The coverage of Michael Jackson’s death has bothered some of you, particularly in relation to the amount of coverage it received when compared to Farrah Fawcett’s passing.
Ginger Bowman called in to say, “Farrah Fawcett's contribution needed to be overriding Michael Jackson's because her message was far superior to the betterment of people and I'm sorry she has not received the credit that was superseded by Michael Jackson. I hope in the future people will balance the kind of presentation. Farrah Fawcett received an unjust dismissal on this day both are being remembered."
Ricky Flinchum called to say, “I think they need to lay off this Michael Jackson thing. Farrah Fawcett has passed away. I'm being told that he was an icon; he was the King of Pop and everything. She was a very good star. I think they're blowing it way out of proportion.”
WSLS responds: thanks for the comments. I appreciate your thoughts on this topic. There is no questioning Farrah Fawcett’s status as a star. As such, we had planned to do more extensive coverage of her passing as had NBC which originally planned to air an hour-long Dateline special. But, in news sometimes other events and breaking news can unexpectedly change our plans. Jackson’s death was breaking at the news hour and was completely unexpected. That is part of the reason it ended up receiving more attention. The other reason: his status as an international icon. Say what you want about his personal life, there’s no denying that Jackson was one of the biggest entertainers in the world and that he helped shape an entire generation of music.
Last week, Storm Team Ten Meteorologist Jeff Haniewich returned from a week long trip to Alaska. He was there with a group of people form Southwest Virginia and we showed some of the pictures from his trip which was over the top for Bill Ray of Hot Springs. Ray wrote, “Do you really think you are serving the public good by dedicating air time for postcards from Alaska? If I want to see vacation pictures I can always visit my brother-in-law."
WSLS responds: Thanks for the comment. We never show vacation pictures from our employees, but this was an exception. Let me explain why: Jeff made this trip with local viewers who signed up to go along with him. That gave the trip a more local feel and that’s why we shared the group pictures.
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