Friday, June 26, 2009

The King Is Dead


I want to shed a little "lyte" on media frenzies.  If you haven't heard already, Michael Jackson is dead.  And the mainstream media is going bats@*t crazy.  It is all Michael, all the time.  He would be so proud.

Poor Farrah Fawcett, her death was totally overshadowed.  Her passing was announced in the morning, but Jacko's happened in the afternoon.  King of Pop and alleged child molester trumps pin up beauty.  

I guess it trumps everything else in the world too.  I bet Governor Mark Sanford is heaving a big sigh of relief, the news cycle pivoted from his affair to Michael's death.  The Iranian government is probably celebrating as well.  The Iranian uprising has now jumped the shark, it is the cardiac arrest and death of a spooky, washed up former pop star that has captured the world's attention. 

I mean this feeding frenzy puts the one surrounding Anna Nicole Smith to shame.  "Who?" I hear you ask.  Tsk, tsk, we forget so fast and so easily those who once fascinated us so thoroughly.  Jon and Kate can get divorced in peace now.  All paparazzi have scurried to LA.  I bet Brad and Angelina could take the kids out for a walk and have no pictures taken.

I mean Michael Jackson's death has it all.  Incredible backstory, rumors of drug abuse, a potential child custody battle.  Yummy!  His death nearly paralyzed the internets.  My husband called me in route the dentists to tell me of his passing.  He had checked Drudge Report and it was saying that Jackson was dead.  I turned on CNN on my satellite radio and Wolf Blitzer was talking about Michael in the present tense.  I called my husband back and told him that according to CNN, he was still alive.  I walked into the dentist's office and one woman was trying to confirm the news with friend in LA.  Another man was checking Drudge on my advice.  You could hear all of the dental staff murmuring about it.  "Is is true?"  "How sad!"  "I loved Thriller."

It is amazing that the death of a former Motown star who underwent the most extreme makeover in history has captured the attention of everyone on the planet who has access to a television or a computer.  His death also highlights the speed that information is now disseminated.  I bet as soon as his death was called at UCLA medical center, some enterprising technician or nurse grabbed their cell phone and texted the news.  And the avalanche began.  Now excuse me, I got go watch a tribute on E!



 

1 comment:

  1. I soo agree. I mean they stoppped talking about iran just because of michael which is good i guess. The media needs to "shed some Lyte" on more important stuff. haha love your blog

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