ABC has come under fire from Mardi Gras viewers for its ‘terrible’ coverage of the Sydney Lesbian and Gay Pride event.
Streaming the parade live on television Saturday night left many supporters at home feeling shortchanged.
While some praised the ABC for providing ‘really well done’ airtime to the huge annual festival, most were outraged by the camera work.
One unimpressed viewer wrote: ‘The ABC is doing such a poor job with #MardiGras. Technically the sound and camera work was poor, but it was also so humorless and the editing was tactical to emphasize women and minimize male bodies.’
A second said: ‘Seriously, the ABC needs to get better commentators on its #mardigras coverage. “Courtney Act aside, this reporting is terrible.”
ABC has come under fire from Mardi Gras viewers for its ‘terrible’ coverage of the Sydney Lesbian and Gay Pride event. Pictured: stock footage of Mardi Gras in Sydney in 2024
Most seemed annoyed that the camera missed many of the beautiful floats passing by, with one person writing: ‘Missing ABC floats again.
‘Floats and costumes that took so much time, effort and creativity. There is no need for the reporters on the ground to talk rudely.”
Another commented: ‘ABC, get everything together, we had someone waste five minutes having a portaloo toilet conversation while amazing floats went by.’
“Are they really doing portaloo story floats? We miss all the work and effort that went into various floats so that the co-hosts have to use the bathroom? Come on ABC, you did so well,” someone else tweeted.
Despite the overwhelming wave of criticism the television network received for its poor coverage of the annual parade, some viewers sang their praises for ABC.
Streaming the parade live on television Saturday night left many supporters at home feeling shortchanged
One viewer said they were ‘very sad to miss the party’ every year, but thanked the ABC for their coverage so they could watch from home.
Another wrote: “We’ve been waiting YEARS for an uninterrupted Mardi Gras parade without stupid b-roll stories. Really well done ABC.”
‘I’ve only just switched over but I think the ABC’s coverage of Mardi Sydney Gras is much better this year. Presenters explain/describe the floats and do not talk about themselves. What an improvement, well done,” a third commented.
While some praised the ABC for providing ‘really well done’ airtime to the huge annual festival, most were outraged by the camera work.
Complaints about ABC’s poor reporting came just hours after a large crowd of demonstrators marched through Sydney’s Hyde Park ahead of the Mardi Gras parade to protest the involvement of NSW police.
As they marched through the park to the staging area for Saturday’s parade, the crowd chanted “stop police attacks on gays, women and blacks.”
Organizers Pride in Protest also caused chaos in Darlinghurst, the heart of the city’s LGBTQI+ community, on Friday evening when around 300 people arrived for the same reason.
One unimpressed viewer wrote: ‘The ABC is doing such a poor job with #MardiGras. On a technical level the sound and camerawork was poor, but it was also so humorless and the editing was tactical to emphasize women and minimize male bodies.’
Despite the overwhelming wave of criticism the television network received for its poor coverage of the annual parade, some viewers sang their praises for ABC
Police were not formally invited to march in the parade this year following the arrest of an on-duty police officer charged with the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
Mr Davies was honored with a special float by Qantas, his former employer.
However, officers on duty were present at the parade, further fueling the group’s anger.
Pride in Protest organizers called those marching with the group to City Hall for a ‘speak out’ event on Saturday from 2pm, with the march to the staging area in Hyde Park taking place just after 4pm.