Jackson's death and the media: day 1

It's still too early for anything but the most ecumenical assessment of all the Michael Jackson coverage, even with the first day more or less in the books. His death is instantly the most iconic of the decade and one of the most historic in a century of celebrity culture. It will continue to dominate news cycles despite its relatively static state. (It's also much easier on the eyes than a stream of bodies from Iran.) 

 

Initial reports are not always the most accurate of soundings. However the first day's television coverage ranged from the surreal (Shepard Smith intoning "can you hear me, Ginuwine?" as he set forth on a phone interview with the singer) to the sublime (the Rev. Al Sharpton tracing Jackson's trajectory to President Obama).

 

Here's a brief rundown:

 

CNN, in their ninth year of prudence about these kinds of things, held off on announcing the actual death until, apparently, they could cite the LA Times. MSNBC and Fox News had already called it. Wolf Blitzer helmed CNN's early reports with his usual breathlessness; that network impressed early by running Jackson 5 footage while MSNBC was trained on UCLA Medical Center, accomplishing little. Later Campbell Brown and Anderson Cooper co-anchored CNN's coverage, putting it well ahead in the all-important most-attractive subrace. Larry King, for once, brought some slight credibility to the proceedings, recalling his interview of Jackson when he, Jackson, was twelve.  

 

FNC's Smith was an early standout, riffing flawlessly on Jackson's legacy as the stock footage rolled and playing some of "Billie Jean".

 

MSNBC's pick of Keith Olbermann as the face, or in this case voice, of their coverage was adequate but dull, Chris Matthews' capacity for riffage being so much more extrusive. Olbermann was good for a slight gaffe, referring to the song "Ebony & Ivory" as "Ebony & Irony" before correcting himself.

 

MSNBC stayed the longest with the helicopter bearing Jackson's body away from UCLA. CNN, of course, would land the closest thing to a money shot the day had to offer with its fleeting glimpse of Jackson's face during his transfer to the hospital.

 

Sharpton's remarks were among the most moving of the early tributes; he alluded to Jackson as a forerunner of black icons like Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, and President Obama.

 

Geraldo Rivera, over on Fox News, unironically suggested Jackson was "postracial", perhaps the day's ideal case of good intentions misspent. Jackson's music was invariably indigenous and unless Rivera meant to describe the universality of his fanbase, it was the wrong term. 

 

Not surprisingly, the networks lost a little steam as the evening wore on. MSNBC took the easy way out and reran the Jackson edition of its documentary series "Headliners & Legends".

 

BET rushed out a session, called "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", of all-MJ videos. MTV and VH1, the formats of which are more in Jackson's debt than any other's, were weirdly silent all day.

 

Off cable, NBC splurged on a special edition of Dateline divided between the two deaths of the day, Jackson's and Farrah Fawcett's. As of this writing ABC hasn't reaired any of Diane Sawyer's classic 1995 Jackson interview, with its reference to "markings of some kind".

 

If a winner of the day had to be called, Fox News might be the most serious contender simply by keeping the reportage simple and their more abrasive on-air personnel off camera. MSNBC, by going with Olbermann, took an unsurprisingly divergent path.