Media Circus
Wow, Michael Jackson’s death has turned into an all-out media circus! I seriously had no idea that it would be considered this big a deal by mainstream media. I certainly expected VH1, MTV, the tabloids, and the gossip sites to go crazy, but we’re talking CNN, all the network news channels, and the Yahoo front page as well. Furthermore, Jackson is scheduled to appear on the cover of special “rushed” editions of Time and TV Guide.
This is absolutely nuts!! Most of the coverage has been very respectful and has focused on Jackson’s musical contributions rather than on his bizarre behavior and legal problems. If the world at large had shown him this much respect when he was alive, instead of treating him like a clown, maybe he wouldn’t have acted half as wacky as he did.
After watching a lot of tribute specials on TV, I’ve been wondering: what the hell happened to Jackson? It seems like he used to be pretty normal, but after the Thriller album and the worldwide fame, he started with the plastic surgery and the skin color thing.
Then came the allegations of child molestation. Even though there was NEVER enough evidence to sustain criminal charges, Jackson’s insurance company pressed him to reach out-of-court settlements with the claimants, most notably, Jordan Chandler. This led a lot of people, including me, to assume Jackson was guilty. But although there’s no question his behavior around young boys was not what’s considered normal, almost all the evidence shows that it was likely innocent.
After the Chandler lawsuit, Jackson just seemed to drop deeper and deeper into his reclusive, weird, debt-ridden existence. Reading all of this stuff has made me kind of sad for him….