason why Kate’s video was so significant and why it was such a global headline. It’s because Kate had been missing for months and Kensington Palace had been caught lying and manipulating photos as proof-of-life for a missing princess. The “where is Kate” controversy was WHY Kensington Palace had to release the cancer-announcement video. Of course, that doesn’t explain why KP had been lying for weeks beforehand, even promising that Kate would be resurrected for Easter Sunday. If anything, the BBC needs to investigate more and call out the lies even further. They won’t though. Especially since they’re still being so squirrelly about how the cancer-announcement video was made.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace.