Jack's Rant July 9

Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson

Of all the favorite celebrities that the pulp press enjoyed, Michael Jackson had to be at the top of the list. His quirky lifestyle was by far the best fodder for the sensational weekly rags sold at your local supermarket checkout. And the best part of it was, is that most of it they didn’t even have to make up.

From his constant obsession with plastic surgery to his Montecello estate, Neverland, these were the things that gave headlines to numb the senses while waiting in line to buy your weekly food supply.

And then the unthinkable happened. Michael Jackson, at the ripe old age of 50 years, died on June 26. Never in my life have I seen the media go into such a feeding frenzy. This, according to any media you care to choose, is an event of biblical proportion. Not since Moses parted the Red Sea has an event received such notoriety or coverage. I don't believe that Princess Dia or the assassination of John F. Kennedy got so much coverage. I'm surprised they didn't close the banks and have a national day of mourning!

Even NPR, who I consider to be the bastion of intellectual news reporting, every 15 minutes gave updates about Jackson’s demise, to the extent that angry listeners, such as myself, emailed complaints to them. And it seems that this is all that’s peppered the news ever since.

Never mind that we’re at war in Afghanistan, Cher is giving a phone interview to Larry King about the Pop legend, showing dated ’70’s footage of Jackson and she singing together in sequined bell bottomed jump suits ; let’s not talk about the uprising in western China, Rev. Jessie Jackson has an interview on ABC news on the subject; and who cares that there is a G-8 Summit in Italy to talk about global warming when there’s an exclusive interview with Jackson’s dermatologist on CBS news.

And, the one reporter whom I felt would not venture into the murky water of Jackson’s death, Anderson Cooper, has devoted not one, but now three programs on this subject. Shame on you Anderson, and shame on the national media seeing an opportunity to gain a few rating points reporting on this tawdry event.

Yes, Michael Jackson was a great performer, he had a wonderful stage presence and put on a fantastic show. Yes, he sold the most records ever, and yes he is a pop icon of the highest degree. However, in the larger scheme of things, he is just that, an entertainer, plain and simple. There will be no mention of him in the history books, and other than an occasional tribute that some aging pop singer will perform to make a few more bucks, that’s all she wrote.

His fame took him to the strangest of places with the most bazaar behavior, rivaling that of Howard Hughes (well, maybe not quite that strange), obsessed with becoming white, and with a distorted view of what morality was, case in point his unnatural attention toward young boys and having enough money to buy his way out of any situation.

I am tired of all of this, it is time for Michael Jackson to rest in peace and it’s time for the media to put the story to bed and move on to something that is really news worthy.