The Michael Jackson media circus: My thoughts and yours

Yesterday morning the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources," the Washington Post's media correspondent Howard Kurtz, asked his panel of CNN-anointed journalism experts if the media's carpet-bombing coverage of pop-star Michael Jackson's death was (is) professionally justified.

The brief exchange, which, exasperatingly, came at the segment's end rather than as a lead-in, unfolded as follows:

Kurtz: I only have half a minute here. [One panelist] mentioned the network newscasts, which led Thursday night, Friday night, of course, with Michael Jackson. Back in 1977, CBS led with another story, the Panama Canal instead of Elvis' death. And it just seems like everybody is on this Jackson bandwagon.

[Second panelist]: It's because people are talking about it. I mean, you know ...

Kurtz: Is that the standard? Is that the media standard, whatever people talk about becomes the most important story?

[Second panelist]: Yes. It is now. I mean, I'm not a 40-year veteran of TV journalism, but I can tell you that you cater to what everyone is talking about. That seems to be the new standard.

There is, of course, no "seeming" to it. That is the new standard -- the entertainment-driven, ratings-obsessed, profit-chasing standard that would make Howard Beale blush.

Yet it's not that cable-news networks have either forgotten or never understood the difference between hard, important news and pure, sensationalistic distraction; it's just that cable-news executives now report to corporate boards of directors and shareholders who are less than fussy about how profits are turned. If some executive fails to grasp that, the board, assuredly, will find someone who doesn't.

In this respect I tend to find philosophical harmony with Marx -- no, not Groucho -- in his (not very well-known) sympathy for the capitalist, who, wrote Karl, is as much a victim of impersonal market forces as the next guy; he does what he does, in general, not out of inhumanity or malice, but through the ruthlessly competitive need to survive.

In short, said Marx, blame the system, not the capitalist -- and I imagine that would have been his decree with respect to the Jackson media circus as well; there is no personal blame to be had here.

But what do you thing? In your opinion are network executives perpetrators of distracting madness, or merely helpless victims?

Comments

[Dallas112263]

I have always found it ironic, or perhaps iconic, that Howard Kurtz is a well regarded media critic... He has all that the proverbial fox has, sittin' standing outside the chicken coop guarding the door...

In a rational world the media would lead with Healthcare Reform every day until it is accomplished, in a sane society we would have had an open substantive discussion about the nature of aggressive war in 2002 and the mid-terms would have been much different...

In a world where eagles led, rather than ostriches, there would have been a real investigation of 9-11, the media would have demanded a coherent answer rather than meekly accepting the official version, wrapped up in the American Flag and ready for easy revenge...

We have been played for suckers, and worse... It's working...

RGJ/Dallas112263
PS: I heard that Micheal Jackson died and that Liz Taylor is still alive! Wow! And Larry King, too!

[DonnaM]

I hate when this happens - when some celebrity gets into trouble or dies, the airwaves are filled with 24-7 re-hasing of the issue along with their entire life story for the next week or two. Happened when Reagan died, when the pope died, and now when Michael Jackson died. I for one use those periods to brush up on my reading, or check out what's going on on the regular TV channels or to watch movies on HBO/Encore/Starz. I'm normally a cable news-hound, but during those periods (and for several weeks afterward) my cable news watching is seriously reduced. If everyone did the same thing I do, then the news networks would wake up and stop boring us with this crap, every time some celebrity dies or gets into trouble!

[loolaboola]

He should be remembered for what I now call the prophetic song 'They don't really care about us'... a song that unfortunately was labeled as antisemitic ??? probably a misinterpretation of its lyrics...

[Carolyn]

It's called "bread and circuses".
Keep the public entertained and they won't notice the sky is falling until it's too late.
Keep them amused and uninformed and you can get away with a lot
The media are the creatures of the corporations, which is why we are in this mess.

[Kevin Schmidt]

As usual, you are asking the wrong questions.

Here are the right ones:

Did Michael Jackson have to die?
NO!

Why is it legal for a doctor to give anyone a shot of Demerol for any reason?
$

Did Farrah Fawcett have to die?
NO!

Why did Farrah Fawcett allow her AMA trained doctors to poison her with chemotherapy instead of changing her diet, taking natural supplements and taking natural herbal remedies that are proven effective against cancer without harmful side effects?
$

Why is the FDA conducting SWAT team raids and prosecuting manufacturers of herbal and natural remedies, while allowing pharmaceutical companies to kill over 100,000 people every year with their toxic prescription drugs, many of which have never been properly tested?
$

Why has the federal government paid billions of dollars to develop an H1N1 flu vaccine that will not work and most likely will kill thousands and sicken millions?
$

Why is the FDA and FTC protecting the modern day bloodletters at the AMA and pharmaceutical industry?
$

Why is the USDA allowing toxic produce, meat and packaged food to be sold in the USA?
$

Why is the US ranked behind 44 other countries, including Bosnia, in life expectancy?
$

[Kevin Schmidt]

Personally, I think most MSM news can be classified as porn, since most of their so called news stories have no social redeeming value.

My question to all of you is why do you read, listen to or watch the MSM when you can get the real news on the internet from places like Buzzflash.com, Legitgov.org, and globalreasearch.ca? Even the Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the only real news that is on TV, can be downloaded from ComedyCentral or Hulu.

Why don't you disconnect your cable service and hook up high speed internet to your TV? Put away the remote and start using the keyboard!

[HH]

Fox News today: Michael Jackson. Iran. Madoff. Michael Jackson. Iran. Madoff. Iran. Madoff. Jackson. Madoff. Madoff. Madoff. Iran. Iran. Michael Jackson...

[Message in a bottle]

I remember back around the 1990's, CNN covered the O.J. Simpson murder/trial for months, and probably made out like bandits in commercial advertising royalties. So you know they are digging away, sending people out to find whatever they can on Michael's circle, the mother of his kids, his family, CNN hoping like hell they will all end up getting into a fight for Mike's money and all end up in court. It would be O.J. all over again, and most of America, of course, would tune-in CNN and FOX to watch it all and never miss a minute. Why? Because Americans are simply minded shitheads that do whatever the TV tells them to do.

[Eric Vaughan]

Loolaboola - Michael Jackson was noted for making some strong anti-Jewish comments, but the womb-man who sold him her kids, Debra Rowe, is Jewish.

(If you enjoyed this post, be sure to Google "Frank Collin" and "judicial".)

[aion power leveling]

Did Farrah Fawcett have to die?
NO!

[malcy]

Loolaboola - Michael Jackson was noted for making some strong anti-Jewish comments, but the womb-man who sold him her kids, Debra Rowe, is Jewish.
What anti Jewish comments may I ask?