• 
• 
• 

Okay, that would be fine for a two-minute newsreel, but to keep blasting this news non-stop as if Jacko was the first man to step onto Mars does not do any justice to the viewers' intellect.

This constant coverage is also unusual for the renowned news channel, BBC World Service, which recently won a stamp of authority and professionalism through its coverage of the war in Afghanistan and hot drama in Iran.

Well, I might be wrong, but maybe the media giant was trying to service its targeted world audience, most of whom are of a darker shade.

However, if the pop star were to wake up tomorrow he would vehemently refute my opinion.

After all, he did once say that his music was colour-blind, but is everybody else?

Personally, I don't have anything against this musical hero, though every time the name Michael Jackson pops up the only image that enters my mind is that of a middle-aged man in bed with young boys and girls. Despite the fact that he walked out of court a free man, his public image was forever tarnished save for a few songs. In addition, his fan base started dwindling in line with his fortune. If he were a politician he would have gone down the gutter in no time.

It would be misleading to say that Jacko was a victim of his own success. The star had gone past his sell-by date in the 1990s, with concerts being cancelled and no new albums breaking into a market that has since moved on.

One thing, however, is clear: Jackson had indeed been living in "Neverland". He seemed to have forgotten that he was once an ordinary coloured boy from a humble background who had worked hard and proved to the world that he could make a difference. He seemed to have forgotten about his drive, the creation of his famous "moonwalk". With album sales of more than 50 million at the time, the King of Pop could have been a role model for other aspiring young people in deprived areas around the world.

Instead he chose to live the life of a celebrity "pop icon", staying away from the mundane realities and only reappearing with pitiful media stunts.

Images of Jacko desperately trying to alter himself, literally, only showed a shattered man running away from his "true self". Nothing could have saved him. Not even if there was scientific evidence that he was actually "white".

Well, there is not much more left to say that you can't get on the constant BBC coverage.

Personally, I prefer to listen to Susan Boyle's performance on Britain's Got Talent.

I can't help but get teary every time I see this shabby middle-aged lady standing in front of a live audience and allow her natural talent to blossom.

I shall definitely go into mourning if she decides, one day, to opt for plastic surgery and emerges looking like a beautiful star.