January 2016 seemed to be a month of mourning in the media, and we publically said goodbye to Paul Kanter, Dale Griffin, Glenn Frey, David Margulies, Alan Rickman, David Bowie and Terry Wogan, amongst many others. Many of these names were taken from us at a fairly early age, mid 60s-70s, and unfortunately a great many by our enemy Cancer. But whilst I was absorbed by the whirlwind of twitter posts, facebook statuses and BBC Alerts, unlike others, I didn’t cry and wasn’t emotionally affected by these deaths. I admit I did recall my appreciation from those who passed, I went onto Spotify and played my favourite Bowie songs and a few weeks later decided to watch Harry Potter. But one thing that has struck me is the impact of media coverage on people’s reactions.
Now, I don’t mean to belittle any celebrity in the writing of this article, but after having been pointed out by a friend I now feel a slight resentment toward the media and the public for this one issue. It can be argued that all of these celebrities have received great coverage and had millions of fans upset by the news, but one that I feel has unfortunately not been celebrated enough would be that of Sir Terry Wogan. He was a broadcasting Legend, charitable man, national treasure and ultimate radio icon. This man broke boundaries, and in 2009 even hosted the most listened to radio broadcast in Europe Wake Up to Wogan, suggesting that he was the most influential radio personality of the time. Many people our age have seemed to shrug off the death of Wogan, maybe this is because he was one of the last in a long line of celebrities who sadly passed this January, but maybe it is also because they have not fully appreciated his influence on British culture. Yes Bowie was a legend, and yes Rickman was indeed an incredibly talented actor, I do not wish to slate these people. But unfortunately, there have not been half as many articles to celebrate Wogan’s life. Aren’t we the age who listened to his incredibly hilarious and witty Eurovision commentary? Or those who stayed up late to watch him host Children in Need? Wogan was a great presence in my childhood, whether it being his voice on long drives with my Dad, when I stayed up past bedtime to watch the Eurovision with my sister, or watching his old game shows with my mum after school.
RIP Sir Terry, you will be sorely missed.
Kristy Robertson
