I almost wish he was still alive!

Recently, a somewhat koo-koo musical talent of great artistic merit, died. As a result, the press of the world has gone into an endless orgasm over the event, and everyone is talking about the huge devotion of TV coverage time to this evident cultural calamity.

Some of the people I know have questioned the wisdom of this dedication of resources to what must seem to guys from wiser worlds, floating around in OFO's, to be an insane preoccupation with the banal.

Dashmann for example asks: Why do we spend all that time on creeps like Jackson, when have real life heroes to celebrate and mourn ??

Sparty says that he almost stopped listening to news and even his favorite commentators because they are so caught up in the trash journalism. He rarely watches TV for news or information anymore. That comes from other sources less tied to sensationalism.

Scot says that any one person's death is a statistic unless you know them personally, and he can't see driving down to a hospital to mourn the passing of everyone who dies.

Irene says it is the media's fault, not simply the fault of public interest:

The media would doubtless argue that it is merely reflecting the needs of its consumers, like any business. But unlike other industries, the media is in the privileged position of having a critical role in shaping the perceived needs of its audience. It does not have to slavishly follow the flawed mindset of some of its consumers, and indeed frequently makes a judgement not to do so. Why here? An appropriate relegation of Jackson’s death to the celebrity section while meaningful events -- say, the slaughter in Iran -- are given more detailed coverage might be too much to ask, but a re-balancing of news values toward issues that actually affect us would not go astray.

I know that when generational icons die, there will be -- must be -- some public acknowledgment of the significance of the passing. I often do that myself when I recognize on this blog the death of someone who particularly meant something to me, or whom I've presumed meant something good for the world. But, there you see, is the crux of the matter and the source of my criticism of the media. I make those choices, just as the people who own the networks make those choices. So, I agree with Irene, and the rest of you. There are limits!