(Rant) Deeply Disappointed in CNN: is now Celebrity News Network: Shame!

(Yeah, this is a rant.) I'm a news junkie. Ever since I moved from my native Finland to the USA to study at the university for my undergraduate degree, I discovered US based cable TV in 1983, and the two channels I fell in love with were CNN and MTV (in that order). Ever since, I've insisted every home I ever had, to have cable TV and both a 24h news channel and a 24h music video channel. Here in Hong Kong out of 24 hour news channels, I get CNN Headline News (US feed), CNN international, BBC World News, Sky News, CNBC, Bloomberg, Euronews, and Al Jazeera English. I even get the Fake News Network (aka Fox News). My preference has always been to follow CNN International.

So Michael Jackson died on 25th of June. I mean no disrespect to Michael Jackson and his fans. He was indeed a pop icon, sold 750 million records, and his album Thriller is the best-selling music album of all time. He was on the charts over a period spanning 4 decades; he was truly one of the greats of the music industry of all time, up there with Elvis, the Beatles, Sinatra, Edith Piaff etc.

And I personally truly did like his music all over the years, with songs such as Dont' Stop (Till You've Had Enough), Billie Jean, Bad, Smooth Criminal and Scream having been among my fave songs of their time(s) and I've danced to just about every Michael Jackson song he ever released. Regular readers know I'm not really a pop music fan, my tastes go to the much more hard-edged dance music in hip-hop and rap, but I always thought that Michael's use of Vincent Price to do the rap on Thriller (and it works far better on the album version than the music video, to my taste) was pure genius.

And its not just Michael. I've enjoyed the dance tunes from all the Jacksons, and his sister, Janet more than Michael even, due to her music having more of an edge due to the production by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; and even Michael Jackson's collaborations from the duets like Say Say Say with Paul McCartney to the background vocals Michael sang to Rockwell's under-appreciated song Somebody's Watching Me.

So please Michael Jackson fans, do not crucify me as being somehow "anti-Michael Jackson" with this rant. I honestly do like most of his music, some of his big hits have been among my all-time fave songs.

CELEBRTIY NEWS NETWORK

So it is the evening of the 1st of July here in Hong Kong today. I am watching CNN International and CNN Headline News. A moment ago, the top story on CNN Headline News was Michael Jackson. On CNN International Michael Jackson was the third story. Its been six days since Michael Jackson died !  Yes, we do understand that there is family who mourn him, yes. And yes, we do understand that there are tens of thousands of fans who mourn him. But now to explore gossip about how he may have died and what might be on the will etc, that is gossip about a dead celebrity. It is beneath a "24 hour news" channel to devote 6 days of continuous headline coverage, and being the main story on the network - even usually very competent Anderson Cooper 360 degree has been diminshed to Anderson Cooper AC1, its been only Michael Jackson - still this morning MJ was the main story for AC-1. Shame!

WORLD NEWS

So lets start with the world. Maybe its been a slow news cycle and international news could be forgiven to devote extra time on the big pop star and global celebrity who passed away (last week). Maybe not much is going on in the world. Lets examine the evidence, shall we.

There was another death as well. I'm not talking of other celebrities like Farrah Fawcett Majors the former Charlie's Angel. I mean ordinary people. An airplane crashed into the Indian Ocean. Jemen Airlines went down and 153 died (and miraculously a 14 year old girl survived). I would think these 153 international deaths would warrant some more attention than the follow-up gossip of one dead celebrity from last week.

Oh, you want death? Iraq reports deaths every day. 35 died in a car bombing in Kirkuk today. Are these Iraqis not worthy of remembering? A freight train killed 17 in Italy. 

Then there are non-death but "important" news from the world. Like July 1 being the day that US troops withdraw to bases, out of the cities of Iraq. This was one of the deciding issues of the past US presidential election. Is a dead celebrtiy from last week really more important than the sovreignty and the troop withdrawals of one of the USA's longest wars?

Talking about sovreignty, there was that election in Iran, a contested election with tens of thousands on the streets. But when a celebrity dies in America, suddenly the rule in Iran is no longer newsworthy.

Talking of who rules whom, Honduras had a coup. A legitimately elected President was disposed and thrown out of his country. The UN voted that he must be re-instated. But CNN tells us that Michael Jackson had some nurse who said this and that about the medications.

The European Union has a new Presidency effective today, Sweden. But a dead celebrity is more important.

In Pakistan a fragile truce between the government and rebels in Wasiristan has broken down, in part because of US spy drones. This all impacts the second-longest war the US has ever been involved in, Afghanistan. You'd think the Pakstani-US relationship and fighting rebels in the mountain regions on the border of Afghanistan would be of importance - the rebels ambushed a military convoy. But no, there apparently was a celebrity who died last week.

There is much more in a dangerous world, from North Korean nuclear ambitions to signs of possible advances in the Israel-Palestinian issue. But we hear more and more repeats of the aftermath of the death of one celebrity.

US NEWS

So we have an American major celebrity who died, it is more understandable that CNN Headline News, with its US focus, will cover this story more tha you'd expect CNN International to do. But really, Michael Jackson has been the top story virtually uninterrupted for six days. Really? Has the US been such a sleepy time in the news cycle, a really slow week for news, that a 24 hour news gathering station could not find other stuff to cover?

Iraq war pull-out. This was major theme by Republican Senator and presidential candidateJohn McCain - and for a long time was the stated position of the Bush Administration - that a timeline would invite death and chaos and failure in Iraq. Repeating President Bush and Senator McCain repeat those phrases "was news" week after week, month after month last year; but now when it actually HAPPENS, it is not top news because a celebrtiy died last week.

Same or Afghanistan and Pakistan and North Korea and Iran (see above). All items that seemed central to US foreign policy and were regularly repeated in sound-bites on CNN all last year, but now when there is action on these fronts, they are not big news, because of the death of a celebrtiy last week.

Franken. So the US senate, of 100 senators, has had only 99 senators since the US election in November 2008. Today the 100th senator election was finally decided and Al Franken becomes the last winner of the last election. Is the election result of a US senator today really less important news than the death of a celebrity six days ago.

Filibuster-proof Democratic Majority. While Franken alone is news, it is very rare for the US senate to be so lopsided, that one party controls what is called a "filibuster-proof" majority, ie 60%. The last election saw a "distant" chance, that the Democrats just might, if Barack Obama did win, gain such a "super majority" in the Senate. Now Franken's victory gives them the 60 vote majority. This is not only news, it is rare and historical shift in power in America. Yet CNN reports as its top story about a celebrity who died last week.

There was a Governor (Sanford of South Carolina) who was found to be unfaithful, but also to secretly (and apparently against government procedures of South Caolina) left the country to visit a lover in Argentina for many days. 

The state of California ran out of money and started to send IOU's to its employees. President Obama talked of health insurance. The Secretary of Defense spoke about changing the "don't ask don't tell" plicy about the gays in the military. Embezzler Madoff got a 150 year sentence in prison. But no, these are not top news to CNN, CNN feels top news is, was and continues to be the death of a celebrity six days ago.

CNN HAS CELEBRITY REPORTER 
 
There is already an established celebrity gossip reporter on CNN, Larry King Live (someone that I avoid religiously) so let Larry King do his thing with the dead celebrities. He has all the soundbites and can replay all the interviews and call up all the friends of any dead celebrity. That is what he is good at.

CNN has a global talent pool of competent journalists, who do a great job digging up the real stories even when others ignore them. CNN has a reputation to deliver balanced news. Now somehow CNN has gone from being a legitimate 24 hour news channel, to be a gossip channel of memories of one pop star.

I think it really is revealing to see how little mention Farrah Fawcett Majors got in the same time span, who died at the same time. A little before Michael Jackson's career took off, Farrah was arguably the most popular female entertainer on TV, around the world. Not nearly as prolific over a long career as Michael Jackson had been, but Farrah also did not embroil herself with sensationalist stories in her career (Neverland Ranch, elefant man remains, a pet monkey, several allegations of child abuse, two fake marriages, artificially inseminated children, etc). And lets be real, Michael Jackson has not hit a number 1 in America since 1995 with You Are Not Alone. For anyone saying Farrah is a "past star" so was very legitimately Michael Jackson as well. its not like he'd died with songs on the charts this year or indeed, essentially not even this decade, his last Top 10 hit (barely) was You Rock My World in 2001.

If CNN honestly feels that digging into the aftermath of celebrity death is worth their while, then please CNN, do limit it to your Larry King Live show, it is such bogus news that it is perfect for this. Yes, Michael Jackson's death was news, on 25 June. Not today six days later. Its a 24 hour news cycle for a reason. The world - and indeed the USA - have moved on during this period. If you want to honor the man and recognize his funeral, etc, that I can understand. But please do not waste the time of millions of viewers worldwide, who tune in not to watch a Music TV channel, or to watch a Celerity Channel, but who really want to learn what is happening in "real" news. Please give us real news on CNN. Stop with the Celebrity News Channel.

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