What happens when the world's media descends on South Yorkshire after tiger death tragedy inquest opening
Journalists and TV crews were out in force for the brief hearing
It is the story that has put South Yorkshire in the global headlines all week, with the world’s media descending on our region to cover the tragic death of William Chapman, the man fatally mauled by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
From the main item on national and international news channels to the front page of tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, the terrible story has dominated the headlines since Saturday when Mr Chapman, 24, climbed into the pen of Amur tiger Altai.
News outlets across the world - from America to Australia, Italy to Indonesia, Germany to Ghana have all reported on the awful events.
And lest we forget, even US President Donald Trump waded clumsily into the proceedings, sharing a bizarre AI clip of him wrestling and chasing a tiger and mimicking an original video about the tragedy. Needless to say, his social media post, soundtracked by The Lion Sleeps Tonight and captioned “don’t mess with nature!” drew widespread condemnation.
And as an inquest opened into Mr Chapman’s death at Doncaster’s Civic Offices this morning (Thursday), camera crews and reporters were once again out in force.
Long before the 10am hearing got under way, crews representing channels such as the BBC, ITV and Sky were busy setting up their gear in Sir Nigel Gresley Square, with curious locals asking questions about their presence.
Inside the cavernous building that’s the HQ of City of Doncaster Council, it was no different.
Journalists from The Sun, The Mirror, The Daily Star and correspondents from the Press Association were in attendance, along with radio station reporters.
By the time senior coroner Nicola Mundy opened the proceedings inside a temporary meeting room, it was almost standing room only with journalists taking up three rows of seats inside the courtroom.
As proceedings got under way, reporters furiously scribbled into their notebooks, while others tapped away at their laptop keyboards or mobile phones to publish the news to their readers and viewers.
Having covered many inquests over the years, I certainly can’t recall such a media scrum, such is the global interest this story has received.
Almost as soon as the brief hearing began, it was over and the press pack decamped outside to record their pieces to camera or to type up their reports of the proceedings.
When the full inquest takes place on March 18 next year, the press coverage is likely to be even more intense with dozens of reporters, TV crews and photographers more than likely to attend.
It’s certain that this story will continue to make headlines around the globe for some time yet.