Should the Reporting of Michael Jackson’s Death Take the Place of World News?

There is no doubt that Michael Jackson is an American Icon. He changed the course of music. His album “Thriller” will always be deemed as an album of genius and historical sales. He was instrumental in MTV showing African American artists.  He was an incredible talent. His untimely death was shocking.But was the death of Michael Jackson significant enough to override other events in the news? In watching the evening news, other news took a backburner to the death of Michael Jackson. The North Korean threat, the war in Afghanistan, Obama’s health care plan…all took a backburner to his death. Not only did they take a backburner, his death took over the majority of the news. Aside from that, there was an evening special with an hour on Michael Jackson as well as an hour on Farrah Fawcett.In my opinion, the world news needs to be the world news. Yes, the death of an entertainer such as Michael Jackson merits a headline, but to have 75% of a 30 minute news show all about him is ridiculous. When people tune in to watch the news, they are interested in hearing about global events…things that can affect them in their day to day lives. While the unexpected death of Michael Jackson is sad, it is not as important as the news that will affect the lives of the American people.The death of Michael Jackson warrants much attention, no doubt. But that attention would be better spent in entertainment TV specials or on prime time shows which cater to events such as these. I have to wonder what could have happened in the world which might have put the death of Michael Jackson on the backburner. I also have to wonder if the evening news shows are more interested in ratings or in reporting the real news.Michael Jackson will be greatly missed. I loved the music of Michael Jackson as well as his outstanding dance abilities. My opinion of him dimmed somewhat in light of the sexual abuse scandals as well as many of the strange behaviors he exhibited from time to time. Still, his childhood was not easy and could not really be called a childhood…so surely he was affected.