Well, as an aspiring journalist I'm feeling like I should comment on the recent death of Michael Jackson.
It's been a little over week since the "King of Pop" died at his home in California. While the circumstances are still cloudy, one thing is not - the media frenzy that has erupted over his life, death, rumours, and subsequent funeral.
While I was never a fan of MJ's, I can appreciate the strides he provided, and boundaries he broke for music around the world. He was undoubtedly a musical talent that is on par with Elvis, The Beatles, and talents of my generation (Gen X) Nirvana.
Perhaps its the former police officer in me, but I have always been amazed with how society seems to forget the misgivings of people as soon as they take their last breath. While the celebratory nature of a funeral is just that - a celebration of their life - however, in my opinion the rose-coloured glasses should only be worn by the family and friends.
The media has a duty to report on everything, to seek the truth, and to present this person as they were: A musical phenom, eccentric, odd duck, and drug addict among other things. The fact that his "tribute" was being shown on no less than five TV stations and ALL major news channels is understandable, but the complete bias that was shown is not.
It reminds me of when I was a police officer. The murder of a Toronto teen, Jordan Manners, at his school shocked the GTA and sent officials and media alike into a frenzy about school safety. What was not reported and is known probably only to the police community is a completely different story. One where he is painted in a competely different and dark light. But that will never be reported on, however.
The send off MJ received rivals that of Princess Diana, somebody who actually deserved the kind of worldwide publicity that they received.
Now that the funeral is done, I hope we can all put this one to rest, and let MJ do the same. Alas, that will not occur. There will be intense coverage as the fight for his children, estate, and cause of death is unwrapped every day there is a new development.
The journalistic community needs to take a step back in situations like this and really examine what they are reporting on, and in the end they too need to take off their rose-coloured glasses
You make a very interesting point about people who die being painted in only positive light. I've reported on many deaths, and without fail the dead person has a great sense of humour, was going to go far in life, always had a smile on their face, never had a negative word for anybody or, at the very worse, was "turning his/her life around."
ReplyDeletePerhaps that's just the nature of post-death writing, esp. when you're interviewing friends and family who are going to see only the good in their deceased loved one.
As for the police, if ONLY they'd tell us the stuff we want and ask for about some victims of crime!!That would be a dream come true, but (as you know) they either can't because of legal reasons or won't because it's innapropriate (hence leading to situations like the death you mention in TO. I'm guessing none of the cops actually told the reporters about the "dark side" of the teen, so the reporters couldn't report it).
Great blog. I enjoy it.
Kate Dubinski, The London Free Press
Kate,
ReplyDeleteThanks for being the first to comment on something I've done, please feel free sign up and I will try to post on a more regular basis!
You're right about the police stuff, if ONLY we were allowed to say more. I'm sure it would involve much less ranting from cops and others alike.