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July 06, 2009
RIP, Journalism
All three guests are quite candid about how they feel about the MJ Death Caravan Coverage... and should all be embarrassed for themselves... especially CNN's Don Lemon and his "accidental civil rights leader" bullshit.
It is all too easy to forget that this phenomenon started with Anna Nicole Smith, whose death was grossly overcovered. The only difference is degree, by about 20%, and the next steps in technology for the rest.
The bottom line is the Sharon Waxman and others think it is an "easy news decision to make" because of ratings... but when news is about popularity and not news judgment, there is no news, only a different set on monkeys doing reality TV (or print or internet) that pretends to be news.
I actually don't care much when people choose to be whores. It is a victimless crime... except when others are led to the same place. Just don't call yourself a journalist while you skull-f*** Michael Jackson's corpse every day in the hope of selling a few more ads for a few more dollars.
Posted by dpoland at July 6, 2009 12:40 PM
Comments
A bizarre coincidence: Just a couple hours ago, I was talking to a colleague with whom I worked at a TV station a few years back. And we both agreed: If there had been similar Internet and cable-TV outlets in place back in 1977, the coverage of Elvis Presley's death would have freakin' dwarfed the MJ coverage.
Posted by: Joe Leydon ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 6, 2009 01:05 PM
Don't know if I mentioned this before here, but:
In 1966, the death of Walt Disney merited one column on page three of the Dayton Daily News. The local TV stations mentioned it in passing on their 11:00 newscasts. That was it.
Posted by: Cadavra at July 6, 2009 01:44 PM
Today's prominent death: Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense when the US went full tilt into Vietnam.
Posted by: Chucky in Jersey at July 6, 2009 02:48 PM
Even before Anna Nicole Smith, it was the OJ Simpson saga that created the infrastructure that made 24 hour coverage of celebrity ephemera possible. The Simpson trial was the "Jaws" and "Star Wars" of straight news organizations chasing the profits of tabloid journalism, giving professional talking heads a vision of permanent punditry so long as somebody famous dies or somebody not famous kills a child or an attractive young female.
Posted by: Hallick at July 6, 2009 05:42 PM
People keep saying "all these famous people keep dying".
Are they? Or do we just over-sensationalize and create more famous people.
Andy Warhol and John Waters are 2 of the most prophetic people of the 20th Century. Disposable fame and Trash culture. They saw it coming.
Posted by: anghus at July 6, 2009 08:31 PM
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