Howard Kurtz called Michael Jackson coverage "out of control & an embarrassment"
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 3, 2009 - 8:23am.
Media
Hello Everyone:
After about a week of so much Michael Jackson media coverage, I was absolutely thrilled to see media critic Howard Kurtz say to guest host Kitty Pilgrim on a CNN Lou Dobbs panel that "the coverage is out of control, and it's becoming an embarrassment to the news business:"
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/02/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Jackson's Children; Jackson Investigation; Jermaine Jackson Speaks; Jackson's Lawsuits
Aired July 2, 2009 - 19:00 ET
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Has the media gone overboard covering the death of Michael Jackson? That's the topic of our face-off tonight.
And joining me now are Howard Kurtz, media reporter for the "Washington Post" and host of CNN's "Reliable Sources," also Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University...
Let me start with you, Howard. What do you think is going on here? This is an interesting phenomenon, at best.
HOWARD KURTZ, REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST, CNN HOST: Kitty, the coverage is out of control, and it's becoming an embarrassment to the news business.
The almost wall-to-wall cable coverage, led by CNN, particularly at night, the network morning shows, the prime time network specials..."
I completely agree with Howard Kurtz and I was also glad to see him include CNN in his critical comments when he has his own show on CNN (that in my opinion is evidence he is being objective and honest):
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/reliable.sources/
Reliable Sources
"Host Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post is the nation's premier media critic, and each week he questions print reporters, television correspondents and Internet bloggers about how the press is covering the major stories of the week."
This entire dialogue was put up on YouTube almost immediately so here is the video link to watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=256HdAlgm7U
Kurtz: MJ Coverage "An Embarrassment To The News Business" (6:24)
PoliticsNewsPolitics
July 02, 2009
"Washington Post" media critic Howard Kurtz thinks the news networks, including his own CNN, are going "overboard" with their excessive coverage of Michael Jackson's death, calling it "an embarrassment to the news business."
During the rest of this dialogue, Howard Kurtz in my opinion also made many other excellent points about this "out of control" Michael Jackson media coverage along with giving Kitty Pilgrim and the other panel guest Robert Thompson some very pointed and correct answers.
Robert Thompson in my opinion also made an excellent point when he said "this is an awful lot of coverage for a very, very little bit of information" and he gave a very interesting explanation about why so many people are watching "too much coverage" of Michael Jackson:
ROBERT THOMPSON, PROFESSOR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: "In the first couple of days one of most famous people in the planet dies under murky circumstances, somebody's who music touched millions, sure it's a huge story. We're now in day seven. You have the yellow breaking news banner up. There are not a lot of new developments.
But everybody looked at the numbers and said, hey, this is great. Our ratings are way up. And so everyone in the news business, particularly on television, trying to keep this story alive.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And yet ratings reflect popular interest, don't they, Howard?
HOWARD KURTZ, REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST, CNN HOST: Well, sure. But if you're going to program your news network that way, you can put on naked Jell-o wrestling and do a big number.
I mean, what's being shoved aside here, Kitty? A big major U.S. incursion military offensive in Afghanistan, everything else from Al Franken. The only other story that's getting traction is Mark Sanford. Why? Because it's got sex in it.
PILGRIM: Robert, what did you think?
THOMPSON: It's true. All of this coverage is very little news. I mean, there's really one piece of data so far -- Michael Jackson died at the age of 50. The rest of it, so far, is speculation, retrospectives, reactions of people. And this is an awful lot of coverage for a very, very little bit of information.
PILGRIM: Let's put it up for our viewers. It's a Pew Research Center poll. A majority of Americans think the coverage is too much, 64 percent, right there. And 29 percent say the story is the right amount. And yet -- go ahead.
THOMPSON: Yes, I mean, I think we have to look at this -- that doesn't mean that they're not watching it.
I mean, the equivalent would be, I suppose if you ask 100 people who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day the following question -- are cigarettes bad for you? My guess would be nearly all of them would answer the question yes. But they're still smoking two packs a day.
Now, everybody isn't watching Michael Jackson coverage. But while they're filling out, many of them, the "yes" box in the survey, is there too much Michael Jackson coverage, they're watching it while they're complaining that there's too much coverage that they're watching..."
Robert Johnson's example comparing the "100 people who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day" to the people "watching it while they're complaining that there's too much coverage" made sense to me. I understand the reality of what he is saying even though I agree with Howard Kurtz that it is "out of control" and "an embarrassment to the news business."
Howard Kurtz also explained why "the executives are breaking out champagne" over this, he made the right judgment call in my opinion about what legitimate Michael Jackson media coverage should be (15 minutes every hour as opposed to 50 minutes every hour), and he explained "what the dilemma is" to the media executives when it comes to numbers:
HOWARD KURTZ, REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST, CNN HOST: "But especially on cable, Kitty. If you have an average audience of 1 million, if you get another million, the executives are breaking out champagne...
There have been some important developments this week, the battle over the will, the custody of the kids. If 15 minutes every hour was devoted to Michael Jackson, don't think I would have any problem.
But instead it's 50 minutes out of every hour, at least much of the day on many of the cable channels, and I think that is way overboard.
But at same time, I know what the dilemma is -- if you go away from this now, cut off the debate, you go to Afghanistan, those numbers will drop..."
I also completely agree with all of these comments from Howard Kurtz and especially when he said "it is turning off a lot of people who are not tuning in" who are saying "hey, wait a minute, there are other things go on in the world:"
HOWARD KURTZ, REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST, CNN HOST: "But I think at same time, part of what's driving this, because look at death of other famous entertainers, maybe George Harrison, I think, was a more important figure. But with Michael Jackson, you have the essentially weirdness, and of course the child molestation allegations. He was a very controversial figure, his musical legacy aside.
And so that is playing out, to some degree, with the battle over the will and the children and were drugs involved, and all of that.
I'm interested in that. I just think the volume has gotten so high and the coverage has got so relentless, that I think it is turning off a lot of people who are not tuning in or maybe dipping in for five minutes say, hey, wait a minute, there are other things go on in the world..."
Here is the link to the Pew Research Center poll that Kitty Pilgrim mentioned which says that "nearly two-in-three Americans say news organizations gave too much coverage to the story:"
http://people-press.org/report/526/coverage-of-jackson-death-seen-excessive
July 1, 2009
Coverage of Jackson's Death Seen As Excessive
Blacks Track News of Icon's Death Much More Closely than Whites
Summary of Findings
"The public closely tracked the sudden death of pop superstar Michael Jackson last week, though nearly two-in-three Americans say news organizations gave too much coverage to the story..."
Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org and Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA in my opinion have rightly complained about this same kind of "out of control" media coverage in the past:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/iraq-five-years-and-fad_b_92095.html
Jon Soltz
Iraq: Five Years and Fading
Posted March 18, 2008 | 11:28 AM (EST)
"This marks the five-year anniversary of the war in Iraq...
Maybe I'm hoping for too much. If the media follows their pattern, they'll take a brief pause tomorrow to remember there's a war in Iraq and war in Afghanistan. Then it'll be back to talk of prostitutes and celebrity breakdowns..."
http://securingamerica.com/node/2226
Anna Nicole Smith Died. So Did Three American Troops. (Paul Rieckhoff)
Submitted by Kat on February 9, 2007 - 1:57pm.
Blog name:
Huffington Post
Date:
February 9, 2007 - 12:00pm
URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff/anna-nicole-smith-died-_b_40827.html
Paul Rieckhoff
Exec. Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
Posted: February 9, 2007 12:40 PM
Anna Nicole Smith Died. So Did Three American Troops.
"I can't stand it anymore. For the last two days, on every cable news network, it has been non stop coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Look, I am sorry she is dead. And my heart goes out to her family..."
I definitely agree that Michael Jackson was far more famous and that he did a lot more for pop culture than Anna Nicole Smith ever did but I still think that this same principle applies right now. Just look at all of these innocent people who have recently died in Iraq and Iran mainly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time as opposed to dying because of drug abuse or for living a controversial life style:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0906/28/cnr.01.html
CNN NEWSROOM
Iranian Protestors Snatched From Hospital Beds and Arrested; Obama Expresses Concern After Coup in Honduras, Billy Mays Found Dead in His Tampa Home This Morning
Aired June 28, 2009 - 14:00 ET
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "After so much of this, American troops in blazing combat, the American-led war in Iraq is coming to an end. Despite successful elections and the people's return to a vaguely normal life, this is how the U.S. withdrawal is beginning to look.
A bombing in a Baghdad market where 72 people out shopping were killed, or here, this mosque in the north, where a suicide truck bomber killed 80, or in this Baghdad market for used motorbikes, with 15 more slain.
In less than a week, more than 200 Iraqis have been butchered across the country, prompting the government to warn people to stay away from crowded locations.
For one thing is almost certain, these attacks will continue as Al Qaeda and its allies attempt to bomb Iraq back into sectarian civil war, a war it will be up to Iraq's prime minister to prevent..."
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=98746§ionid=351020101
Armed vandals 'killed civilians' in Tehran
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:26:11 GMT
"Tehran's prosecutor general's office has said that some armed saboteurs opened fire on civilians and killed people in post-election violence in Tehran.
"A number of Tehrani citizens were shot dead by unknown vandals Saturday night," said the office on Monday..."
Also look at how 642 of our troops have been killed in Afghanistan as of Thursday, July 2, 2009:
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 642
By The Associated Press The Associated Press
Thursday, July 2, 2009 8:24 PM EDT
"As of Thursday, July 2, 2009, at least 642 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT..."
The MANY deaths in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan are getting very little media coverage. In my opinion, each of these people's lives are worth just as much as Michael Jackson's life is worth. Is anyone prepared to say that Michael Jackson's life is worth more than the lives of these people who have recently died?
I completely agree with Howard Kurtz who asked John King about the media "Are our priorities a little screwed up?" and I also agree with John King who said "Iraq has become, I believe, the forgotten war:"
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0906/28/sotu.02.html
STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING
State of the Union: Reliable Sources
Aired June 28, 2009 - 10:00 ET
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: "I'm John King and this is STATE OF THE UNION...
Time now to go back to Howie Kurtz and his RELIABLE SOURCES.
Hey, Howie.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John.
You know, you led off this morning with General Odierno talking about the U.S. pullout from major Iraqi cities, which is supposed to be completed by Tuesday. And as you know, a series of bombings this week left more than 200 dead, and yet the coverage this week on cable and, to some extent, on the broadcast networks, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Mark Sanford.
Are our priorities a little screwed up?
KING: Well, well of those things you just mentioned are legitimate news stories, but sometimes Iraq has become, I believe, the forgotten war. And we won't forget it here for obvious reasons. There are still, as the general said, 131,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, some key deadlines coming up. The question is, will they be home on time? So it does get overshadowed, I would argue, too much. It's a very important story, and we'll keep covering it.
KURTZ: I would agree with you, overshadowed too much. Thanks very much, John..."
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan definitely deserve much more media coverage right now in my very strong opinion. I should not have to look as hard as I do to find this kind of specific information:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17740
Michael Ware: Iraqis are not ready yet & our troops will not be coming home soon
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 1, 2009 - 4:32am.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17744
Michael Ware explained why our major operation in Afghanistan will not be easy
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 2, 2009 - 6:52am.
While I think that Bernard Goldberg was far more harsh than he had to be and that his "boob tube" comment was way out of line, I have to agree with the main premise of what he was saying about excessive Michael Jackson media coverage (and I really do not like agreeing with people like Bernard Goldberg but as people who know me are aware of, I always call issues how I honestly see them objectively and right down the middle):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbmMMRbr58
Bernie Goldberg Calls Michael Jackson News Viewers "Boobs" (6:59)
PoliticsNewsPolitics
July 01, 2009
"Bernard Goldberg says that he's not surprised that there was excess coverage on the tragic death of Michael Jackson. "We live in a country that celebrates celebrity... We talk about the television being the boob tube. What does that make everybody who tunes into this stuff?"
In conclusion, I absolutely think that Michael Jackson's early death was a terrible tragedy, I truly feel sorry for his family and friends, and I definitely agree that the story of Michael Jackson's death deserves SOME media coverage as Howard Kurtz stated in the Lou Dobbs transcript above:
HOWARD KURTZ, REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST, CNN HOST: "There have been some important developments this week, the battle over the will, the custody of the kids. If 15 minutes every hour was devoted to Michael Jackson, don't think I would have any problem.
But instead it's 50 minutes out of every hour, at least much of the day on many of the cable channels, and I think that is way overboard..."
But due to of this "out of control" Michael Jackson media coverage, I also agree with Howard Kurtz when he said about the media that our priorities are "a little screwed up" and that this is "becoming an embarrassment to the news business" because I definitely think that MANY in the media have sold their journalistic souls and their credibility for larger audiences and ratings (basically for economic reasons) so that they can be "breaking out champagne" as Howard Kurtz also said above!
Mitch Dworkin
http://mitchdworkin.com/
Check out my new website!
http://www.securingamerica.com/
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/16039
RESOURCES: Speeches, Articles, and Career Highlights to help define Gen. Clark!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 7, 2008 - 2:51pm.
http://www.securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7191
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program: An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight back against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda!
This debate took place on CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight on Friday, July 3 where Kitty Pilgrim was filling in for Lou Dobbs as the guest host.
David Caplan being the senior editor of People magazine who argued the position that "were just responding to genuine worldwide interest in Jackson" was NOT qualified to objectively debate that position in my opinion. This is because more news media coverage of Michael Jackson will probably help the sales of People magazine which is probably in Caplan's personal and financial interest. That is why I take what Caplan says with a grain of salt and that is also why I think CNN should have found an objective person to debate that position instead. But I am glad that this debate did take place on Lou Dobbs Tonight the day after the discussion in this post with Howard Kurtz and Robert Thompson!
I agree with San Francisco Chronicle reporter Joe Garofoli who argued "that we are deifying Jackson going down a very dangerous path" and I also think that Garofoli took a very reasonable approach to this issue but each person has to come to their own conclusion about that!
Here is the YouTube video link to watch this very interesting debate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQj6EYQIiU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQj6EYQIiU
Face-off debate: Michael Jackson (06:30)
stelivo1
July 04, 2009
"Kitty Pilgrim asks Joe Garofoli and David Caplan whether the the media has been glorifying Michael Jackson's death."
Here is the CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight transcript of this debate:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/03/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Sarah Palin Resigns; U.S.-Russia Agreement; Driving out the Taliban; Michael Jackson Investigation
Aired July 3, 2009 - 19:00 ET
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "During his life, Jackson's music topped the charts and broke records, now in death he is topping the charts again.
Well, the intense focus on Michael Jackson raises a serious question, whether we are overly glorifying a talented, but deeply troubled man. And that's the subject of our "Face Off" debate, tonight.
So, joining us now "San Francisco Chronicle" reporter is Joe Garofoli say that we are deifying Jackson going down a very dangerous path.
David Caplan, senior editor of "People" magazine, who says we're just responding to genuine worldwide interest in Jackson.
Gentlemen, thanks for joining me. David, let's start with you first. I mean, we've just had a week of coverage, it's been a lot of coverage and yet you say that's what everyone wants.
DAVID CAPLAN, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: I mean, there has been a lot of coverage, but right now where we are in the news cycle of this story, the coverage is completely appropriate. It's a story that lends itself to incredible narrative. Every day there's a new, valid, justified turn in the story. This is not merely someone that just died. There are corporate proceedings, legal proceedings.
And also, if you look at what the story's about, the subject of the story is Michael Jackson, who's a celebrity and almost by definition, you know, regular people sort of think they always have a connection to celebrity. It's someone they know. I mean, 800,000 tickets were sold to his London concerts.
So, it's almost natural human interest. You want to know all the details about someone you know. So, the coverage is you know, incredible. Web sites, rating, all these things are up, and they're up for a reason. If people didn't want to watch it, they would go to another Web site or TV show.
PILGRIM: Joe, that's a competing argument. What do you say?
JOE GAROFOLI, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Well, as Jon Stewart says, he asked his audience what they'd want to see, they want to see a naked woman smoking crack, but that doesn't mean you have to put it on the air.
There is -- in "People" magazine, that's terrific, they entertainment magazines, the entertainment shows. What my concern is that it's sucking a lot of the national conversation up on the news channels, on the news programs.
(CROSSTALK)
GAROFOLI: I'm sorry?
PILGRIM: No, go ahead, Joe. Just finish your thought and then we'll respond.
GAROFOLI: I think that it's, yeah, he's an incredible entertainer, he was an incredible entertainer, but for the last decade or so, most of the entertainment he has provided has been tabloid entertainment. You know, his musical contributions have been minimal over that time.
CAPLAN: I don't think he's really sucking -- the landscape, Michael Jackson was part of our national landscape, just a different genre. And, again, this is a story that is sort of a news story that's percolating to the top among other genres.
Today, we say an example of how, in another story in another genre became -- took over the news, Sarah Palin, that emerged, that was a hot story, that percolated to the top. Maybe come Tuesday when Michael Jackson's funeral happens, of course we're going to see a lot of coverage. Between now and then, of course it will die down a little bit.
PILGRIM: You know, I'd like to bring up a poll that was just taken, it's a CNN opinion research poll, it's release today, and it really is split, 51 percent of people describe themselves as Jackson fans, 49 percent saying that they are not fans.
Joe, that's a lot of people.
GAROFOLI: It is a lot of people and I also saw Pew Research poll the other day that said 30 percent of the viewers are watching are closely following Michael Jackson's death. That's almost the same as many as followed the death of Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter and far fewer than followed the death of JFK, Jr. and way below Princess Di. So we may be overestimating the interest level here. Again, incredible entertainer, but as the president said, he left it as he admired him as an entertainer, not as something more than that.
CAPLAN: But, you know, in the case of that poll, the question really is, are you a fan? Not necessarily, again, do you know who Michael Jackson is. And I think when you talk about news, that's the inherent aspect, here, whether or not you like the subject or don't like the subject, the fact is, you know about Michael Jackson, so there's an inherent curiosity about the subject. So, I don't know if that poll really speaks necessarily to sort of the public's disdain or lack of interest in covering it.
And again, Michael Jackson, just because he wasn't a political figure, he was part of American pop culture, period. He is relevant.
PILGRIM: You know, I'd like to actually take this quote, because it is interesting and you bring up the whole Princess Di thing. and this is from Ray Richmond of TheWrap.com: "Michael Jackson's death is the most globally devastating and consequential celebrity passing since that of Princess Diana nearly a dozen years ago and surely the most axis-altering entertainment story since at least the dawn of the blog age, possibly even the internet age altogether." You have celebrity, entertainment and blogs and the new media, now certainly this is a new sort of platform to view a world event like this.
David, is this factoring in?
CAPLAN: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. You think of the blog, the proliferation and of course with the social networks like FaceBook and Twitter, you know, since this is a story that has really generated so much by the fans, having these social networks and the blogs is just -- it is helping increase our interest in the story. But again, it's just someone out there that everyone knows, it's not even reflected -- the reason news networks are covering it, mainstream newspaper, because he was part of our culture.
PILGRIM: Joe?
GAROFOLI: Well, I think that quote -- when I heard that I think that person should, the writer should spend a little bit of time at Michael Jackson's hyperbaric chamber for a little bit to get some oxygen.
I think that on Tuesday it will be one of the, watching the funeral, watching whatever the celebration is there of Michael Jackson's life will be one of those national, cultural moments where we all share, we watch it on whatever screen we have, our computer or TV or whatever. But then after that I think it's time America leaves Neverland and get back to talking about the issues that matter.
We're fighting two wars. Unemployment is at a record highs. We've got -- we're trying to have a debate about health care which affects every American and we need to stop talking about Michael Jackson. This is a story about his family, right now, and it's a personal story about what happened to the kids and that and it should be really confined to the entertainment pages of the newspapers and magazines and blogs and the news programs should go back to writing and reporting about news.
PILGRIM: Joe, you're saying, though, that the coverage of the memorial service and all of that should legitimately be covered, you know...
GAROFOLI: I think that's -- the interest of Michael Jackson is such that everybody should -- that will be one that everyone is going to be watching. I will be watching that and David I'm sure that you will, too, and I'm sure CNN and every kind of Web site will be there. And I think that's fine, there will be a nice moment of closure, but then after that, we should move on.
PILGRIM: David, last.
CAPLAN: I agree. I don't think after the memorial that it will die down, because again, this is a story that has many parts of narrative. There's legal issues, there's lawsuits, custody, the DEA is involved in this story, so just because of the nature of the story, it will continue.
PILGRIM: David Caplan and Joe Garofoli, thank you very much.
GARFOLI: Thank you.
CAPLAN: Thank you..."
"has become an absolute gold mine for the news business," "It's the most important story for getting ratings in the world right now," "it's absolutely -- this is a ratings story, this is about business. And it's easy. I mean, it's an easy decision for every news network to make. Absolutely," "The numbers are astronomical" "They are," and "I mean, I'm serious. I can't wait for Tuesday. As a pop culture lover, this is fantastic" to which Howard Kurtz smartly replied "That would be Tuesday of which month?" in this CNN Reliable Sources video and in the transcript below:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/podcasts/reliablesources/site/2009/07/05/reliable.sources.07.05.cnn (27:07)
Reliable Sources 27:07
Host Howard Kurtz turns a critical eye on the media.
Source: CNN
Added On July 5, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/podcasts/reliablesources/site/2009/07/05/reliable.sources.07.05.cnn (27:07)
Here is the CNN transcript link of this dialogue where I definitely think that Howard Kurtz was the only sound thinking and professional journalist in this entire discussion. I also think that the rest of these people who were on Howard Kurtz's panel have sold their journalistic souls and their credibility for higher ratings, for larger audiences, and for economic purposes but that is only my very strong personal opinion:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/05/sotu.02.html
STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING
Interview With Michael Mullen; Reliable Sources
Aired July 5, 2009 - 10:00 ET
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: "Michael Jackson's death has become an absolute gold mine for the news business. Days after the initial shock wore off, the morning shows and the cable networks, led by CNN, seemed to crank up the volume even higher. The nightly newscasts joining the fray as well.
Hey, the ratings are good, let's have more Michael Jackson. Let's have wall-to-wall Jackson.
This, in my view, is getting out of control.
Now, there have been some newsworthy developments in recent days about Jackson's will, about the custody fight for his children, about who is the father of two of the children -- it's not the "King of Pop," it's his doctor, at least according to unnamed sources cited by "US Weekly." But much of the rest is just stirring the pot, cooking up angles about Jackson's use of drugs, Jackson's state of mind, Jackson's friends, his hangers-on, anything to keep feeding the fixation...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now more on the investigation into the death of Michael Jackson.
CHARLES GIBSON, ABC ANCHOR: Michael Jackson's has put a new spotlight on the use and abuse of prescription drugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pop star's father insists he and his wife will be taking care of the children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now to the latest on the Michael Jackson investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's some debate about whether or not Michael was using painkillers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson's will, how much he's worth, who gets the money, and one big bombshell...
KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST, "COUNTDOWN": Michael Jackson is reportedly not his kids' biological father, but we may know who is.
MONICA CROWLEY, FOX NEWS: There have been reports over decades that Joe Jackson, the father, had beat the living daylights out of these kids, and especially Michael.
MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": When we come back, I'm going to take you into Michael Jackson's private bedroom. And I'm going to show you what we found, a secret room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: So is this news infotainment, or just plain pandering?
Joining us now in Los Angeles, Sharon Waxman, founder and editor- in-chief of TheWrap.com; Don Lemon, a CNN anchor who has been reporting this story since it broke; and here in Washington, David Zurawik, television and media critic for "The Baltimore Sun."
Sharon Waxman, right now, much of the day, on the mornings shows, cable news, led by CNN, this is treated as the most important story in the world. Is it?
SHARON WAXMAN, FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THEWRAP.COM: It's the most important story for getting ratings in the world right now. And it's the summer, and it's quiet, and we've probably had enough of the president for a while, because we've been gorged on presidential news since before the election. And this is absolute, cannot-be-avoided stories. I am not surprised at all to see wall-to-wall coverage.
KURTZ: "Cannot-be-avoided," that's a very apt phrase.
Don Lemon, you've been out there in L.A. reporting on this story. You've interviewed Joe Jackson, the father, the assistant chief coroner, and that's great. You've also been doing endless live shots and devoted most of your Saturday and Sunday evening program to this.
Don't you feel deep down that this is overdoing it?
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: No, I don't feel it's overdoing it. And I don't -- and when I hear people say that, I have to be very honest with you, Howie, I think it's elitist.
I don't remember -- I'm sure there was some criticism when there was the coverage of Princess Diana's death, but I don't think that there was this sort of criticism that we're having with Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson is an accidental civil rights leader, an accidental pioneer. He broke ground and barriers in so many different realms in artistry, in pictures, in movies, in music, you name it. So, no, I don't think it's overkill.
KURTZ: OK. He did all of those things. He also was accused of child molestation, and was a seriously weird person. But he has been dead for more than a week and we are still going almost wall-to-wall.
LEMON: Well, he has been dead for more than a week, yes, but Michael Jackson twice -- well, once, I should say, he was acquitted of child molestation. The other time it was settled out of court.
KURTZ: Right.
LEMON: And if you talk to people who were involved in those cases, they don't believe that he did it. So let's put that aside.
Yes, he has been dead for more than a week, and that's why this story is still front page news. It's still, you know, in the A-block of newscasts.
We don't know how he died. There are lots of questions about how he died.
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: I want to come back to that. I want to get David in. I would differ with you, I think it's the A-block, the B-block, the C- block, the D-block, and the E-block.
David Zurawik, I've been saving some tape for you. This is CNN coverage of one day earlier this week on a number of news shows in the afternoon and evening.
Let's roll that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A striking new voice in Michael Jackson's death with a shocking story to tell, a nurse who says that Jackson repeatedly asked her about a powerful IV anesthesia drug.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": The children, were they really his?
CAMPBELL BROWN, HOST, "CAMPBELL BROWN: NO BIAS, NO BULL": Tonight, up-to-the-minute developments in the Michael Jackson investigation.
KITTY PILGRIM, GUEST HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Tonight, breaking news on Michael Jackson's estate and his children.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, he was in rehearsal and planning to reaffirm his claim to the title "King of Pop." But was he ready? It depends on who you ask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: And that's just one day.
Now, CNN is usually the network that exercises some restraint on these big tabloidy stories.
What happened?
DAVID ZURAWIK, TELEVISION CRITIC, "THE BALTIMORE SUN": Howie, first of all, I really -- this may shock you, but I don't think the coverage has been excessive. And when we get to the Staples Center on Tuesday, we're going to have 12 days now.
This is beyond a state funeral. And yet...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: Why is it not excessive, in your view?
ZURAWIK: I think, you know, in pop culture, in cultural studies, they say that the size of a star, the importance to the culture, is in direct proportion to how they embody contradictions within the culture. Nobody, not Marilyn Monroe, not Lucille Ball, not Elvis, embodied as many contradictions as Michael Jackson does.
Family, we want to think family is a nice place. He had a troubled family, a (inaudible) family.
Childhood. Childhood, a time of innocence, not for him.
Most of all, race. He embodies the contradictions in race in our culture like nobody else. And I think...
(CROSSTALK)
ZURAWIK: ... we can't walk away from Michael because until we -- until we resolve him for ourselves. Of course, we're not going to resolve him, but we don't want to let him go until we resolve some of that.
KURTZ: Go ahead, Sharon.
LEMON: He's right. He's...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: One at a time.
WAXMAN: I don't think it has to do resolving any conflicts whatsoever. I think there is a number of things that are going on here.
One is he is a worldwide story. In the age of the Internet, what we looked at, at "The Wrap," is we're looking at kind of the media coverage of sort of glut -- sort of media coverage. It's not just television.
The first couple of days, it was an Internet story. You had online news organizations, including ours, including tiny ones like ours, or relatively small ones like ours. And the big ones, portals like Yahoo!, who had the biggest traffic they'd ever had in their lives, in their history...
KURTZ: Sure.
WAXMAN: ... on the day -- the day after Michael Jackson died.
So people around the world, that has become anybody anywhere in the world -- and we were getting comments from Dubai, from Malaysia, Indonesia, in French. It was just unbelievable...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: OK. Let me jump in here because I want to toss a question to Don. Hold on here.
The first couple of days, you know, the explosion of coverage, I have no problem. This was an unexpected death of one of the most famous and controversial people on the planet. And it was a guy whose music touched so many millions and all of that.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Not one of the most famous. The most famous.
KURTZ: OK. The most famous, fine.
Once you get to day six, seven, eight, nine, we are basically awash on the airwaves with repetition and speculation.
Your thoughts?
LEMON: No, I don't think so, because our lead story today was Iran and Iraq on CNN. And it's going to be that way until Tuesday, until this goes. So it hasn't been -- it has not been the lead story every single day.
KURTZ: Don, if you look at the at the summation of the past week, certainly occasionally CNN has covered Iran, occasionally has covered Iraq. There was also a big U.S. incursion against the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the lion's share of the hours, and the reason that you're not getting any sleep out there in L.A. is because it's all Jackson.
LEMON: But Howard, you have to look at it -- we spend lots of time covering Iran and Iraq. And I agree with you, we should cover those important stories. But this now is the time. There is a time and a place for everything. This is the time and the place for the Michael Jackson coverage.
And I do have to say that your guests are absolutely right. If you look at race, African-Americans are following this coverage.
Eight in 10 African-Americans are tuning in not only to broadcast medium, but also on Twitter, on Facebook, on the social mediums, on Yahoo!. As Sharon mentioned, everywhere. They want to find coverage of Michael Jackson.
This is the quintessential American story. You have poor families...
WAXMAN: Not just Americans, it's a world culture story.
LEMON: Yes, who -- a poor family who came from Gary, Indiana, raised -- nothing, poor, came and made -- you know, became millionaires and became the biggest star in the world, and touched people socially, culturally, civilly, politically.
And he was an accidental civil rights leader, and as they say...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Let me get control here.
Since Don mentioned the numbers, I want to put up the poll.
Let me get David, then I'll come back to you, Sharon.
A Pew Research poll this week found the coverage of Michael Jackson's death, overall, 64 percent say too much, for all of you who are telling me this is earth-shattering, 29 percent say right about, and three percent, who apparently want it directly injected it into their veins, say too little.
(LAUGHTER)
KURTZ: But then if you go to the racial breakdown, there is a very interesting split here, David Zurawik. Blacks, 36 percent say too much. Whites, 70 percent.
ZURAWIK: Oh, I think it's absolutely true. And eight out of 10 African-Americans say they're following this story very closely.
Howie, I think that makes an absolute difference. And I would disagree, especially in connection with race, to say we're just playing stuff over, they're just repeating it.
You know, this week, one night last week, one night, I heard Katie Couric interviewing Spike Lee. It was a "48 Hours," by the way, it got over eight million viewers. You know when you say, come on, enough already? No, she asked him about race, and she asked him about the BET Awards, and Jamie Foxx saying that Michael Jackson belonged to African-Americans.
We're having a very good conversation about race within this context.
KURTZ: OK. Well, we also had Matt Lauer...
WAXMAN: There's another issue too.
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: I was just going to say you also had Matt Lauer and Larry King at Neverland interviewing Jermaine Jackson.
But Sharon, you wanted to get in, so let me give you the floor.
WAXMAN: Well, I wanted to make another point. Yes, that secret room had long been known about and viewed and seen and all the rest...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: You're saying it wasn't a secret? Really?
(CROSSTALK)
WAXMAN: Hello? Thank you.
But no, I wanted to make a different point, which is, it just reminds me in a way of when John Lennon was -- died, was murdered so suddenly. And I remember being a young person at that time and thinking I was surprised at the overwhelming amount of media coverage at that time. So I wonder if there isn't some generational thing...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: That may be true. But let me ask you this, Sharon, because you worked for "The New York Times," you've also worked for "The Washington Post." Now, those newspapers are -- and others, are certainly covering the Jackson story, but they're covering a lot of other things as well.
And the only other story that is getting anything near traction on television is the tale of Mark Sanford and his Argentine soul mate and the other women he may or may not have crossed the line with because, why? Because it involved sex.
So as you said at the top, is there really any way -- would we really be going so crazy over what you all say is the cultural and political and musical significance of Michael Jackson if the numbers weren't big?
WAXMAN: No, I don't think we would be. I think it's absolutely -- this is a ratings story, this is about business. And it's easy. I mean, it's an easy decision for every news network to make. Absolutely.
ZURAWIK: Howie, The numbers are astronomical. Howie, the answer...
LEMON: They are.
ZURAWIK: ... is, just as Sharon said, no, we wouldn't if it wasn't -- if it weren't these kinds of numbers in the summer -- you know, you can do eight million with "48 Hours" in the summer? Well, let's do it again tomorrow night!
KURTZ: All right. CNN won the...
LEMON: Yes, but the numbers reflect a direct interest in the people from this story. And part of being a news organization, part of covering news is covering the public interest. And people are interested in the story.
KURTZ: I'm going to challenge that. And here's what I say. There is no question there is a lot of public interest in this story. I mean, CNN won the...
WAXMAN: Yes, difference between public interest and the public interest. Not the same.
KURTZ: Well, I wasn't even going to go there.
WAXMAN: Public interest or the public interest.
KURTZ: CNN won the first couple of nights in the cable competition. And I'm sure executives, and this is a presumption on my part, said, let's keep doing this, the numbers are really good. That "breaking news" banner has been up there for hours and hours and hours.
But Don Lemon, you know that in cable, if the average audience at any given time might be, say, one million, and suddenly two million are tuning in, the producers are popping champagne corks. But that doesn't mean the whole country is fixated on this. And judging from comments on my Facebook page and elsewhere, there are a lot of people who really love CNN and its dedication to news who think this is just too much.
LEMON: Well, I'm not denying that. It is a business. I mean, come on, let's be real about it. I don't think that anyone, any producer or reporter has had a chance to pop a champagne cork later. That may come on Wednesday when this is all done.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: But at this point, no, no one has had a chance to do that.
But yes, I think that, you know, as I said, we do have to realize that it is a business. And had the numbers not been as much, I don't know if we would have covered it as much. But there is a public interest, and you cannot deny that Michael Jackson is a huge figure. And as I said...
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: I'm not denying that at all.
LEMON: And I'm not -- listen, Howie, and I'm not a Michael Jackson apologist or sympathizer, what have you. I mean, I criticize him just as much as the next guy. And I believe that we should tell his whole story, which includes a controversy as well, as journalists.
But we do, at this point, have to remember that a person is dead. And as my mom says, don't speak ill of the dead. We have to remember that we are remembering this person's legacy and not just all of the bad things about him. But yes, there is a business interest in this, but we have to gauge that business interest as well with what the public is interested in.
KURTZ: I agree.
WAXMAN: Well, there's another thing also. We've spent a lot of years beating up on Michael Jackson, and I was -- I covered them both -- many aspects of beating up on him, business-wise, and the child molestation thing. And what I think we're realizing in all of this is, hey, he was actually a good -- a nice person. And I can't say how many people...
LEMON: A real person.
ZURAWIK: Howie, I can't wait for Tuesday.
WAXMAN: I think there is a sense in the media of feeling badly, of regret in the Michael Jackson -- honestly, there is a little bit of that haze of expiation in, gee, he was kind of fantastic.
(CROSSTALK)
KURTZ: I've got to stop. I've got to stop.
LEMON: If you look at Michael Jackson's story, the family story -- I know you have to go, but yes, this is a story that should be celebrated in more ways as we look at the train wreck aspect of it.
KURTZ: I'm glad that a more balanced portrait of the good and the bad is emerging.
I've got 10 seconds, David Zurawik. How long is it going to go on at this level?
ZURAWIK: Howie, we -- at least through Tuesday. I mean, I'm serious. I can't wait for Tuesday. As a pop culture lover, this is fantastic.
KURTZ: That would be Tuesday of which month?
(LAUGHTER)
KURTZ: All right. David Zurawik, Don Lemon, Sharon Waxman, thanks for joining us..."
in this YouTube video (I strongly disagree with Al Sharpton and I could not believe that he could actually say something like this after all of the media coverage that Michael Jackson has received so far):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVSmwpWccQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVSmwpWccQ
Rev. Sharpton Attacks Media Coverage On His Friend Michael Jackson July 5 (5:37)
cheapfreedate7
July 05, 2009
"Al Sharpton speaks of his friend Michael at la church service July 5 from CNN."
Here is the YouTube video where Susan Roesgen of CNN responded to this and in my opinion effectively refuted Al Sharpton's claims (I completely agree with what Susan Roesgen said and I am glad that CNN responded to Al Sharpton and did not let what he said go unchallenged):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TbP6A37m_4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TbP6A37m_4
Al Sharpton Attacks Media Over Michael Jackson Coverage (1:39)
NewsPoliticsNews
July 05, 2009
"From CNN: Al Sharpton Attacks Media Over Michael Jackson 'Negitive' Coverage - 07/05/09."
Here is the CNN transcript of this video:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/05/cnr.02.html
CNN NEWSROOM
New Trouble for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Tragedy at Walt Disney World; Former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair Found Dead; Fans Checking E-Mail for Tickets to Michael Jackson's Memorial Service
Aired July 5, 2009 - 16:00 ET
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: "Also today, the Reverend Al Sharpton calling for a national day of mourning for the entertainer. Our Susan Roesgen is in Los Angeles with more of those details.
Susan, did the reverend say anything more about this private funeral?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No he really didn't, Brooke. In fact, we asked him several times pointedly when and where is the funeral and both times he said with a wink, the public memorial is Tuesday at 10 a.m. I followed that up again. The funeral, in case he misheard me, the public memorial is Tuesday at 10 a.m.
So, he does not want to say publicly anything about when the actual private, we assume private funeral will be, what he did here Brooke is this famous African American church behind me, famous in Los Angeles at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church is he gave a fiery sermon. He had the congregation on its feet, when he said that the media has been disrespectful of Michael Jackson in his coverage of his death and he said that Michael Jackson is not being treated fairly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, POLITICAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST: We come to L.A. for Michael Jackson, because there's a double standard, because when you had had other entertainers that had questions in their life, you did not degrade and denigrate them before their funeral like you've done Michael Jackson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Now, Reverend Sharpton said he is as eager as anyone to find out what the investigation reveals about Michael Jackson's death what ever those details might be but he said let's not focus on that until after the funeral. Again, he wouldn't say when the funeral was but he followed that up Brooke, with I will' be joining that investigation along with everybody else on Wednesday.
So, read into it what you will. The main focus today from Reverend Sharpton, Civil Rights activist, was, again, that the media is not paying enough tribute to Michael Jackson, to his life, to his record-breaking career. But of course as you know, Brooke and everyone who has been watching CNN over the last week and a half knows that CNN has done quite a few tributes to Michael Jackson and has focused on his fantastic record, his 13 number one hits, his best-selling album of all time, "Thriller" which sold 50 million copies. We are certainly here at CNN reminding folks of the fantastic history that Michael Jackson has in American music.
BALDWIN: Absolutely. I know you, yourself have spent countless hours in recent days covering the story as have many of our CNN staffers, were on top of it. And let me ask you, we are also on top of any other additional memorials, and hearing anything in the Los Angeles area that might be popping up for next week?
ROESGEN: No but I it think what we are hearing here, Brooke, is that when Reverend Al Sharpton talks about a national day of mourning, according to the NAACP, who is here as well what he is really calling for is not a holiday, not a congressional-approved holiday but to turn Tuesday into a national day of mourning, mostly obviously for Michael Jackson fans. Even at the church behind me here, they are going to have a broadcast, a simulcast of the actual memorial service for all the people who can't get into the Staples Center. Reverend Sharpton says let's have what he calls love vigils around the country on Tuesday. Let's have a show of love for Michael Jackson and his wonderful career.
BALDWIN: It will be a master show. A lot inside the Staples Center and in many homes around the world. Susan Roesgen live for us, thank you.
Make sure to join us Tuesday for our around the clock coverage of this memorial, as I mentioned, family and friends and fans all saying good-bye to a worldwide music icon, Michael Jackson, the memorial, CNN, all day Tuesday, starting on "American Morning" at 6:00 Eastern Time..."
and adored Thriller, especially. That being said, I've dealt with this crazy coverage by ignoring it.
Immensely talented guy in serious need of help. Very sad that he died before his time.
So have 4,321 American soldiers in Iraq. And 1224 coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. Not to mention over 100,000 civilians. Or the untold people who die of malaria, malnutrition, or AIDS every day.
VASTLY misplaced sense of priorities.
by the MSM. I was aghast at the amount of coverage this event generated...every network and cable channel were 24/7 stories, an many were repetions of the previous hour/day/week. I was not an MJ fan, but I have no objecton to some of those who grew up in the MJ generation. I believe there was an over-saturation of media coverage of this single event. I certainly wouldn't deny the MJ fans to have extensive coverage of his death, and life, but I don't recall that the 9/11 occurance had this much coverage. And, now that all of the memorials are over, other news stories are coming forward in the media, stories that were undoubtedly held back because of their perceived lack of timely value, and which could have been interspersed and brought some interest to those who were not MJ fans. However, the American media as it is, one network, channel, station, magazine, newspaper, etc. didn't want any other media outlet to get a greater spread on the one item. There was, for example, scant coverage of the usual highly covered trip of the President and his family to Russia....not that I would have watched all of it.
As an inquisitive person, I am interested in the facts of MJ's life, marriage, children, health, reason for his death, etc, but not all of the same repetition upon repetition without a break for other national/global events.
EOR.....
http://people-press.org/report/526/coverage-of-jackson-death-seen-excessive
July 1, 2009
Coverage of Jackson's Death Seen As Excessive
Blacks Track News of Icon's Death Much More Closely than Whites
Summary of Findings
The public closely tracked the sudden death of pop superstar Michael Jackson last week, though nearly two-in-three Americans say news organizations gave too much coverage to the story. At the same time, half say the media struck the right balance between reporting on Jackson’s musical legacy and the problems in his personal life.
With reports about Jackson’s June 25th death in Los Angeles dominating media coverage at week’s end, 30% say they followed these stories very closely. A similar share (31%) say this was the story they followed more closely than any other, according to the latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted June 26-29 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Blacks followed the death of the African American singer – who had been on the national stage for four decades – more closely than the population as a whole. Eight-in-ten African Americans say they followed news about Jackson’s death very closely, compared with 22% of whites. Women followed the story more closely than men (35% very closely compared with 26%). Close to four-in-ten (38%) of those under 40 say they followed the music icon’s death very closely, compared with 27% of those between 40 and 64 and 20% of those 65 and older.
A separate analysis of media coverage by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that for the entire week of June 22-28 the Jackson story and the bloody aftermath of the disputed Iranian elections received similar levels of media coverage. The protests in Iran made up 19% of the newshole for the week, while the Jackson story took up 18%. But from the time the Jackson story broke Thursday afternoon to the end of the day Friday, 60% of the news coverage studied was devoted to his death, his life story and his legacy, according to PEJ. Iran coverage dropped to 7% of the newshole in that same time period.
About two-thirds of the public (64%) say news organizations gave too much attention to the death of the 50-year-old performer, who had been rehearsing for a major comeback tour. About three-in-ten (29%) say the coverage was the right amount. Only 3% say there had been too little coverage.
When asked about the content of the coverage, 26% say the media focused too much on the scandals and personal problems in the life of the self-proclaimed “King of Pop”; 11% say the coverage focused too much on Jackson’s successful musical career. Half say news organizations struck the right balance.
More than half of African Americans (54%) say the amount of coverage has been about right, compared with 25% of whites. Seven-in-ten whites say there has been too much coverage, compared with 36% of blacks.
About half of African Americans (47%) also say that the coverage has focused too much on the scandals and personal problems in Jackson’s life, compared with 22% of whites. On this question, there is little difference by gender: 28% of women say the coverage focused too much on scandal, compared with 24% of men. About a quarter of those under 40 (24%), say coverage has focused too much on Jackson’s personal problems, compared with 28% of those 40-64 and those 65 and older.
The Week’s Top StoriesThe Jackson story grabbed people’s attention late in what had already been a busy news week with continuing developments in Iran, debate in Washington on health care reform, an infidelity scandal involving South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and a train crash in Washington, D.C., that left nine dead.
By way of comparison, the 30% that say they followed the Jackson story very closely is similar to the 28% that followed the death of Tim Russert, the NBC newsman, very closely in June 2008 and the 30% that followed the death of Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter,” very closely in September 2006. Still, interest in Jackson’s death is far less than the 54% who said they followed the sudden deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. in July 1999 and Princess Diana in September 1997.
Meanwhile, a similar share (29%) very closely followed the announcement of criminal charges against Jackson alleging child molestation in November 2003. A smaller share (13%) said they very closely followed Jackson’s acquittal in the California case in June 2005.
In other news, about three-in-ten (31%) say they very closely followed the Iranian government’s crackdown on election protesters last week. That’s comparable to the 28% that said they were following the post-election protests in Iran very closely one week earlier and indicates continued strong interest in the story. Close to two-in-ten (18%) say they followed developments in Iran more closely than any other story.
A comparable share (29%) say they followed reports about the debate in Washington on health care reform very closely. About two-in-ten (19%) say they followed the health care debate more closely than any other major story. Those stories made up 7% of coverage, according to PEJ.
A smaller percentage (16%) say they followed Congressional passage of legislation intended to limit greenhouse gases. That story was followed most closely by 6% and accounted for 2% of the newshole.
Another 16% say they very closed followed Gov. Mark Sanford’s acknowledgement of an affair with an Argentinean woman; 4% say this was the story they followed most closely. The media devoted 11% of the newshole to stories about Sanford.
Close to two-in-ten (18%) say they very closely followed news about the crash involving two commuter trains in Washington, D.C., that left nine people dead. For 3%, this was the story they followed most closely. The media devoted 5% of the newshole to this story.
Many Know the Fate of Jon and Kate
More than half of the public say they have heard at least a little about the announcement that Jon and Kate Gosselin, the stars of the TLC reality show “Jon & Kate Plus Eight,” had filed for divorce. About a quarter (27%) say they had heard a lot about this, while 36% say that had heard a little. Another 36% say they had heard nothing at all about the plans for the parents of young twins and sextuplets to separate.
More than a third of women (35%) have heard a lot about the marriage troubles, compared with 18% of men. Close to half of women under 50 (46%) say they have heard a lot about this.
Just 14% say they have heard a lot about singer Chris Brown’s plea of guilty last week to an assault charge involving an attack on pop star Rihanna. Four-in-ten (41%) heard a little about this, while 45% say they have heard nothing at all. In mid-March, a third (33%) said they had heard a lot about Brown’s troubled relationship with Rihanna after allegations surfaced that he had assaulted her.
About one-in-ten (9%) say they have heard a lot about Steve Jobs’ liver transplant. A third (33%) have heard a little about the Apple chairman’s operation, while close to six-in-ten (58%) have heard nothing at all.
And 8% say they have heard a lot about reporters’ questions to President Obama about whether he still occasionally smokes cigarettes. Four-in-ten (41%) say they heard a little about this, but half say they have heard nothing at all.
These findings are based on the most recent installment of the weekly News Interest Index, an ongoing project of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The index, building on the Center’s longstanding research into public attentiveness to major news stories, examines news interest as it relates to the news media’s coverage. The weekly survey is conducted in conjunction with The Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, which monitors the news reported by major newspaper, television, radio and online news outlets on an ongoing basis. In the most recent week, data relating to news coverage were collected from June 22-28, 2009 and survey data measuring public interest in the top news stories of the week were collected June 25-28, 2009 (N=1,007) and June 26-29, 2009 (N=1,022) from a nationally representative sample of adults.
About the News Interest Index
The News Interest Index is a weekly survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press aimed at gauging the public’s interest in and reaction to major news events.
This project has been undertaken in conjunction with the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, an ongoing content analysis of the news. The News Coverage Index catalogues the news from top news organizations across five major sectors of the media: newspapers, network television, cable television, radio and the internet. Each week (from Monday through Sunday) PEJ compiles this data to identify the top stories for the week. The News Interest Index survey collects data from Friday through Monday to gauge public interest in the most covered stories of the week.
Results for the weekly surveys are based on telephone interviews among a nationwide sample of approximately 1,000 adults, 18 years of age or older, conducted under the direction of ORC (Opinion Research Corporation). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls, and that results based on subgroups will have larger margins of error.
For more information about the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, go to www.journalism.org.
http://www.journalism.org/index_report/pej_news_coverage_index_june_22_28_2009
About the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is an independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues. We are sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts and are one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.
The Center's purpose is to serve as a forum for ideas on the media and public policy through public opinion research. In this role it serves as an important information resource for political leaders, journalists, scholars, and public interest organizations. All of our current survey results are made available free of charge.
All of the Center’s research and reports are collaborative products based on the input and analysis of the entire Center staff consisting of:
Andrew Kohut, Director
Scott Keeter, Director of Survey Research
Carroll Doherty and Michael Dimock, Associate Directors
Michael Remez, Senior Writer
Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Robert Suls, Shawn Neidorf, Leah Christian and Jocelyn Kiley
Research Associates
Kathleen Holzwart, Alec Tyson and Jacob Poushter Research Analysts
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