Does Michael Jackson's Death Usurping Coverage Of Iranian Protests Show Our True Values?

Neal Jansons who according to his friendfeed profile is a Writer, Web Developer, Geek, New Media Consultant and blogs at http://WriteNewMedia.com asked this question on his friendfeed stream recently: While Iranians suffer systematic oppression, the internet becomes obsessed with the death of a pop icon. Talk about showing your true values.

Many people agreed with his assessment or were sympathetic.

For example one commenter wrote: The news cycle is totally idiotic. There's absolutely no sense of any journalistic prioritization.

I didn’t think that was true. I think there is a priority and it is right in line with what we as Americans would want to see and read about. My comment to Neal's post is below:

I'm sympathetic to your POV on this, Neal but I'd argue that Iran's systematic oppression is not news—it is, in fact, old news to say the state of Iran mistreats its citizens. The protests against the election are the news. Michael Jackson was not much in the news before he died (I didn't even know he was planning a major tour in a month!) but his death is very big news considering his past and the circumstances. These items have a life cycle in the mainstream media and on the minds of Americans (I'm going on the assumption that you are referring to US news not international). Michael Jackson was a uniquely American icon with a uniquely American story. He influenced popular culture in the US for decades.

His death, tragic, as it was, and his life, twisted, sad and unfortunate as it may have been, doesn't belie the point that he had a tremendous role in American life for millions and millions of people for a very, very long time. I'd argue (as other have) that Iran is getting a disportionate amount of media (and social media) attention while similar and even more tragic abuses are occurring all over the world at the same time. It is human nature and the nature of the news cycle that tragic events closer to home (no matter how unbalanced you may think they are) claim more attention to people than events halfway across the world. And as we all know very well, celebrity gossip and news is a huge distraction for us. The lives and deaths of people we see on television, on the big screen and hear on the radio are fascinating to most of the population because we either resent them and glory in their misfortunes or envy their fame and fortune and live vicariously through their every moment.

The actions of the people protesting in Iran are sympathetic, inspiring and important but they are not the cult of personality distraction that Americans (and probably not limited to us but the entire world) love to hear about. Michael Jackson was a true cult of personality (he appointed himself the “King of Pop”) and some of us of a certain generation grew up listening to his music and following the twists and turns his life took over the years. His death became more than the unfortunate end of one man, just as Neda came to symbolize the entire Iranian struggle and epitomize the tragedy of a young, liberalized populace as many others were also dying on the streets.

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My First Official Blog Post About Twitter ANd How It's Taking Over Blogging And Social Media

I read this blog post by Lexy Klain, an Account Manager at Ogilvy PR, titled “Twitter – A Professional Networking Tool.” It’s an older article but I got there in my ever popular and addicting game of Link Frogger where I jump from article to blog post to website from site links inside said articles, blog posts and websites. Usually I forget from where I originally started but when something interesting strikes me I stop hopping and read. I came to Lexy’s article from a post by Brian Giesen, a Digital Influence Specialist at Ogilvy.

While it is true that many, many people do update Twitter with useless bits of info, and in the past it was a bastion of minutiae better left to the ether, if you follow the right people and manage that list correctly while offering your own useful information and links it is a powerful Social Media and Networking tool. Believe it or not there is a learning curve to Twitter. It's best when people post tinyurl links to articles and information, join the discussion and add value rather than tell others what type of salad they are ordering or what color their poo might be.

Good ideas sometimes take time to germinate. Twitter has evolved because the users have made it useful. They have contributed the most value to Twitter, I suspect more than any other Social Networking site and that’s because of Twitter’s simplicity.

I blog less because of Twitter. In fact, I find people (myself included) apologize for blogging or emailing (instead of just replying or Direct Messaging through Twitter) saying that sometimes “140 characters is just not enough.” But it seems that most of the time 140 characters is just right.

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