Posted on 07/01/2009 1:35:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly two out of three Americans believe the media gave too much coverage to the death of Michael Jackson and just three percent think it was too little, according to a survey published on Wednesday.
Twenty-nine percent of the 1,000 people polled June 26-29 for the survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press believe the coverage of Jackson's sudden death on Thursday at the age of 50 was the "right amount."
Thirty percent of those polled said they followed the coverage of Jackson's death "very closely" while 28 percent said they followed it "fairly closely."
Twenty-three percent said they followed it "not too closely" and 19 percent said they followed it "not at all closely."
Thirty-one percent said they followed the Jackson story more closely than any other during the week.
Pew said African-Americans followed the death of Jackson more closely than the population as a whole with eight in 10 blacks saying they followed the news of his death very closely compared with 22 percent of whites.
Seven in 10 whites said there had been too much coverage compared with 36 percent of blacks.
Thirty-eight percent of those under the age of 40 said they followed the pop star's death very closely compared with 27 percent of those between 40 and 64 and 20 percent of those 65 and older.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The local NBC affiliate spent 20 minutes on Jackson and 15 minutes on actual news, including sports.
Keep hope alive... at least not all Americans are brain dead.
I enjoyed his obscurity more than his death coverage, but there is one good thing.
Jesse & Al are too busy butting in to MJ’s affairs to notice Cynthia McKinney’s little dilema.
Hey, gotta’ keep the public focused on things other than government scandals and out of control spending.
Excessive? Sure, but it’s easier to pimp for Jackson than cover up for Hussein 24/7!
Nearly two out of three Americans believe the media gave too much filtered coverage to the candidacy of the Obama Candidacy...
“Jesse & Al are too busy butting in to MJ’s affairs to notice Cynthia McKinney’s little dilema.”
Well, of course! The average American idiot has no idea who Cynthia McKinney is, and thus wouldn’t care much if Jesse or “Reverend” Al came to her defense.
No kidding.
"Cap and Trade? Never heard of it." - the overwhelming majority of poll respondents
It will be interesting to see how the ratings have held up over the extended coverage & how they compare with comparable time periods.
I don't ever watch TV news in any form so it didn't impact me, but I find it hard to believe all these outlets were hanging onto this tabloid story unless their overnights told them it would be profitable to continue to do so.
the only reason Rome took so long to fall was it didn’t have a complicit 24by7 media. we’re on oxygen.. MJ may have got off easy.. O has his foot on our air hose.
Duh...:)
And it ain’t over yet. I predict a funeral the size of Princess Diana’s or JFK’s with breathless media coverage.
I pity anyone on the road north of LA when the 30 car convoy heads out..
Didn’t Jackson’s most productive years take place after his relationship with firms like Sony? I honestly don’t know, but I’m a little tired of the idea that Jackson was solely responsible for all creativity on his Thriller Albums and videos.
I’ve enjoyed his work. I still don’t credit him with being the rock god that others seem so willing to bestow on the guy.
For me his tragic self-destruction and the absurd self-caricaturization all but destroyed my ability to respect him on any level. And the problem with the little boys, look folks, even if he wasn’t abusing them, what guy in his mid thirties sleeps with small children not his own?
Gack, is about the only word that fits for this guy IMO.
The “media” goes nuts in general over dead white girls. MJ was close enough, I guess.
Ditto.
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