In the course of ongoing reporting on the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, I have received a steady stream of comments from well-intentioned Jackson supporters who have stated as a matter of fact that the media is highlighting the salacious allegations against the performer as opposed to his defense rebuttals, and skewing coverage of the trial against Jackson in general because "sensationalism sells" and the perception that he is a "freak."
Due to a broadcast media ban on the trial, which I am coming to see more and more as a disservice to ALL involved, only the handful of people actually in the courtroom each day know what really happens in terms of minute to minute ebb and flow, nuance, tone, mood, individual reactions to testimony, and the vocal inflection of that testimony. In other words, all we really know about the trial is what the media tells us, rather than having the ability to follow along and make decisions for ourselves had the trial been televised.
And based upon the headlines and reports on, for example, yesterday's testimony by Macaulay Culkin, one might come to a conclusion opposite to that of my many Jackson-defending commenters about the media's bias in this case.
Note the following headlines:
- Actor Macaulay Culkin comes to Jackson's defense - Reuters
Actor Macaulay Culkin denies being molested by Jackson - AFP
Culkin comes to Jackson's defense - SantaMariaTimes
Culkin: 'He never molested me' - The Santa Barbara News-Press
Mac Backs Michael - E! Online
'We are unique people. He understood me': Culkin defends Jackson - The Independent (UK)
Culkin Describes Bond With Jackson - CBS News
Culkin calls charges against Jackson 'ridiculous' - San Diego Union-Tribune
Jackson abuse rejected by Culkin - BBC
Etc, etc: you get the picture - and all these stories reflect the emphasis of the headlines.
The only one I could find that didn't echo the theme of Culkin defending Jackson and denying molestation was this:
- Child star shared bed with Jackson - The Guardian (UK)
which is a very different emphasis isn't it? If the press was so biased against Jackson, why did they almost universally select the Jackson supporting theme?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Lee Williams
The media has waged a negative media campaign against Michael Jackson for the last fifthteen years. They are oblivious hoping for a conviction. But it is not just Michael Jackson the media seeks to vilify, how about Florence Joyner, Mike Tyson, James Brown, Marion Jones, Bobby Brown, Kobe Bryant, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Bobby Bonds just to name a few.
2 - Nicolette Rivers
Crazy celebs are entertaining. That is different than criminal behavior. When Michael Jackson was just eccentric, odd, strange, etc...America still loved him. It was his habit of choosing bedmates who were just getting in their adult teeth which caused a problem.
3 - dee
When someone famous screws up, of course the vilify them. People with dreary lives want that kind of stuff. I do not know for sure if Michael is guilty or not of what he is charged. I do know most men his age do not hang out with little kids and they sleep with grown ups, not kids. If he looks like a duck and walks like a duck, most people are going to call it a duck.
I worked with abused kids and it is not uncommon for someone to select certain kids they will molest and leave the others alone.
4 - mjs 1st
The comment by Lee Williams is very, very true. Even during the Prosecution's part of the trial, when things were not going their way, you could pick up a slant in the media coverage. Some commentators could not avoid showing disappointment when it seemed testimony was in the defense's favor.
Did anyone see May 11 Inside Edition where Debbie Rowe was visited by a female reporter and was very rudely treated and threatened?
5 - shorty
Nobody ever talks about the nice things
Mr. Jackson does - He very often invited
all the school kids to his ranch, provided them with lunch (free) and rides in the park. He must be a kind
person to do that. It does not mean he
does not have his faults, but he is not a criminal, weird yes, but so are 100th
of priest that molest boys, are they
being dragged to the courtroom?
This whole trial is a waste of money,
because it is not clear who is the
worst party in this case.
6 - Sandre Mann
It is obvious that the individual who wrote this story have not watched Nancy Grace on CNN or the pundits on MSNBC and Fox News. With these people MJ was tried and convicted before he went to court. For MJ it is not innocent until proven guilty, it is guilty until proven innocent. Even if the jury finds MJ innocent he will always be guilty. Such is the story of men of color in this country.
7 - Nicolette Rivers
Right, it's men of color, because Nancy Grace was never rough on Scott Peterson!
Michael Jackson is at this moment a-man?-of-no-color -- when he WAS a man of color people bought Thriller in droves. He was a hero to many.
Now would you like a list of all the men of color who don't sleep with young boys who America likes just fine?
8 - mlq
Yes, that is a good example of the media not against MJ, but this is only a small sample from a long history. Also, I think the media is saturated with MJ to the point where sometimes, they simply just report the days news. There is something new every day and that makes it hard for there to seem like there is mostly negative news write ups. If you would go back before the trial, it was mostly making fun. My point may be simple, but that's what is going on. And don't forget "the spoof", it has plenty of things to make fun of.
9 - mlq
Oops. I didn't notice this was satire as put in the headlines.
10 - bhw
It's not satire. Did you come here via Google News?
11 - David
If he is innocent, then what people drag him though must hurt him a lot. The doubt will always be there. It is horrible if he is innocent.
12 - Nicolette Rivers
And if he is guilty, then what he out those kid through must have hurt them a lot. The trauma will always be there. It is horrible if he is guilty.
13 - Anneka
I would love to think that Michael Jackson is innocent and in my heart i believe he is, I think that people are money grabbing and because Michael is the way he is they pick on him. I wont believe he is guilty until it is fully proven and i hope that it is proven that he is innocent. Good luck to you Michael. x
14 - Eric Olsen
thanks for all your input - this is most assuredly NOT satire. For some reason Google news decided all of our stories should be labeled "satire" about 36 hours ago and we are trying to get them to remove that designation
15 - james mclafferty
ERIC,:-)I heard the culkin testimony in your post elsewhere on sky news here in england so it's common knowledge in england.We seem to be getting more information than you.Sky news have got an in court reporter.
16 - james mclafferty
ERIC,the phone call bit to mcauley and the rolex watch information was on the sky news reconstruction thingy here in england do you not get sky news in america?,we get cnn,bloomberg,nbc,and abc.
17 - Eric Olsen
for this story I concentrated on the print media - we get the "reconstruction" on E! but I don't watch that
18 - james mclafferty
Oh right,i'll let you off then mate(smile),very impressed to hear your interview peice you've got quite a coloured cv ,very impressive,where's the playboy bunny number i requested?,lol(only joking).:-)
19 - Eric Olsen
thanks James, the Playboy stuff was quite a while ago and not all that impressive anyway - maybe I should be watching the reconstruction to get all the testimony!
20 - james mclafferty
ERIC,I suggested jarboy listen to your interview as he thought i was slandering you, i didn't notice the interview side bar ,what additional media are you thinking of adding in the future?
21 - james mclafferty
Eric,And on a side issue aren't you glad they aren't going to be building that super skyscraper to replace the twin towers.It would of just been a bigger target.Anyway the defences side of this case has been interesting,dis you read my post about gavin's sister allegedly having a sexual relationship with a jackson employee when she was 16?.That opens a whole new can of worms don't you reckon?.
22 - jarboy
i believe they are going to build the tower, just modify the base to meet security concerns of the police. i live in manhattan and we need the tower. there is a hole in the skyline that needs to be filled to make up for the hole in our hearts.
23 - james mclafferty
Yes jarboy the footage of the twin towers colapsing(sp?),was horrific i felt for all of you.Maybe they should build a large monument instead mate,or a building that isn't quite so tall,i remember seeing the people falling out of the windows it didn't seem real.At least we have saddam hussien that's one less dictator in the world with any luck bin laden will die of a fatal painful disease before we get to him.
24 - jarboy
i didn't know mj was a man of color. isn't he a white woman?
25 - Victor Plenty
White is a color too, jarboy.