Pop overload

I have seen a lot of bad television programming over the years, but never have I been so disgusted as I have during the last few weeks. The minute that Michael Jackson died, it seems, virtually all of the network heads decided that there was no other news of interest, and we have been bombarded with 24/7 coverage of this one event.

Even CNN, which a few months ago gave us such insightful election coverage, has joined the feeding frenzy. This network has now sacrificed any claim it had to journalistic integrity. By calling each tidbit of information “breaking news,” this network is implicitly telling us that this is the most important thing happening in America today.
 
If anyone believes that the death of print journalism in America would not be a disaster for our democracy, he or she should watch CNN for an evening. If that was our primary source of news, we would not know of American soldiers dying on two fronts, of a potential revolution in Iran, of the debate over universal health care or of numerous other events that our news networks consider far less important than the death of an over-hyped pop singer.

Stu Lewis
Prairie Village

It’s a funny thing. Three weeks ago, 99 percent of the people who are mourning the death of Michael Jackson couldn’t have cared less about him. I would hazard a guess that the same people who submitted their names for tickets to his memorial service probably wouldn’t have accepted a ticket to see him in concert.

Death brought him fame again. But Jackson was only a man, and men die all the time. The deaths of good men and women go unnoticed by all but their families and friends.

The teacher who taught for 50 years and brought inspiration and hope to countless children, unnoticed. The soldier who fought and died for his country, unnoticed. Simple fathers or mothers who worked all their lives to provide their children with better lives, unnoticed.

Our priorities are severely confused. It’s no wonder this world is so messed up.

Joseph Shockey
Kansas City

Comments

[T. Hanson]

Hey Fox news is always right... here is a good link to show how they think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z2mLOTe6Lo

Good ole, fox and friends.

[solomon]

There are no unbiased networks!

[Kee]

took the words out of my mouth Arminius. CNN is a joke, and their lack of ratings proves it.

[Arminius]

"Even CNN, which a few months ago gave us such insightful election coverage, has joined the feeding frenzy. This network has now sacrificed any claim it had to journalistic integrity."

Has now? There's a reason CNN was called the Clinton News Network during the 1990s. If CNN ever had any journalistic integrity, it was jettisoned many, many years ago. But, hey, their coverage of Jackson has temporarily ut them ahead of MSNBC, that other paragon of integrity.

[swooth]

JS: Your first paragraph has “Faux News Talking Points” all over it. So we already know that you are coming from a point of unfair and unbalanced misinformation.

I think everyone in honored in death in different ways. Millions of people around the world loved Michael and his music. So it is only fitting the coverage he received. The teacher, solider and parents death do not go unnoticed, just mourned and honored by those who loved them on a much smaller and personal scale.