Question(s) for those upset over MJ memorial coverage:

[Boomerang Diddle]

Are you being forced beyond your will to watch it? Has someone threatened you and/or your loved ones that if you don't watch harm will be inflicted on you or them?

Has the world been irrevocably harmed because the television networks interrupted normal programming to broadcast it?

Just wondering!

:hide:

[csziggy]

1. K&R

[NeedleCast]

2. 24

[Renew Deal]

3. Working on that post count huh

:rofl:

[NeedleCast]

8. Unhidden (briefly)

25 MJ threads hidden in under two hours. I wonder if I'll break 50 today.

[Renew Deal]

9. You'll break 50 easy

:rofl:

[hlthe2b]

4. Poutrage appears to be contagious, addictive, and cyclical

At least among some here, who one day point to the narcissism of GWB* and Sarah Palin, and the next day post hundreds of poutrage posts demanding DU be all about THEIR desires and wishes.


:eyes: We desperately need a forum psychiatrist, I think

[targetpractice]

17. Awesome.

Nicely said.

[kestrel91316]

5. I think a lot of folks are unhappy that their soap operas got pre-empted.

[ronnykmarshall]

6. They're having guns held to their heads.

Just like LaToya held one to MJ's little girl at the end the service:

"You BETTER cry you little shit and make it look GOOD! If not Aunite LaToya will come live with you!"

[napi21]

7. When it's on CNN, MSNBC, HL, MTV, etc...YES! I've resorted to the food network

today. I think it's great that honor is being paid to an American music hero, but all I've been hearing for a week has been MJ! Enough already!

I've said it before. If the media hadn't done overkill for the past week, today wouldn't have been a problem, but they DID! Even Dateline tonight is doing MJ.

Sorry folks, but it's just been too much!

[Boomerang Diddle]

18. But is it unexpected?

When I heard Michael Jackson died I knew it was going to be the main story for at least the next couple of weeks. Michael Jackson was loved by millions around the world and whether one liked him or not there is not doubt he was an icon, just like Elvis.

If Elvis had died in an era when we had internet and hundreds of TV stations the coverage would have been the same. Same with John Lennon. We saw it with Princess Diana when she died, so the coverage of the death of Michael Jackson really should come as no surprise.

[intheflow]

36. Princess Di and John Lennon

and even Elvis were class acts. Jackson was just a freak who had a huge album back in the day. Musically it can't compare with anything Pink Floyd did (for just one example), but you didn't see the press go ga-ga when Syd Barrett died. Yeah, Jackson was a tragic figure with a tragic childhood, but that just makes him one of literally billions of people with tragic lives/childhoods. Where's the 24/7 coverage over child prostitution rings, or child abuse and neglect? It's only interesting if the child can sing and owned the Elephant's Man's bones? Please. I don't own a tv and don't listen to commercial radio, but even I can't escape the wall-to-wall coverage of MJ. And I can't help but think it's just something shiny being flashed at us while god-only-knows what evil is happening in the world that's a million times more relevant to 99% of the US and world population.

[murielm99]

21. I have had my TV off for most of this week because of the

MJ overload.

I wanted to listen to NPR today while I had to drive somewhere. They had too much MJ coverage, too. I tried a rock station, and got his music and nothing but his music.

After today, most of this will be over.

We should expect this. It is time to read a book or work on some long neglected task. I did that when they were honoring St. Ronnie.

[CakeGrrl]

10. Some people apparently just like to bitch and snipe

No one is forced to watch TV, and there are obviously a hell of a lot more channels that DIDN'T show it than did. They're complaining for lack of anything better to do.

[damntexdem]

11. Hey, I'm not so upset by the Memorial coverage -- as I am about the whole, damn orgy.

The good thing about the Memorial coverage is that it will soon be over. But the orgy likely won't.

[seabeyond]

12. for me it wasnt just today memorial. i rarely watch tv and i keep turning it on or

bbc or cnn on car radio, or looking at three internet news and all i get is jackson. last couple days, i have had it on all jackson all the time

not about the man

he was good at what he did.

came up innocent in charge, so what i believe doesnt matter

it is the worship, and the constant that i cant stand

and i peaked today

[elehhhhna]

25. amen, sister.

[seabeyond]

27. ah, how are you

i havent see you for a while. all ok

i thought i saw something sad with you a while ago with hubby.

but brain is mush and remember so very little now a days. scares hubby, lol. told him yesterday, oh yea, coffee prevents Alzheimer. he isnt a believer. i drink lots of coffee.

[jhain]

13. My outrage involves

the *NON* existent coverage of our President. Six months into his first term and he has brokered a deal with RUSSIA!!

Anybody else hear about it??

[Wednesdays]

39. No, but then again, how many hit albums has Obama ever made?

(Paraphrasing a quote by Babe Ruth.) :evilgrin:

[WonderGrunion]

45. I believe Obama has a Grammy award

For the "book-on-tape" version of "The Audacity of Hope".

I might be mistaken though.

[armyowalgreens]

50. He won for "best spoken word album" for The Audacity of Hope.

[bigwillq]

14. I haven't watched one second of coverage

Yet. I may watch some later. My choice. I will likely be watching the NY Yankees. One can choose to turn off the TV or switch the channel.

[MrSlayer]

15. Not being forced, no one has threatened anything but yes the world has been harmed.

What's worse is there's nothing decent on HBO. I'm watching TIVOd Family Guy episodes that I've seen 100 times. They're still funny though.

[liberal N proud]

16. No matter where you go, what you do it is in your face

TV is a no brainier, I refuse to turn the thing on.

Radio, they are either playing tribute or talking about the stupidity of this idol worship.

Internet, plastered everywhere including DU.

Unless you live in a fucking cave, you are blasted with the idolatry.

[Boomerang Diddle]

22. So go outside and get some fresh air!

There are other things to do in life besides watching TV, listening to the radio and surfing the internet!

[seabeyond]

24. when did he die? it is not like jsut today. has been a while. n/t

[seabeyond]

46. 13 days. 13 days this crap has taken over the tv, radio, internet... 13

and we are not done yet.

people are tired of 13 days of coverage.

[Wednesdays]

40. Yeah! If you don't like it, move to Russia!

Hmm...somehow, I've heard that phrase somewhere before...

[Boomerang Diddle]

48. ???

What? lol

[Triana]

19. Bingo. n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

20. That's the great thing about not watching television.

Hadn't a clue that was today. And when you don't watch something it can't be pre-empted. Problem solved.

[gkhouston]

23. I'm not watching the coverage, and I don't begrudge them covering the actual service.

What I think is asinine is wall-to-wall coverage starting 3 hours before the service and doubtless going on for hours afterward, on top of all the coverage we've already had. If it's part of Countdown tonight, fine. If that's the whole hour, I'll be annoyed: do they really need to do a full hour of recap?

On the day of his death, was there really any reason for them to do nonstop coverage for 4-5 hours? Was anything "new" actually happening, moment to moment? Why not show other news and cut back to the scene for 5 minutes every half-hour or hour? The thing that gets up my nose is when the news channels park on a story for hours, like a teenager waiting for a boyfriend/girlfriend to call, when there's no reasonable prospect of any immediate developments. "Yes, we're showing you a picture of a house and some cars are pulling up and we won't really know why he's dead probably for a couple of weeks but oh, there's a coroner's vehicle taking the body away!" Shit, yeah, I needed to see that live, 'cause I never would have known that a coroner takes away corpses and my day has been enriched by seeing, live, the removal of Jackson's corpse and hey, let's sit around and watch the scene for another couple of hours even though it's clear they still don't know shit. :grr: The ultimate was the time they sat around waiting for Martha Stewart to get out of prison. That was news??

[treestar]

26. Perhaps they do want to know what is going on in the world other than that

It could be that they are in fact not watching, knowing that what they want to know is not being covered?

Really there is no need to be so snotty about it!

[seabeyond]

28. exactly. i have stayed away from all news, tv, car and internet for what seems like a

long time.

i have been peeking in and getting only him. i am itchy for my news back. different topics

[nichomachus]

30. Yeah, I planned a nice relaxing vacation in Honduras. Imagine my surprise

when I found out there were other things going on than a has-been pop singer remaining dead.

[nichomachus]

29. So, we can only be upset about the hijacking of news coverage

by a silly event if we're being held at gunpoint? I must have missed that rule somewhere.

[Boomerang Diddle]

32. You can be upset all you want but who's forcing you to watch?

Through all this Michael Jackson coverage, I've still managed to keep up with what's going on in the world. If you haven't been able to keep up with other news maybe you're doing something wrong. Ever hear of newspapers?

[seabeyond]

35. you are right. your position is so much more reasonable than a simple

you know, there has been just an obsessive amount of coverage of redundant information on jackson and i can understand a frustration for the people that are not interested in jackson.

soon it will be over

instead, it is much more wise to ignore the obvious and tell people about a newspaper.

[-..__...]

31. But, they pre-empted "Family Feud"

this outrage is intolerable!

[Boomerang Diddle]

33. No, that isn't......

but preempting Match Game is unforgivable! :) :) :)

[noamnety]

34. I suspect people are more focused on

critiquing the cultural aspects of idolizing pop stars, rather than personally being upset that their favorite program was preempted.

[Confusious]

37. It just bothers me that people don't seem to have something

more important in their lives. A lot of people seem to be missing something that makes them feel better about themselves and instead seek it from outside sources, which, in time, go away, and leave them worse off.

[Kurt Remarque]

38. yada yada yada

[redqueen]

41. Thanks. (nt)

[Raine]

42. Totally on point.

:thumbsup:

[Sebastian Doyle]

43. It's more about what they're NOT covering.

I watched the BBC World News tonight on my local PBS station. They did mention the MJ memorial... about the last 30 seconds of the broadcast. The rest of the time they actually broadcast NEWS.

And it's not because the UK or the BBC hated Michael Jackson. After all, he was planning 50 shows in London alone. Obviously that means there's a British audience, and the BBC itself probably would have broadcast at least one of those concerts.

But it didn't consume their entire coverage today. There's the difference. Because the BBC knows their job is to report the NEWS. The US corporate media no longer realizes this reality.

[Deep13]

44. Answers.

"Are you being forced beyond your will to watch it?"

You mean against my will? The public airways belong to the American people and not to narcissistic media people who think what they do somehow matters. I'm talking about those involved with the coverage and not Jackson himself. If I want information, TV and radio news shows are places to get it. So when I tune in to check on health care reform, the Iran or Iraq and instead get the news AGAIN that a 50 year old private citizen died. I know some people worship entertainers. We ought to know better. Olbermann and Maddow DO know better. The point is, I'm not the one at fault for turning on the TV.

"Has someone threatened you and/or your loved ones that if you don't watch harm will be inflicted on you or them?"

That's the same question.

"Has the world been irrevocably harmed because the television networks interrupted normal programming to broadcast it?"

A little, yes. It remains to be seen what effect the world turning its back on Iran when they need us the most will be. Did you know POTUS brokered a new nuclear weapon reduction with Russia today? I'll bet you didn't find out here. Human attention is limited. Part of the reason we have this irrational attention on entertainers and sports is to keep our attention off what the powers-that-be are doing and you are happy to let them do it. Yeah,m you really, really liked Jackson's performance. I get it. The thing is, the world is not all about you and your feelings.

He's dead. He's buried. Can we get on with important things now?

[JonLP24]

47. Does not bother me even though I'm not interested in seeing

If you have cable you have a wide variety and you can simply change the channel, I do it all the time. I watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report on the Comedy Central and afterwords when they show late night cartoons that isn't entertaining at all I change the channel. I also watch KO and Rachel Maddow but turn the channel when Hardball comes on unless it was good show. I also hate 95% of the movies on AMC but I do watch it when the rare occurrence they actually show a 'classic'.

I don't get upset over anything on TV, I just simply turn the channel even though I was never fan of MJ. Just wasn't my type of music. Though what would probably make people even more upset is if they equaled the MJ coverage to Billy Mays and replay commercials over and over in memory of Billy Mays.

[Apollo11]

49. Don't forget the dude was deeply flawed

Some relevant articles I found in the British press:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/michael-jackson-bad-and-very-dangerous-1731258.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/05/michaeljacksontrial.music
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1196921
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1195825

[liberal N proud]

51. It is just sickening how people have idolized a freak

At the very least the man was a freak and that is undeniable.

The last 2 weeks have been nothing but a circus, all news has been squashed to display another Michael Jackson circus. No doubtf it will not be his last. He will haunt us from the grave for years as opportunists prey on those who have subjected themselves to idol worship.

How much did we here on DU talk about media distractions over the last several years, this was a huge one, who knows what happened behind the MJ curtain, it never got reported. Sanford will most likely survive as a result, Most people still have not realized Palin is a quitter. And who know what happened in Iraq in the last couple of weeks.


Idol Worship.

[davidpdx]

52. I think the media has an obsession with Micheal Jackson

and it is unfortunate. While I didn't watch the ceremony live (it was on in the middle of the night here), I did watch the whole thing online later. There are plenty of other things to move on to now. Both sides need to let it go.