Michael Jackson's Death: A Case Study in Media Effects

The death of Michael Jackson this summer sparked a media storm that, while having died down, is about to erupt again, I believe, with today's news that his death has been officially ruled a homicide. In addition, we still haven't had his funeral and there will soon be another worldwide celebration of his life and music. (Do any of you know where his body currently is? Plus, I had heard weird stories about his brain, but can't recall what they were.)

Here are several news articles that you should read. The first (in two parts) is from MSNBC and looks back on his career and how he broke so much new ground with his music and performances.

Here's the first part and here's the second part.

To understand this story it is crucial to start at the very beginning. His death was first reported by TMZ, not by any traditional news network. I think we will look back on this as the moment that TMZ, dare I say it, achieved real credibility. From now on, when they say something happened, everyone will know it is true.

In case you missed it, here's coverage of the actual memorial

And here's an examination of the memorial as a pure media moment.

Lastly, many feared that the Internet itself would crash the day of his memorial service. With great relief, it didn't.

As you read these, please think about the three major ways that media affect us: 1) Cognition; 2) Affect; 3) Behavior

Don Hewitt died last week

TV news legend Don Hewitt dies last week and there have been numerous tributes to him on television. Without him there would be no "60 Minutes," of course, but more importantly he helped create the 30-minute TV evening newscast and the whole idea of the TV "news magazine" format--both of which you could say have spawned our current era of 24/7 cable news. So, are his accomplishments praiseworthy, but the long-term effects the problem?

Welcome to COM 226

It has been a long, hot summer--ok, not really hot at all. And also not really long, was it? But fall is here since we are starting the fall semester and I am looking forward to this class with all of you. I will be using this blog to post articles in the news that we will be discussing in class. Sometimes I will be asking you to comment as well. (Don't worry, as the semester goes on your comments will become more sophisticated as you learn more about the mass media's role in society.)