Dan Walker says BBC has been ‘properly’ criticized for covering Prince Philip’s death

Dan Walker – who recently left BBC Breakfast – spoke about the BBC’s heavily criticized coverage of Prince Philip’s death last year, saying viewers have ‘rightly’ criticized the broadcaster. right’

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Prince Philip: Royals pay their respects on death anniversary

Dan Walker has said the BBC was “rightly” criticized for its coverage of the death of the late Prince Philip last year, with him saying you “can’t be forced to grieve for a country” .

The newsreader, 45, says the broadcaster made the mistake of putting the same output on BBC One and BBC Two following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death last April.

The presenter – who left BBC Breakfast recently after six years as a co-host – said the BBC had been “rightly” criticized for the decision, while he pushed for “the balance”. plain”.

Discussing the coverage – which has resulted in more than 100,000 claims – he said: “That’s where there should be a balance because you can’t be forced to grieve with one country.”

He added: “You can report it […] But you can’t make everyone feel the same. Some people don’t feel the same way about the Royal Family. I think that’s important. ”

Dan – who left the BBC to switch to Channel 5 – spoke about the coverage while on BBC Radio 4’s Communications program this week, ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

In the episode, the presenter reiterates the practice for the deaths of members of the Royal Family while working at the BBC, and he argues that the tone is not correct.

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Dan says he has felt announcers often go “too far” into tone – such as speaking slowly – and are more “respectful” than he could have wished for.

He explains his point that you can “spontaneously show” that a story is “hard to tell” and of national importance “without going too far” in the way it is conveyed. .

The BBC addressed criticism for its coverage of Prince Philip’s death last year, after it had cleared its schedule at the time to provide continuous coverage of the matter.

The BBC has received more than 100,000 complaints about its coverage, but said in its statement at the time was a “major event” that had “generated a lot of interest”.

It acknowledged that some viewers were “unhappy with coverage” and affected scheduling, but said those changes were made with “careful consideration”.

The broadcaster further commented: “The decisions taken reflect the BBC’s role as national broadcaster, in times of national significance.”

Mirror has approached the BBC about Dan’s comment.

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