Michael Jackson's last time in the spotlight

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Michael Jackson's last time in the spotlight
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 7, 2009


(07-06) 19:43 PDT --

Michael Jackson's funeral today will be one of those shared cultural moments when Americans collectively mourn a pop culture icon. The mourning is understandable, as many found Jackson's life story and music compelling and his death shocking. Its aftermath will fill People magazine for months.


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Michael Jackson Retrospective
Michael Jackson's last time in the spotlight
King of Pop's complex reign
Talented and troubled singer
'Thriller,' MTV made Jackson into megastar
Biography (Hall of Fame)
Timeline (USA Today)
Discography (Rolling Stone)
Music video collection
Sign the guestbook

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The coverage in the 11 days that have passed since the pop singer's death has served as a cultural opiate, a chance for Americans to forget the recession, the nation's two wars and the debate about health care - and travel (literally in the case of NBC and CNN) to Neverland, where they could see endless news clips of Jackson moonwalking and legal analysis about the future of his estate.

But some hope that the conclusion of Jackson's memorial service will return the nation's conversation to its myriad problems - that is, after the 10 a.m. star-studded event starring Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Brooke Shields and Martin Luther King III is covered live by all the major network news anchors.

A survey Wednesday from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 64 percent of the respondents said there was too much Jackson coverage.

"We are in the most critical, important stage of this (health care) campaign, and it is difficult when there are stories like Michael Jackson being covered ahead of it," said David Elliot, who is lobbying for health care reform on behalf of USAction, a progressive coalition involved in several issues. While Beltway-based media like Politico.com have been closely following a debate that affects every American, Elliot said, "the issue isn't being covered by media with a mass audience. And that's not good for us and not good for the democracy."

Dominating media
The story of Jackson's death has been a rare one that dominated traditional, online and social media, as fans wanted to share their remembrances of the singer, said Amy Mitchell, deputy director of the Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism. "But in many cases they weren't telling the full Jackson story, of the controversial parts of his life," she said.

This weekend, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said the media "has disgraced itself" with its Jackson coverage and too many public figures "have made fools of themselves by talking about Michael Jackson like he's some kind of hero." In a YouTube video, King called Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005, a "pervert" and a "lowlife."

Why the saturation coverage? Because people watched.

CNN's flagging ratings spiked after Jackson's death, and MSNBC, the self-described "place for politics" got a ratings boost as it devoted a sizable chunk of airtime to Jackson. People.com got its highest traffic ever the day after Jackson died, 63 percent higher than average. Time magazine cranked out an extra, $5.99, 64-page issue - the magazine's first since just after the Sept. 11 attacks - devoted to Jackson. And BET scored the highest-rated week in its history after devoting its annual awards show to Jackson, three days after he died.

Issues pushed aside
Remember Neda Agha-Soltan, the Iranian woman whose bloody face became iconic after she was killed during street protests? Her story faded as news coverage of Jackson mushroomed.

"The cable networks, in particular, love a spectacle, and (Jackson's death) was a spectacle," said Bob Calo, a senior lecturer at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and former producer at NBC and ABC. It's the kind of story where tidbits drip out every few hours, keeping viewers hooked to a narrative that has a dynamic figure at the center of it, he said.

Plus, with most of the action centered in Los Angeles, a media capital, "it was cheap to produce," Calo said. New developments happening at night fill the networks' morning news programs, and those made in the morning provide content for the nightly talk and magazine shows.

Jackson a 'pioneer'
But Don Lemon, a CNN reporter who spent most of the weekend reporting every new morsel of the Jackson story, told the network's "Reliable Sources" Sunday show that "I don't feel it's overdoing it. And when I hear people saying that, I think it's elitist. I'm sure there was some criticism when there was coverage of Princess Diana's death, but I don't think there was the same criticism as there was with Michael Jackson.

"Michael Jackson is an accidental civil rights leader, an accidental pioneer - he broke ground and barriers in so many different realms."

Will the national conversation turn serious after the funeral? Calo predicted that the news cycle will be less Jackson-heavy by the end of week - after the networks spend the day after the funeral reviewing its coverage.

"It's a sad day when you have to tune in to Rush Limbaugh to get news about health care or the coup in Honduras that the prime time news programs aren't providing," said Karl Frisch, a senior fellow at the liberal Media Matters for America think tank.

How to watch
ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, as well as BET, CNN, E, Fox News Channel, MTV and MSNBC, are among the outlets that will carry Michael Jackson's memorial service live at 10 a.m. today.

E-mail Joe Garofoli at jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com.