Talking Points A WISE man once said that resentment was ‘like drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies’. You probably know of him; he went by the name of Nelson Mandela. It was one of those effortless sound bites in his seemingly endless collection that helped cast him into the annals of history. I couldn’t help thinking that particular quote was quite fitting in light of the outrage the BBC coverage of his death sparked. In the days and weeks after the world took a short sharp intake of breath upon learning the 95year-old had drawn his last, the word excessive was bandied about like cheap sausage rolls at an office Christmas party. The corporation dispatched around 120 staff members to South Africa to cover the mourning of the colossus at a time when the east coast of Britain had experienced the worst storm surge in 60 years. In a period of freak weather conditions, Saltburn was once again slapped in the face by the force of nature. Railings collapsed, paths disintegrated, the amusements flooded and the water savagely carved out gaping holes along the bottom promenade. There was an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Saltburn was not alone. Across the east coast homes were swept into the sea as thousands of people were evacuated to safety and the clean-up operation began to take hold. Frustrated and emotional, it’s inevitable that people looked for a scapegoat with the faceless grandeur of the BBC providing the perfect dartboard. In a sense the BBC
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were caught between a rock and a hard place and in my view, took the correct, if rather difficult, decision. Perhaps the coverage was a little excessive – but then rolling news generally is these days. You only have to look at the Diamond Jubilee, the royal wedding or the death of Margaret Thatcher in recent years to see that the coverage of significant events usually dominate the schedules with a Dimbleby at the helm feeding our insatiable appetites like pieces of foie gras. But the significance of Mandela’s passing should not be underestimated. To undersell an opportunity to celebrate a man who has changed the face of political history by unshackling the chains of apartheid is surely a crime in itself. That’s not to say he was a saint, as is often portrayed by the media when a high profile figure dies, but there seems little debate that he was a global icon. And yes, undoubtedly the coverage of the storm suffered as a result, but placed in a wider context, is it not understandable, if unfortunate? Of all the angry complaints about the BBC’s so-called excessive coverage – there have been more than 1,000 in total – it’s those people who cite the interruption of hit comedy Mrs Brown’s Boys that rankles the most. If a man like Mandela can feel no outward resentment after 27 years of imprisonment in wholly barbaric circumstances, surely people can find it in their hearts to forgive the BBC for ten minutes. Jonathan Whiley
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