Peter Preston has an unforgiving take on why, exactly, the U.S. ("the land of the free," as he notes) goes ga-ga for the British monarchy.
A bit:
Meet the chicken, meet the egg: Americans told Pew Centre pollsters that only 8% of them had been following the wedding build-up closely – and 64% thought it had had too much coverage. But Nielsen researchers also reported that twice as much reportage over the last six months had been generated in the US (far outscoring a low-key Britain). You knew that most Brits would stir into interest at the spectacle late on: after all, we're paying for it. But why such mush and gush in the mightiest republic?
Mix a few kilos of Cecil B DeMille with a good drench of Diana. Throw in the merest pinch of special relationship. Stir while watching The King's Speech on DVD. Let Piers Morgan earn his CNN crust playing David Dimbleby for the day. But otherwise see this as a triumph of relentless mass marketing. "We've had a lot of bad news lately, and if you're someone who finds this diversion interesting and exciting, then I think that's great," said Dan Rather, the former CBS news anchor. In short, escape to Fairytaleland; escape – if you're the Huws and Fionas of ABC, NBC, Fox and the rest – to London in spring, all expenses paid and new hats for the ladies every breakfast TV morning. Who needs Kabul when you can have the Mall?
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