Like most other people who were aware of who Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were (because face it, probably the vast majority of people on the planet have never heard of either of them), I was sorry to hear about their deaths yesterday, and Ed McMahon's a day or two prior. I wasn't particularly a fan of any of them, although I did very much like several of Jackson's songs. Who didn't?
The impact of their deaths on the rest of the world, and especially on the news media, has been of more interest to me than my own reaction which, to be honest, was negligible. I watched CNN for an hour or so last night and forty minutes this morning, and not a single word was spoken about anything but Michael Jackson. Last night, as the first reports of MJ's hospitalization came in, Wolf Blitzer tried his best to keep his audience interested in endless repetitions of the same exact information while he waited desperately for something new to say. It would probably have been easier for him had he had a co-anchor to chat with. But he was on his own, and all the poor guy could do was try to make each iteration of the same news sound just slightly different from the last one, and cutting with relief to film clips and reports from on-the-scene reporters.
It was obvious to me that CNN didn't want to cut away from the Michael Jackson coverage for even a second to report on anything else. Like vultures, they circled ceaselessly, waiting for that moment when they could say "Michael Jackson is dead." It must have been such a let-down for them that the LA Times scooped them.
But it wasn't poor ol' Wolf's predicament that really bothered me. What bothered me was the fact that, once news started coming in about Michael Jackson, CNN stopped reporting on everything else. Everything. It was as if suddenly the rest of the world -- Iran, Farrah, Iraq, that dumb-ass governor in the US, the North Koreans' saber-rattling -- suddenly it all just got swept into a great sucking void created by the death of a single, pathetic little man whose only saving grace was that he was a superstar on stage.
Now, I know it's not fair to consider CNN's behavior as representative of all news agencies. But you have to admit that a large portion of the population of North America turns to CNN first for "big" news. I consider them the go-to news station and news website when something major is going down. I figure they have the most journalists out there, the most influence with newsmakers, the best resources for newsgathering. Those things should translate into them having the best coverage and the newest news. Maybe I'm wrong about those things, but I suspect my impressions are pretty typical.
So, in that light, I find it very troubling that CNN's coverage of big events is so incredibly influenced by what they know the majority of their viewers want to hear at any given moment. You just know things would be completely different if CNN wasn't supported by advertising. But as it is, if CNN thought that the majority of people were desperate to know about Paris Hilton's leg-shaving injury, that story would comprise at least 75% of their airtime. And if it's real news, then it'll take up 100%...as we're seeing right now. Although I'm not sure I consider Michael Jackson's death "real" news...at least not so much that it deserves nearly the amount of airtime it's getting.
Obviously big stories should take up more airtime than less important ones, but they shouldn't take ALL of it. Especially when when the "news" is only news because something happened to someone famous...a performer, no less. CNN is reacting to this story as if it was Barack Obama who had died. Now THAT would warrant full-time coverage. Why does Michael Jackson's death prevent me (if I want to stay on CNN) from finding out what's going on in Iran. Isn't that still a huge news story that deserves to be covered? Why can't I find out what's going on with that North Korean ship and the threats they're making to nuke Hawaii? Come on people...you're supposed to be covering ALL the news, not just some pop-star's untimely demise.
CNN's slogan is "the most trusted name in news." Sorry, but I don't trust any news agency that is so blatantly swayed by advertising dollars/viewership that they will neglect to report on important world news in favor of covering the latest pop-culture happening full time. CNN...you're quickly descending to Fox News status in my mind.
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