At 2:19pm on Monday, 7 July, one of the most covered murder cases in Australian history came to an end. All of the major news outlets across television, radio and print, cut away from usual programming to cover the breaking news. Mediaweek kept an eye on the coverage as it was reported by each of the networks.
The news being reported
After two months of listening to evidence from both the prosecution and the defence, the jury of seven men and five women came back to announce that Erin Patterson had been found guilty of murdering three people by serving them beef wellingtons containing death cap mushrooms.
She was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, who attended the lunch, but survived.
Nine scored an early win by becoming the first network to broadcast the most recent photo of Patterson, apparently taken of her inside a police van. Source: Nine
Radio
2GB
At 1:52pm, Lucy Zelić, who is filling in for regular Afternoons presenter Michael McLaren, announced the jury had reached a verdict in the trail before throwing back to an interview about cars. The case was revisited at 2pm during the news, with the story leading the bulletin.
At 2:16pm, Zelić then threw to her Nine television colleagues, with the coverage continuing with Brett McLeod behind the 9News desk.
By 2:30pm 2GB returned to regular programming with Zelić. Coverage continued off-and-on the network, with the broadcaster dipping into Nine’s television talent pool.
ABC
NewsRadio continued with a prepared package before anchor Laura Tchilinguirian broke news a verdict had been reached at 1:59pm, second before 2pm news was rolled-out.
The broadcaster continued touching upon the news, crossing to reporters, Alexandra Alvaro and Ben Knight, who were stationed outside the courtroom.
Television
Nine
Nine broke into its midday movie at around 1:53pm with journalist Brett McLeod taking the reins behind the news desk. He was joined on the set by Steph Anderson. McLeod threw to reporter Amber Johnson, who was stationed outside courthouse and delivered the verdict live – reading it off her phone – after a fellow Nine journalist SMS’d her from inside the courtroom.
Reporter Gillian Lantouris, stationed outside Patterson’s house, also provided content during the coverage.
The Nine team also inadvertently provided coverage to the rest of the Nine network, including 2GB, with the station dropping in to the coverage. Coverage of the event concluded at 3pm, before the broadcaster dipped straight back into the fray with its 9News afternoon bulletin at 4pm.
Seven
A blink and you’ll miss it tie between Seven and Nine as to who broke into regular programming first. Mediaweek has Nine by a nose, with Seven still broadcasting its scheduled Dancing With The Stars repeat after Nine had already got the ball rolling.
Veteran 7News journalist Mike Amor was stationed at the desk, crossing to both Chris Reason and Cassie Zervos who were stationed outside the courthouse.
After the verdict Seven spoke to Nick Pappas QC, along with former Homicide detective Charlie Bezzina.
Ten
The network was the slowest of the Big Three to get its coverage underway with Wheel of Fortune still being broadcast until at least 2:15pm – the very time the jury were expected to deliver its verdict.
The network called in longtime journalist and presenter Jennifer Keyte to steer the desk, regularly crossing to reporters Abby Dinham and Steph Baumgartel.
It finished news coverage at 2:32pm and returned to an episode of game show Lingo.
ABC
The national broadcaster began its coverage at 1:46pm, ABC Presenter Miriam Corowa stationed at the desk. She threw to reporters Alexandra Alvaro and Ben Knight, who were stationed outside courthouse. The pair were kept busy, also providing reports and crosses to Aunty’s NewsRadio.
Following the verdict, Corowa interviewed Former NSW Supreme Court Judge Anthony Whealy
Sky News
Ashleigh Gillon helmed coverage in the studio, crossing to reporter Georgie Dickerson outside the courtroom. Legal analysis was provided soon after by Justin Quill.
Online
Many digital outlets were ready for the fast-paced nature of today’s verdict, running live blogs that allowed for real-time updates. It’s a savvy approach, giving publications the flexibility to update developments without needing to change URLs or rewrite headlines with every new detail.
The Guardian Australia
At 1:42pm, The Guardian Australia updated its live blog to confirm that a verdict had been reached. Reporting continued throughout the afternoon via Adeshola Ore, Benita Kolovos, and Nino Bucci. Kolovos, filing from inside the courtroom, noted Patterson’s “stoic” demeanour as the charges were read out.
Daily Mail Australia
Daily Mail Australia broke the news of the verdict at 1:48pm on its live blog. Coverage continued through the afternoon, including photos from outside court and links back to earlier coverage of the case.
News.com.au
As of 1:59pm, the site had yet to update its homepage or ‘Just In’ section with the news, an unusual delay, considering other News Corp Australia titles such as The Daily Telegraph and The Australian had already gone live.
Meanwhile, The Herald Sun, another NCA outlet, maintained its rolling coverage, with reporters Laura Placella and Brooke Grebert-Craig (co-hosts of The Mushroom Cook podcast) delivering updates across platforms.
Read Mediaweek’s chat with Grebert-Craig on what is was really like covering the trial