If you have been paying attention the last few days, you may have noticed a change in the format of this blog. Originally started as way of communicating a short paragraph of my daily thoughts, the commentary got longer and longer as the days went by. Because of this, and because of reader feedback, I am adding paragraph breaks.
On Friday, I was writing about the over-the-top media frenzy surrounding disgraced South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who a day earlier had given a long and rambling news conference explaining his disappearance from the state for six days while he was having an extra-marital affair in Argentina. In mid-sentence, Michael Jackson died. I had to switch gears and change the subject. Hence: paragraph breaks.
My wife was on her computer and she yelled over to me that Michael Jackson was hospitalized. I walked over to her computer and on her Twitter feed, the words came up that stunned the nation and the world: "Michael Jackson died." The news came that fast. One second he's hospitalized, the next second he's dead. A day earlier he was rehearsing for a comeback tour which was to start in London.
The world is a different place than when I was a kid - when Walter Cronkite wiped tears from his eyes after telling the nation the John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. The news filtered slowly through a cumbersome method of news gathering such as the Associated Press news wire, the land line telephone, and fact-checkers who had to wait in line for verification before confirming events. There was no cable news and no Internet, so hours went by before we got official confirmation on the evening news. Walter Cronkite was the bearer of bad news. But there was a certain comfort hearing it from "Uncle Walt".
When Michael Jackson died, the news spread throughout the world instantaneously. Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites helped spread the news. Rumor turned into facts in a matter of minutes, and within a half-hour of his death, Michael Jackson was the story on every channel, and not just the news channels.
As news of Jackson's death came in, nearly every broadcast station cut away from regular programming to report on the sudden events. The cable channels stayed with the story almost exclusively for the next few days. Other news topics were ignored, although there wasn't much to report about Jackson, other than he most likely died of cardiac arrest. The rumor that drugs played a part in his death came in slowly, but we had heard drug rumors when he was alive. Once this issue was explored, the media spent hours looking for news that wasn't there.
To say the media was unprepared is an understatement. The biggest news that came out was that people were originally putting flowers on the wrong star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The pop icon's star was covered up by a red carpet for a premier of Sasha Baron Cohen's movie "Bruno". 73-year-old English-born radio personality Michael Jackson's star covered by flowers and surrounded by fans of the other, more famous Michael Jackson. Of course, the dead Michael Jackson happened to be more famous than anyone.
No matter what you may think of his private life, the eccentric oddball with the common name was anything but common. The lawsuits and legal settlements, which caused embarrassment but never a conviction for anything, are a thing of the past. His fans are numerous, and he is even bigger in other parts of the world. There are those who haven't forgotten the scandals that plagued Jackson over the latter part of his life, and many people believe he is guilty of something. But there's no denying his popularity, and in death, Michael Jackson is being remembered for his groundbreaking musical career.
The best-selling album of all time: "Thriller". Now, thanks to his death, Michael Jackson is again outselling everybody else. A day after his death, Amazon.com announced that sales of Michael Jackson's music were up 721 times what they were before he died. That's 72,100%. Correct me if I'm wrong.
For the record: Because news events happen so quickly, and I type over 75 words a minute, I am no more immune to mistakes than other news outlets. I said in Friday's column that toxicology reports would be released in a little over a week. The actual time is four to six weeks. So, now, even though we are getting other news mixed in with news of the death of "The King of Pop," expect the story to continue.
We've heard from Quincy Jones, Liza Minelli, Elizabeth Taylor and even Corey Feldman. Larry King has turned up little-known friends to interview. Michael Jackson will remain in the news for awhile. And thanks to him, I'm now using paragraph breaks.
Showing posts with label Liza Minelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liza Minelli. Show all posts
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson's Fans Aren't Ready To Say Goodbye
A day after his death, Michael Jackson is getting the outpouring of attention he craved so much as his career sputtered in the later part of his life. He died just weeks before he was to start a comeback tour to help resurrect his career and pay his bills. Today, however, in terms of music sales and popularity, "The Gloved One" is "The Only One," according to Amazon.com. History is in the making, as Jackson accounts for the top 15 CD's and the top 7 DVD's, and his music is the most requested, most downloaded and most shared on any Internet site anywhere. According to Amazon.com, his sales are now running 721 times what they were running just before his death. Just yesterday he was alive, an eccentric oddity trying to make a comeback. Now he's dead, and to many, he's a legend. The House of Representatives paused for a moment of silence in his honor.
Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977. "The King" had become a bloated caricature of the superstar he once was. Presley was also working on a comeback at the time of his death. Sadly, his death prompted his comeback. Death has a way of bringing out the best in people. Presley's popularity continued to grow after his death, and his estate continues to rake in millions of dollars a year. This time, it's the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, dead at the young age of 50. It seems like only yesterday that Jackson moon-walked into the public consciousness, but he started out over 40 years ago, at the age of 9. Presley and Jackson were both struggling with personal and professional problems when their untimely deaths caught everyone by surprise. Although their deaths ended similarly - rumors are surfacing that drugs may have played a part in Jackson's death - there is a huge difference between the two stories.
If we're old enough, most of us remember where we were when we heard of Presley's death. We remember where we were when we heard of John Lennon's death. The same goes for JFK, Martin Luther King, and other iconic figures, depending on our age. We found out after someone told us hours after the fact, or after we saw it on the evening news, usually hours after the deaths were confirmed by the news media, which relied on sources such as the Associated Press and UPI, for news that came off a wire machine and filtered through the newsrooms across America until someone read it on the air.
I found out about Jackson's death pretty much as it happened. It popped up on Twitter. In fact, news about his death spread instantly. We're in a new era where the news travels at the speed of the Internet. People can share their reactions instantly and from anywhere. The news media can confirm reports as they happen. The reaction to Jackson's death was so quick, in fact, that news of it was on every major television station within minutes. Unlike other recent deaths, like Farrah Fawcett or Ed McMahon, this one was not expected. And Jackson obviously was a much larger and iconic figure. News of his death took on a surreal quality; it hit us like an aluminum bat. Jackson seemed to be in good health, other than a bad back. The news didn't have time to filter through the news media as in the past, when people heard about major news stories as they trickled in. This was sudden, unexpected and shocking. Not just America, but the world was stunned.
The news media will be fixated on the death of Michael Jackson for the time being. Toxicological reports won't come in for over a week. Since the instant it hit the airwaves, the story has been somewhat static.
There is new information about a possible drug connection. Jackson was taking as many as seven different drugs, including Zoloft, Xanax and Demerol. Reports have come out that he may have OD'd on a shot of Demerol given to him just hours earlier. There was the mysterious appearance of a doctor who for some reason was with Jackson when he died. Dr. Conrad Robert Murray is being sought for an interview by the police. Liza Minelli, a family friend, hinted that Jackson's death was comparable to Anna Nicole Smith's, in that drugs were used while people looked the other way. Minelli said on CBS's "The Early Show" this morning: "When the autopsy comes, all hell's going to break loose, so thank God we're celebrating now."
The cause of death won't be known until the autopsy has been completed and the toxicological reports come back. As of now, cardiac arrest is being blamed for Jackson's death. That's it. There's nothing new to report, but the media is sticking with the story.
For now, Michael Jackson's fans aren't ready to say goodbye.
Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977. "The King" had become a bloated caricature of the superstar he once was. Presley was also working on a comeback at the time of his death. Sadly, his death prompted his comeback. Death has a way of bringing out the best in people. Presley's popularity continued to grow after his death, and his estate continues to rake in millions of dollars a year. This time, it's the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, dead at the young age of 50. It seems like only yesterday that Jackson moon-walked into the public consciousness, but he started out over 40 years ago, at the age of 9. Presley and Jackson were both struggling with personal and professional problems when their untimely deaths caught everyone by surprise. Although their deaths ended similarly - rumors are surfacing that drugs may have played a part in Jackson's death - there is a huge difference between the two stories.
If we're old enough, most of us remember where we were when we heard of Presley's death. We remember where we were when we heard of John Lennon's death. The same goes for JFK, Martin Luther King, and other iconic figures, depending on our age. We found out after someone told us hours after the fact, or after we saw it on the evening news, usually hours after the deaths were confirmed by the news media, which relied on sources such as the Associated Press and UPI, for news that came off a wire machine and filtered through the newsrooms across America until someone read it on the air.
I found out about Jackson's death pretty much as it happened. It popped up on Twitter. In fact, news about his death spread instantly. We're in a new era where the news travels at the speed of the Internet. People can share their reactions instantly and from anywhere. The news media can confirm reports as they happen. The reaction to Jackson's death was so quick, in fact, that news of it was on every major television station within minutes. Unlike other recent deaths, like Farrah Fawcett or Ed McMahon, this one was not expected. And Jackson obviously was a much larger and iconic figure. News of his death took on a surreal quality; it hit us like an aluminum bat. Jackson seemed to be in good health, other than a bad back. The news didn't have time to filter through the news media as in the past, when people heard about major news stories as they trickled in. This was sudden, unexpected and shocking. Not just America, but the world was stunned.
The news media will be fixated on the death of Michael Jackson for the time being. Toxicological reports won't come in for over a week. Since the instant it hit the airwaves, the story has been somewhat static.
There is new information about a possible drug connection. Jackson was taking as many as seven different drugs, including Zoloft, Xanax and Demerol. Reports have come out that he may have OD'd on a shot of Demerol given to him just hours earlier. There was the mysterious appearance of a doctor who for some reason was with Jackson when he died. Dr. Conrad Robert Murray is being sought for an interview by the police. Liza Minelli, a family friend, hinted that Jackson's death was comparable to Anna Nicole Smith's, in that drugs were used while people looked the other way. Minelli said on CBS's "The Early Show" this morning: "When the autopsy comes, all hell's going to break loose, so thank God we're celebrating now."
The cause of death won't be known until the autopsy has been completed and the toxicological reports come back. As of now, cardiac arrest is being blamed for Jackson's death. That's it. There's nothing new to report, but the media is sticking with the story.
For now, Michael Jackson's fans aren't ready to say goodbye.
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