Queen Elizabeth II is being felt widely outside Britain. Many global broadcasters tore up their usual programming schedules within minutes of the news in order to pay tribute to a beloved monarch’s legacy. “Whenever something of this massive scale happens, whether it’s a death, a natural disaster, a declaration of war or an attack, news takes priority over all programming,” said Aline Pivot, head of news at TF1, France’s leading commercial TV channel.
Pivot said her news department began to get ready its dedicated coverage from Thursday morning when the BBC first reported that the Queen had been placed under medical surveillance. “We immediately sent correspondents to Balmoral [in the Scottish Highlands, where the Queen died],” Pivot continued.
She said reporters encountered some transportation delays getting to the castle. “It’s not an easy place to reach, you have to take a train, and you have not only every TV outlet in the world but also floods of people traveling there,” she said.
TF1’s programming was entirely dedicated to the Queen’s death on Thursday evening, with a special magazine show hosted by two star journalists from around 7:30 p.m.
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