Michael Jackson Arrest: News Vs. Hysteria

Brent Morrison of the Corsicana Daily Sun is fuming after Larry King called the Michael Jackson child molestation case “the biggest story in the world.” Morrison writes, “The arrest of Michael Jackson for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old boy is not the biggest story in the world. It wasn’t even the biggest story of the day, a day that saw at least 27 deaths and 400 injuries in two terror attacks in Turkey. The news riot should be no surprise considering how much of the press makes its living from comically serious reports on the rich and famous, but Jackson has been more of a sideshow than a celebrity for years. This has not gotten in the way of reportage thicker than any I remember since the September 11 attacks.”