FORMER Prince Andrew’s mother was admirable as a responsible woman and head of state, not to mention a strong one. One wonders how she would have dealt with her reportedly favourite son’s involvement in the deeply shameful and apparently criminal Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Like countless others, I feel that the monarchy, a lavish publicly funded institution, has lasted far too long. Clearly, human lives on the planet are not treated as having equal value or worth, although morally they should be.

As a good example, the queen was one person, however loved by many. Yet, her death and funeral received more news coverage than was morally justified, especi-ally when compared to other important global events that, at the time, received little or no coverage as a result. I am not the only news consumer troubled by this clear imbalance with respect to media coverage.

A late, renowned newsman once high-lighted the Western world’s seemingly callous, biased and uneven news coverage and consumption well when he rightly said: “A hundred Pakistanis going off a mountain in a bus make less of a story than three Englishmen drowning in the Thames.” Unfortunate, but true. Period.

Frank Sterle Jr
White Rock, Canada

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026