The News Cycle on Michael Jackson's Tragic Death

Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" who transformed the music world with his 1983 hit Thriller album, died Thursday of a heart attack at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was just 50 years old.

I followed the news cycle as the reports, and later confirmations, made the rounds. I saw what was mostly a good show of proper journalism and sympathy for Jackson and his family.

Entertainment website TMZ.com, not normally known as a source of outstanding journalism, and the Los Angeles Times were the first outlets to break the story of Jackson being rushed to the hospital. The only outlook on his condition was a grim "he is not doing well" from Joe Jackson, the father of Michael and the Jackson 5.

Jackson's condition was regularly checked on for a few hours as millions of fans awaited word on his life. Hundreds of reporters gathered around the hospital, as is customary when someone of Jackson's magnitude may no longer be alive. The reports were moderated and kept factual, to the credit of the outlets involved. First it was reported only as a heart attack and a coma. I saw nobody spreading questionable rumors, which speaks well to our profession.

Then as the prognosis worsened, reports started filtering out that Jackson had been pronounced dead. Again, as protocol dictates, numerous sources started issuing unconfirmed reports, labeling them as such, of his death. Sources were cited and occasionally anonymously quoted. This was done to keep people aware of rumors, but not jumping to "confirmed" conclusions just yet.

Finally, after about 20-30 more minutes of rumors, the official confirmation was made public: Michael Jackson, the icon whose music and antics were known the world over, had suddenly died at age 50. It had probably been 40-45 minutes from the time Jackson was pronounced dead to the time of the official word from the media.

This situation reminded me of the reporting done on the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963. Walter Cronkite first issued bulletins stating that Kennedy had been shot and seriously wounded. Then the rumors of his death slowly started to reach the newsroom. The people were reassured, despite repeated rumors, that Kennedy had not been confirmed dead. Then at 2:38 p.m., the official flash came across the wire, 38 minutes after death had been pronounced. This slow buildup is necessary to prevent people from jumping to conclusions, and to prevent false reporting which could be catastrophic. The Cronkite-Kennedy coverage is available on YouTube, captured from a kinescope.

Post-death, tributes to Jackson were sprinkled across the Internet and played on every major news program. Farrah Fawcett, who had died that morning, was remembered in many outlets as well, to their credit. CBS News, among others, dedicated full tributes to Fawcett between the Jackson reports. Their deaths and that of Ed McMahon made for the latest trio to die in close proximity to one another.

This incident was handled about as well as it could have been in the news world. In other words, it was done by the book. Make sure reports are confirmed, cite every possible source, then show some compassion in the aftermath. Good job all around.

Tabloids Are a Waste of Time

Tabloid magazines have become an immensely popular trend, especially here in the United States. I am not referring to alternative newspapers such as the Tampa Bay Times, which actually publishes respectable articles. I speak here of the so-called "gutter press," the sensationalist wastes of space. This trend disturbs me on many levels. I don't even know where to start.

Such gossip publications as The National Enquirer, Star and The Globe are a collective insult to journalism. Writers who have apparently been educated enough to get legitimate work have resorted to penning false rumors of Olsen twin pregnancies and Bob Barker death hoaxes. If they wanted to write news, I'm sure they could find places where actual news is reported regularly. If they wanted to write comedy, they could just submit 100 scripts to CBS and hope they at least get a table read. And if they wanted to gossip, they could just text their friends. People who may have a talent for this field are simply throwing it all away.

These magazines, whose paper would have been better served in the forest where it was called "trees," are front and center at nearly every checkout counter at grocery and department stores. In line, I care about how much my Gatorade costs and telling the cashier that plastic is fine, not the latest "breaking news" on Michelle Obama's college sorority life. I might pick up a package of Starburst, but never a tabloid. It's quite embarrassing to see them en masse in every line, getting more exposure than the actual newspapers. USA Today is hidden past the counters in the front of the store in case you want something of substance.

In addition, tabloids are quite irresponsible in their reporting. The National Enquirer gets sued seemingly on a weekly basis. Reporting false allegations of alcohol abuse, infidelity or suicide about anyone, celebrity or not, is just never right. The publishers probably churn out half their profits in legal fees and settlements, which they should. Nobody would want to be slandered on what looks like a real news magazine, where others may believe what is written. If it were serious enough, I know I would sue.

The problem -- which may soon be termed an epidemic -- stems from the people who pay money to read this crap. When faced with competing headlines "Obama Nominates Judge" and "Britney Gains Weight," millions sadly choose the latter. I don't get how so many people can be tooled into taking this seriously. There are much bigger things going on in the world than what is told in tabloids. Things that are real and may actually change the world. Yet people keep flushing their money into this pit and debating about rumors some attention-seeking editor made up. The obsession with tabloids and their phony headlines is just dumbfounding.

I don't see why tabloid magazines should exist. The entertainment world is entertaining us enough as it is. These people just drag it down.

But do you know what are even worse? Tabloid websites and TV shows. But that could be a future rant.