Former presenter criticizes BBC coverage of Liam Payne's death

Former BBC presenter Michael Buerk has criticized the extensive media coverage of Liam Payne's death, describing him as “a drugged-up, faded boy band singer”.

Buerk, who was the face of BBC News for almost 30 years until his semi-retirement in 2002, spoke on Radio 4's Today program about how foreign reporting had changed over the last four decades.

“I think it’s really, really different,” he replied. “The appetite for seriousness was greater. I think it was just last week that this show decided that the most important thing that happened in the world was a drugged-up, faded boy band singer falling off a balcony. Even the 10'O Clock News, who are usually good at these things, thought it was the second most important event in the world. And I think there was a broader agenda or appetite; When you look at the news these days, it seems like they tell the same half-dozen stories over and over again, while entire continents go unmentioned month after month.”

Payne, who rose to fame as a member of the group One Direction, died last week at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Initial toxicology reports indicate that drugs were found in his body, while local reports indicate that drug paraphernalia was also found in his hotel room.

It is not the first time the BBC has been criticized for its coverage of the death of a public figure. Following Prince Phillip's death in 2021, the broadcaster was forced to set up its own complaints page for viewers frustrated by the blanket coverage.