BBC2 clears its schedule to screen Michael Jackson tribute

chris

BBC2 cleared its schedule to screen the Michael Jackson memorial service live tonight.

The broadcaster devoted 90 minutes to the event from 6pm with DJ Trevor Nelson hosting coverage. The BBC News channel also went into rolling mode to cover the story.

Nick Vaughan-Barratt , head of BBC Events, said: 'Michael Jackson is one of the most influential pop stars of all time and we're pleased to [have brought] BBC viewers coverage of this important event.'

The corporation risked further infuriating viewers who feel it has gone over the top with its coverage of Jackson’s death.

Audiences have also voiced their frustration that the broadcaster continually pulls advertised programmes for niche live events.

Last week the BBC confirmed it had received over 750 complaints over its news programming tackling the singer’s untimely demise.

Angry viewers flooded message-boards arguing there was too much coverage of the subject.

One said: ‘Let’s get a sense of proportion shall we? Up to now your coverage – and, I have to say, that of most of the media – has been way out of proportion.’

Another added: ‘Did the sad death of Michael Jackson really warrant this amount of coverage you gave him, by the end of the day I was sick and tired of hearing about it, 10 minutes and the beginning of each news hour would have been sufficient.’

BBC news chief Mary Hockaday defended the output saying Jackson was a major international figure and the coverage was not to the exclusion of other stories.

She said: 'We have had a number of complaints about our coverage, the main charge being that we simply did too much: that his death didn't justify the prominence and scale of our reporting through Friday and into the weekend.

‘The story was certainly very prominent, with extensive reporting on our domestic and global news channels and it was the lead story on our television and radio bulletins and on the web.’

The memorial was also broadcast on Channel Five and on BBC HD.


Source:dailymail