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Inside the media game regarding the Michael Jackson story
TAMPA, Fla., Aug 18, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune News Service - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) --
You want old school? Try Hamlet's to be or not to be.
Now fast-forward, so let's drop Shakespeare and the reference to Hamlet's major issue in life _ hesitation.
Let's go new school; update to 2009.
Now, it's to TMZ or not to TMZ _ on all things Michael Jackson, that is, in a new-age world in which access to news is instantaneous.
TMZ.com, the gossipy Web site for all things celebrity, was in the forefront on reporting Michael Jackson's death on that Thursday afternoon of June 25, well ahead of the mainstream media.
"I have to give TMZ credit," said Bryan Monroe, former vice president and editorial director of Ebony magazine. "They have owned this story."
Monroe, who has been a CNN contributor, is widely credited with conducting the last one-on-one media interview with Jackson, in September of 2007, which was published in Ebony in December of that year.
He was part of an informative panel discussion titled "Beat It, Bad, or Dangerous? What Michael Jackson's death tells us about media competition and the future of journalism" at the annual National Association of Black Journalists Convention recently held in Tampa, Fla.
The panel focused on traditional media vs. high-tech media as it relates to the intense coverage of the Jackson story.
Are we in the era of when the Luddites meet the high-tech crowd? Which medium are we supposed to believe?
"If you think because it's an online source, so you can't trust them, and believe you need only a MSM (Mainstream Media) source, then you're going to be lost," said Toure, a noted contributing writer for "Rolling Stone" magazine and pop culture critic for the MSNBC network.
But what if the media outlet is wrong? Is there a difference in perception of accuracy between old school vs. new school?
Says Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S.: "People seem to be more forgiving of mistakes on the Internet and online. But mistakes in newspapers seem to last with you longer."
Klein, who is responsible for management oversight of all programming, editorial tone and strategic direction for CNN, added media outlets must establish a bond of trust with their readers, listeners and viewers, saying "Some people said, 'We didn't believe it (Jackson's death) until CNN said it.'"
Which brings us to what is journalism and what isn't? Are blogs, Tweets, Web sites, MySpace, texts, Facebook and other social media in that category? Just what is their classification and how do you establish the line of demarcation.
Terence Samuel, deputy editor of TheRoot.com (a black-oriented Web site) and a former senior editor at U.S. News and World Report, essentially said all media are not created equal. There is the matter of a vetting process.
"Facebook and Twitter updates are not journalism; it's information," he said. "There is a difference. It's about checking sources and checking facts."
And also sometimes changing course in midstream. Ebony magazine, for example, had to rip up its September edition upon Jackson's death. That's the challenge of various media outlets, trying to keep up, especially for magazines, which often are printed months in advance in a dour economic climate that's continually wreaking havoc on many media entities.
Mainstream newspapers probably are bearing the brunt of financial distress in the media world, what with massive layoffs nationwide and declining revenue streams.
Toure spoke of that effect on aspiring young journalists considering careers in newspapers.
"Young people Twitter me all the time," he said. "They say, 'Hey, I have my journalism degree, what should I do?'
"I say, 'Do you have another choice for a career?' Newspapers are dying.
"It's like being in a burning house, and a journalism student comes up and says, 'Can I come in?'
"'Yeah, come on in; I'll just turn on the A/C (air conditioner) for you.' That's where newspapers are right now."
As daily newspapers struggle mightily, television news likely has at least a puncher's chance and a distinct advantage amid the uncertain economic turmoil because of its immediacy in delivery and immense popularity across demographic lines.
Said Klein, "There was such an enormous interest in this (Jackson) story. We were overwhelmed, globally. And we are a global network."
Offered Toure, "And there is the nimble nature of a dot-com. A magazine would take weeks. A newspaper is the next day."
Monroe added the story of Jackson's death produced such a powerful storm of interest that AT&T said there were 65,000 text messages transmitted per second in the wake of the news (normal traffic is around 40,000 messages).
And Klein said CNN had five times its normal Web site traffic from the time of Jackson's death to the memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7.
Suffice to say, the Jackson story was on just about everybody's radar.
As Klein said, "We are living in a golden age of journalism because we are in the age of information technology."
So, with that, imagine the pressure to deal with rumor, innuendo and trying to separate fact from fiction from verisimilitudes in such a fast-moving medium as cable television. Especially when covering an iconic figure such as Michael Jackson _ perhaps the greatest entertainer in history.
"We tried to draw a distinction between fact and speculation," Klein said. "There is a tension between being first and being right. Being correct is the most important thing."
So is professionalism, said Adrienne Samuels Gibbs, a senior editor for Ebony magazine in Chicago. "We are not fans," she elaborated. "It's our job. My job is to cover celebrities. We have to impress upon our young people that we are not here to get autographs."
And the media must add structure and perspective to major stories and events, such as the Jackson whirlwind.
"It's not just about information," Monroe said. "It's about critical thinking, about putting this information into context."
What about when media outlets quote other media outlets. Remember when Jackson died, some media quoted the Associated Press; others quoted TMZ.com, and some, such as CNN, referenced the Los Angeles Times as a source.
Klein said CNN formerly instituted a policy the network wouldn't air information from another media outlet unless CNN could independently confirm the story itself, but that rule of thumb has since changed.
The bottom line: Monroe suggested, "Don't get caught up in the medium; get caught up in the journalism."
To be or not to be? New and social media apparently will be here to exact a major impact on traditional media, such as newspapers, when engaging in the news reporting and information-seeking process.
Or is it really he who hesitates is lost. That's another question.
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(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune.
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