There are many who say they've heard too much of Michael Jackson, and wish the media would just let it go. That's missing what drives media coverage -- the audience. If people wanted the coverage to stop, it would. The media are driven by ratings, and the Michael Jackson death and its many details has a huge audience in this country and abroad.
You may not be watching, but your family members and neighbors are, even if they are telling you how excessive the coverage has been. The dirty little secret is they can't get enough of Michael Jackson.
Quite simply, Jackson's death has made a lot of people money, including the tabloid newspapers and the cable television shows that even have commentattors saying how terrible this obsession with Jackson is. And it's the public who is providing this monumental audience.
Here's one example of the Jackson phenomenon: Three of the Top 10 selling albums on the iTunes Music Store this week are Jackson albums. No. 1 is 'The Essential Michael Jackson," No. 4 is his "Numbers Ones," and No. 6 is "Thriller."
Tuesday's memorial service was so popular among computers users, the streaming video slowed down the entire Internet.
But if you think the memorial service was the final act for the King of Pop, it wasn't. There will be all sorts of sordid details coming out, and we'll be examining other parts of his life in detail. We'll want to know what will happen with his kids, and what really killed him. We'll want to know about his plastic surgeries and the child molestation charges. And where will he be buried, and can we visit the grave.
So no one wants to hear anymore about Michael Jackson -- except everyone you know.
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