Rod Liddle criticises BBC for too much coverage of Nelson Mandela death

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/06/rod-liddle-bbc-nelson-mandela-spectator

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Spectator columnist Rod Liddle has criticised the BBC for devoting too much airtime to the death of Nelson Mandela, describing the story as "famous nice black man dies".

The former editor of Radio 4's Today, who is no stranger to courting controversy with his column in Fraser Nelson's magazine, prompted a storm of criticism on Twitter with his comments posted hours after Mandela's death.

Liddle said: "For Christ's sake BBC, give it a bloody break for five minutes, will you?

"It's as if the poor bugger now has to bear your entire self-flagellating white post-colonial bien pensant guilt; look! Famous nice black man dies!

"Let's re-run the entire history of South Africa. That's better than watching the country we're in being flattened by a storm."

He added: "Look; I'm sorry Nelson Mandela is dead.

"It happens quite often to people in their 90s who have been very ill, even famous people, but I'm sure that doesn't lessen the sadness for many of us. I never met the man but, on balance, I came to the conclusion that he was a force for good rather than ill.

"I think I came to that rather banal and broad brush conclusion 20 years ago, or maybe 15. So, I'm sorry he's dead, I wish it were otherwise."

The column generated fierce criticism on Twitter, with users describing him as "odious" and "vile".

Also on Twitter, Richard Garside published a "Rod Liddle decision tree", describing him as an "attention seeking wind-up merchant".

The Rod Liddle decision tree on how to react to the death of Nelson Mandela pic.twitter.com/omi2OedjvK

Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, discussing Liddle in an interview with the Guardian earlier this year, said the most common reaction he gets from Spectator readers is "don't tone down Rod".

"Twitter has got a habit of vastly amplifying the concerns of whose who have spent their lives being wound up," said Nelson.

"Twitter is not the vox populi; it is a very effective way of getting a point across to a journalist. But there is a temptation in politics and the media to overreact to Twitter."

The Spectator had to pay £5,625 in fines and compensation in June last year after a Liddle comment piece breached reporting restrictions during the trial of Stephen Lawrence's killers.

The magazine had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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