JournalismPakistan.com | Published July 15, 2013
Join our WhatsApp channel
LONDON: The world's media waited in the summer heat outside the private London hospital on Saturday where Prince William's wife Catherine will give birth, as the expected due date arrived with no sign of the royal heir.
A rumor that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone into labor on Thursday spread like wildfire on Twitter and reportedly caused Prime Minister David Cameron's office to call Buckingham Palace to check on it.
It was another false alarm, but the dozens of international journalists camped outside St Mary's Hospital are on tenterhooks, knowing that it could happen any day now.
The palace has said the baby was due in "mid-July" and many editors have had this weekend in the diary for months - even though any parent knows that babies rarely arrive on time.
William's father, Prince Charles, revealed his anticipation as he attended a festival celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on Friday.
The heir to the throne said "it won't be long now" until he becomes a grandfather as he surveyed a range of commemorative china to mark the new arrival - one of countless ranges of memorabilia celebrating the birth.
His second wife Camilla added: "We are very excited. Immensely looking forward to it and waiting for the phone call."
The popularity of William and Kate, who married in a glittering wedding at Westminster Abbey in 2011, has turned the birth of their first child into a global event.
Media organizations from around the world have been installed outside the hospital for almost two weeks now.
In the absence of news, time has been passing slowly. But at least the famous British rain has held off, with Saturday tipped to be the hottest day of the year so far.
For the television networks, the top priority is to hold their positions around the clock, working 12-hour shifts.
That means fiercely defending their territory, never yielding an inch of space to a rival station, and woe betide anyone touching the gaffer tape marking out an organization's patch.
The main British news broadcasters - BBC, ITN and Sky News - have got the prime spots, lined up in front of the major US networks, which have maximized their space with some mammoth pieces of broadcasting hardware.
Behind them, it is a scramble to get a decent angle to shoot the doorway where William himself was first presented to the world in 1982, carried out of the Lindo Wing by his parents Prince Charles and Diana.
For the time being, the door is guarded by a police officer who is rapidly becoming the most filmed man on the planet.
Occasionally he breaks his vigil to let a pregnant woman into the building, as the hospital continues the day-to-day business of treating less high-profile patients.
International correspondents pad out the time by interviewing passers-by and, as a last resort, one another. - AFP
March 29, 2025: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), ruling that the move likely violated legal procedures. The decision protects over 1,200 journalists and media staff.
March 28, 2025: Turkey deports BBC journalist Mark Lowen over 'public order' threat and fines opposition TV channels covering Istanbul Mayor's arrest. Critics condemn crackdown on press freedom amid rising political tensions.
March 25, 2025: Turkish authorities must release detained journalists covering protests and end press crackdowns. CPJ condemns police violence and home raids targeting media workers.
March 16, 2025: The Trump administration has ordered furloughs at U.S.-funded broadcasters, including Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia, raising concerns about press freedom and government control over media funding.
March 08, 2025: Senior UK TV producers are taking shelf-stacking and pub jobs as the industry faces a prolonged crisis. Thousands are unemployed, with freelancers struggling to find work. Learn more about the factors behind this collapse.
February 28, 2025: CPJ urges Russian authorities to drop charges against journalist Ekaterina Barabash, who faces up to 10 years in jail for criticizing the Ukraine invasion. Learn how fake news laws are being used to silence dissenting voices in Russia.
February 21, 2025: Ghanaian authorities must investigate the attack on five journalists covering Ashanti Region elections. CPJ urges accountability to ensure press freedom and safety.
February 07, 2025: Mozambican journalist Albino Sibia was killed while filming police brutality, and reporter Pedro Junior was shot covering his funeral. Arlindo Chissale remains missing. These attacks highlight the dire state of press freedom in Mozambique amid post-election unrest.
April 11, 2025 Sindhi journalist AD Shar was brutally murdered in Khairpur, Sindh. His body was found dumped on Handiyari Link Road. PFUJ has declared a three-day mourning period and demanded justice.
April 10, 2025 The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has filed a case against The Daily Jammu & Kashmir and its staff for alleged fake news, drawing condemnation from PFUJ and IFJ, who demand immediate withdrawal of the FIR and an end to media repression in Pakistan.
April 08, 2025 Journalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges that Pakistan's state agencies, including the FIA, have blocked her CNIC, passport, and bank account while threatening her. She calls it a direct attack on journalism.
April 07, 2025 The Islamabad High Court has directed IG Islamabad to produce journalist Ahmad Noorani’s missing brothers, as the Ministry of Defence denies custody. SIM activity was traced in Bahawalpur, and investigations into their suspected abduction continue.
April 07, 2025 Journalist and Raftar founder Farhan Mallick has been granted bail by a Karachi court in a case concerning anti-state content aired on his YouTube channel. He still faces separate charges related to an alleged illegal call center and data theft.