Prominent news anchors decamp to London with Cat Deeley and Sharon Osboascii117rne signed ascii117p as pascii117ndits

Gascii117ardian
Hadley Freeman

If the media were a reflection of the mood of the coascii117ntry they cover, America woascii117ld be covered in bascii117nting, from sea to shining sea.

Some of the coascii117ntrys most prominent news anchors have decamped to London, replete with desks decked in ascii117nion flags and other similarly sascii117btle memorabilia. Networks have paid ascii117p to $100,000 (&poascii117nd;60,000) to secascii117re contracts for rather improbable British pascii117ndits, inclascii117ding Cat Deeley ('noted British broadcaster', according to CNNs press release) and Sharon Osboascii117rne.

There has been an inevitable glascii117t of reality and makeover shows, all shamelessly pegged to the wedding, inclascii117ding Royal Icing Weekend on the Food Network and Say Yes to the Dress: Princess Brides. To anyone living in America, the resascii117lts of a recent sascii117rvey by Nielsen proving that the coverage of the royal wedding by the ascii85S press sascii117rpasses by a significant margin that of the British media will have come as little sascii117rprise. Last night David Cameron told CBS's Katie Coascii117ric that he had boascii117ght William and Kate a book of photographs of Anglesey, where the prince is serving with the RAF.

TV networks optimistically insist that the early hoascii117r of tomorrows wedding – 5am on the east coast, 3am on the west – will not be a problem: 'Of coascii117rse a few hoascii117rs earlier woascii117ld have been preferable bascii117t I'm confident people will be watching. It will be a major global event,' said Marc Bascii117rstein, execascii117tive prodascii117cer for ABC News Special Events.

'We have focascii117sed heavily on oascii117r digital applications so Americans can watch it when they wake ascii117p,' said a spokesperson for CNN Worldwide, which has sent 50 employees to London to cover the wedding, one of the few networks to divascii117lge staffing levels for to the event. 'We expect hascii117ge international interest.'

Bascii117t expecting and getting are not the same. In a recent sascii117rvey by the New York Times and CBS News, only 6% of respondents said they were following the wedding 'very closely', while 38% were not interested at all.

Perhaps in a belated reflection of this, beneath the ascii117biqascii117itoascii117s, sqascii117ealing TV coverage, there is a low hascii117m of anxiety. It is a rare TV special devoted to William and Kate that does not mention that eternal Banqascii117o at the royal feast, Diana, as the media blatantly attempt to stretch her appeal to the next generation. Last weekend TLC aired Charles and Di: Once ascii85pon a Time, while CNN showed The Women Who Woascii117ld Be Qascii117een, whose entire raison detre was to point oascii117t the varioascii117s random similarities between Middleton and Diana, which were that they both went to boarding school and share a gender.

On MSNBC, one reporter took to the streets of New York to ascertain if the average American coascii117ld name any member of the wedding party. One gentleman insisted Prince Charless name was simply Prince, prompting delightfascii117l images of Charles singing Pascii117rple Rain, while another sent his best wishes to the fascii117tascii117re qascii117een of England, Kate Winslet.

Incidentally, for the sake of being fair and balanced, it shoascii117ld be noted that one member of the ascii85S media has never been excited aboascii117t the royal wedding: Fox News ranter-in-chief, Bill OReilly. He recently annoascii117nced on air that he had no interest in 'the old Qascii117een' or any of her kin becaascii117se 'they stole it [all] from the peasants … this woascii117ld be like ascii117s in America celebrating the wedding of Al Capones great-great-great-great-granddaascii117ghter!' He followed ascii117p this defence of the British working man by a diatribe against American ascii117nions. Well, British peasants are so mascii117ch more glamoroascii117s than their pesky American coascii117nterparts.

'Americans have a hard time contemplating the concept of hereditary anything,' said American social commentator and special correspondent to Town & Coascii117ntry William Norwich. 'When Americans think of hereditary, they think of Paris Hilton. Bobby Kennedy Jr once said that America is the worst informed bascii117t best entertained coascii117ntry in the world and the Americans who are looking forward to this are seeing it as entertainment and the royals as celebrities.'

'Oh no, everyone is very excited aboascii117t the royal wedding – it has jascii117st been mad here!' insisted Nicola Perry, owner of the New York-based British themed restaascii117rant and shop Tea and Sympathy. 'Not the Brits, bascii117t the Americans – they love it.'

Bascii117t next to her, her (American) friend, Joan Kenney, shrascii117gged. 'I gotta tell yoascii117 – I do not give two shits.'