Living in Los Angeles, it has been easy to think that for the past two weeks there has been no news but Michael Jackson news. The King of Pop has reigned supreme over nightly newscasts and Internet rumors and A1 centerpieces. So I was more than a bit surprised to survey other major West Coast newspapers last night and find that most didn’t even bother sending a reporter to the Staples Center to cover Jackson’s larger-than-life memorial service.
The Salt Lake Tribune, for example, simply ran a centerpiece photo of Jackson’s kids and family huddling, with a caption that referred readers to a funeral story on A6.
At the other end of the spectrum was the Los Angeles Times, which published 10 stories on Jackson’s funeral — from the best and worst dressed to Michael Jackson’s global appeal. Missing, of course, was a single story focusing on all the religious language bandied about so freely during the funeral.
Indeed, the family had said the memorial service would be religion-free. But that didn’t stop those honoring Jackson from praising God and entrusting the King of Pop’s spirit to Him. But you also wouldn’t have really known that from much of the news coverage.
The closest the Times came was with this headline: “Memorial ‘bordered on a miracle.’” But that “miracle” was simply the hyperbolic rhetoric of the assistant chief of police, and that story concerned the fact that no one got killed and no SUVs set afire during the Lakers-championshipesque rioting that LAPD had anticipated.
Far as I could tell, none of the Times’ stories even mentioned Stevie Wonder saying:
“This is a moment that I wished that I didn’t live to see come. But as much that I can say that and mean it, I do know that God is good. And I do know that as much as we may feel — and we do — that we need Michael here with us, God must have needed him far more.”
As for Lionel Richie singing “Jesus is Love” and Jennifer Hudson belting out gospel, that was reserved for an entertainment section story assessing whether the service was concert, political venue or memorial — or all the above.
How is this possible? Erin Aubry Kaplan, blogging for the public TV station KCET, got just how outwardly religious the service was:
It dawns on me watching Jennifer Hudson singing Michael’s gospel-tinged “Hold Me” that this is a black funeral. It’s on a bigger scale than usual, but still - the invocations of God and good works, the music, the speakers themselves, the homey testimonies, the acknowledgement by Kobe and Magic of MJ’s importance in black history, the blue-carpted dais…it’s Staples as megachurch today. Can we get a witness? We got millions.
While Jackson was given a beautiful memorial — and what else would you expect when more than three dozen Grammy Awards take the stage — Times columnist Steve Lopez, in one of the only critical articles I saw tied to the funeral, notes that Jackson really didn’t deserve the immediate beatification he’s received. Seriously, I don’t think Pope John Paul II received saintly status so soon upon his death. Lopez wrote:
I was hoping to bump into the Rev. Al Sharpton to see if he’s made any progress in getting Michael Jackson on a stamp. Sharpton, who was on the scene roughly 10 minutes after Jackson was rushed to the hospital June 25, has also criticized the “disgraceful” media for trying to “destroy the legacy” of Jackson, so I was hoping for a chance to ask him what in God’s name he was talking about.
I can’t remember the last time I saw so much media fluff, hype and hoopla. News organizations that have pulled out of Iraq arrived by the convoy to pay homage to the King of Pop.
Jackson had some great years as a groundbreaking and barrier-crashing, once-in-a-lifetime talent with a message of peace and harmony. But that was followed by a decade or two of extremely disturbing weirdness — not that you’d know that from the recent news coverage.
You had to wade through acres of shallow water to find media references to Jackson’s reported $20-million settlement of a case involving a boy he was accused of molesting. And then there were his comments about seeing nothing wrong with sharing his bed with children, which tells me that if the scheduled comeback hadn’t panned out, Jackson could have had a second career as an Irish priest.
Did you catch that? Lopez made one of the only references to religion I saw in the Times’ coverage. And it was really just a punchline.
As for the stories stating “Michael Jackson’s final resting place a mystery” — those are concerned with whether he’ll be interred at Forest Lawn or put on display at Neverland or something else entirely. Nothing more.
 | Posted at 1:32 pm |  Print
| Permalink | Trackback |
Comments (16) |
July 9, 2009, at 1:51 pm
I was idled for several hours at LAX some time ago and watched a newscast. Their news programs have the usual segments — local and state, national, world, sports, weather — plus another one: celebrity news. That happened to be the day that Lucille Ball died, and following the regular ‘cast they had a special on her life (from which I learned a few things about the early history of television). I guess this is just LA media being LA media.
On the PBS coverage of his funeral I saw a placard in the crowd demanding “Sancto Subito” — immediate sainthood.
July 9, 2009, at 2:25 pm
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the black spiritual.
“Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King” song as they carried his body into the staging area. All the time flashing pictures of the King of Pop instead of the King of Kings.
July 9, 2009, at 2:30 pm
And I’m sure more than a few people were waiting for a Thrilleresque resurrection.
July 9, 2009, at 4:08 pm
[…] This post was Twitted by harmaini […]
July 9, 2009, at 5:59 pm
That was a call for JP II to be declared a saint (Sainthood now, Sainthood, now!) - not an official recognition of saintly status.
July 9, 2009, at 6:25 pm
[…] Leaving God at Jackson's funeral GetReligion – Washington,DC,USA But you also wouldn't have really known that from much of the news coverage. The closest the Times came was with this headline: “Memorial 'bordered on a … See all stories on this topic […]
July 9, 2009, at 7:36 pm
Julia, am I going to have to start offering “irony on” and “irony off” cues?
July 9, 2009, at 7:42 pm
Let me explain why you can’t find any articles about this issue. People who are genuinely interested in watching the media coverage are either huge fans of MJ or enjoy the hyperbole of coverage and celebrity gossip. Both drive this media frenzy by supporting the continuous news coverage. Do you think these people really care about discussing MJ’s religious beliefs or whether the funeral service was religious? No way. People are more interested in talking about his music career, list of celebrity friends, legal issues, family problems, drug abuse, and plastic surgeries. Why you’d expect the media to report on this “religious issue” is beyond me.
I understand the purpose of this blog is to point out media bias regarding religious issues. But you cannot criticize the media without providing an argument for the importance of covering this issue. This post does nothing to address the question of how the media doesn’t get religion. To me, this time it seems like religion may not get the media.
July 9, 2009, at 8:36 pm
I was never a great fan of Michael Jackson; thougn of course I recognised his unquestionable talent. What really got to me was to see him as an innocent, brilliantly precocious happy little black chap. with his soft woolly hair, singing his heart out … Then to consider the obvious tragic need he felt for his complete metamorphosis into a more acceptable, more beautiful - as he thought, man.I feel the entire world, as well as the folk right next to him, bear the guilt for not having convinced him that all that was entirely unnessary. - This might explain the outpouring of some of that grief we saw these days; born from an underlying guilt.This is no time to be getting onto high horses though; I think when the Angels of Death come to each one of us and we might start to complain to them again about Michael Jackson, we would be ushered in to hear what God has to say about the star who, according to the Guinness Book of Records, was the one who gave most money to charitable causes.
July 9, 2009, at 10:20 pm
When I compare the funeral of Lady Diana to the Michael Jackson show and dance extravaganza, I understand why more watched the prince of the people vs the king of pop.
MJ’s memorial is more described “I was at a memorial and a concert broke out”. Where was God and salvation and hope? No where because once again the Jehovah’s Witness sect has made taking God out of the picture easier than showing Gods love.
July 9, 2009, at 11:26 pm
I am sorry to have to say that something is VERY amiss on these postings. WHY is it that folk must look for the negative and not see the positive? The tribute and homage to Michael Jackson, in my humble opinion, was just as moving and spiritual as Diana, Princess of Wales’s funeral. I watched both of them from beginning to end. Of course the fast motorcade from Forest Lawn to the Staples Center had no comparison to the slow gun-carriage funeral procession from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey; but then how could it? - These were entirely different people and entirely different countries. Yet, for all that, in the end, what stays indelibly in our minds from both events, both steeped in open reference to God and to death? - Yes! … The anguish of children losing a parent when they are so young. We had on the front of Diana’s coffin the small wreath of white roses with its one large hand-written, heart-breaking word … “MUMMY” … written by the little Prince Harry; while at Michael Jackson’s homage we had his little daughter, Paris, just managing to express how much she loved her father before she broke down weeping into her Aunt Janet’s arms. At the very beginning of Michael Jackson’s tribute, as his rose-covered coffin entered the auditorium, richly coloured images of stained glass windows were projected onto screens behind, as the beautiful gospel song Going to See the King was sung. At one point the entire multitude present and the entire world watching TV, was invited to hold the next person’s hand and to pray to God. - He was NOT denied there in Los Angeles on that sad sunny day … any more than He was denied on that sad sunny day, years ago in London.
July 10, 2009, at 11:41 am
As a native of the Golden State, I beg to quibble over what cities constitute “West Coast.” Salt Lake City is not among them, unless you count the western shore of the Great Salt Lake. The distance from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Salt Lake City is approximately the same distance as from New York City to Indianapolis, Indiana. And the cultural distance is probably greater.
If you’re looking for West Coast coverage then you needed the papers in San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle.
July 10, 2009, at 1:02 pm
You forgot The Oregonian
But you make a good point, Ann. I’ve been asked by tmatt to read papers from Denver west. Though I have always lived on the West Coast, the term was used quite errantly in this case. I meant western US, but as you pointed out, that contains some very different cultures.
July 10, 2009, at 7:27 pm
I must agree with Alan, the Princess Di and King Michael events had a great similarity. But not what other folks might think. I’m still waiting for someone to say “Grotesque” about either one, and it looks like it’ll be a long wait. I think there’s so much that’s grotesque around them it just looks like everything else. Unremarkable.
July 11, 2009, at 1:00 am
Didn’t Michael Jackson convert to Islam a year ago? Didn’t he used to be a Jehovah Witness before that? I was confused by all the references to Jesus at his memorial. He rejected Jesus a long time ago, so what was that about? Obviously, all these “close” friends didn’t really know him very well.
July 29, 2009, at 8:34 pm
Where were all of you who have something to say about Michael Jackson or any other person when these people were alive? Were you praying for them, were you asking God to take the blinders off of their eyes and let them see the truth. In case you have forgotten. Prayers availeth much, and payers of the righteous are ansewred. Not one of you payed any attention to the fact thatat the end of that memorial over 100 million people around the world heard “in Jesus name” I geuss we were too high up on our horse to remember that. No one heard Jesus is love. That is ministry weather you like it or not. No matter what we assume Michael Jackson’s “religion” ( man made) is. Millions of people heard The King of Kings name that day. And if 1 person just one person decided to give their life to Christ that day. God got the glory, no matter if a TV or magazine reporter followed that story or not. Maybe we should take Miachael’s advice and look at the “Man in The Mirror”.It is so easy for us to sit around and judge people. And more sad…people we don’t know from night and day. The same God that sent Jesus Christ to die for yours and my sins and boy, I wonder what that list would look like if God decided to show us all of our mess. He did the same for Mike and any other person. If MJ accepted Christ right before he took his last breath…..Guess what folks. ??? Correct he is in heaven.But you know what else…That is none of our concern anymore. We need to stop making Christ look bad, acting so self righteous and better than others..Because we were ALL sinners and non belivers and on our way to hell at one time. But His grace and mercy allowed us to seek for the truth. Love someone people, there is nothing we cando for the dead. Love the living, and just maybe we can show Christs love, through our actions. And to correct you on Soon and Very Soon. Aundre Crouch was singing about Jesus Christ. The applauds wereout of respect for the casket being brought out. I guess common sense isin’t so common these days. God Bless