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In death, Jacko was a morning story
By Tom Conroy
Aug 21, 2009 - 7:15:38 AM
The death of Michael Jackson was a classic tabloid story at its tawdriest, with all the tabloid elements: a kooky pop idol, a mysterious death, a pill-dispensing doctor, designer drugs, rock 'n' roll and behind it all, looming sex.
And for sure the tabloid shows played the Jackson death big, but they didn't lead the story.
The Jackson story got the biggest play on the mainstream network morning new shows, perhaps the last place one would expect. When we think of morning news we traditionally think of weather, offbeat features from America’s heartland, and news briefs from around the world, not the stuff of tabloid shows.
Yet it's there in the numbers.
In the five weeks after Jackson’s death, the three big network morning shows devoted 28.7 percent of their news coverage to Jackson's death, according to
a study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.
That put NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’s “Early Show” far ahead of the supposedly more sensationalistic cable news, where 19.5 percent of the news coverage was of the star’s death.
The Big Three’s evening news broadcasts devoted 10.8 percent of their time to the story.
Online news sites ranked next (7.4 percent), then came radio (6.2 percent) and newspapers (4.1 percent). Syndicated newsmagazines, which devoted hours of coverage to Jackson, were not included in the study.
And for all the complaints one heard about how the Jackson story dominated the news those five weeks between June 25, the date of his death, and Aug. 2, it actually ranked behind two other far less sensational stories with 11.1 percent of the total coverage.
Healthcare was No. 1 at 12.6 percent and the economy No. 2 at 11.7 percent.
What's perhaps most interesting, as the Pew report reveals, is how the Jackson coverage compared to that for Anna Nicole Smith in 2007, a person of far less celebrity stature.
In the first 23 days after her death, the network morning shows devoted 15 percent of their coverage to Smith, far less than to Jackson, but cable news actually gave that story more play, at 22 percent.
In any case, the morning shows’ Jackson coverage paid off in the ratings. In the week before the pop star’s death (June 15 to 19), total daily viewership of the three shows averaged 10.9 million. The week after (June 29 to July 3) it rose to 11.6 million.
The three evening news broadcasts also experienced a lift from the earlier week (as it happened one of record lows for both ABC and CBS), rising in total viewers from 19.1 million to 21.1 million.
What is it about Jackson’s death that made it so appealing to the morning shows, the most mainstream of the mainstream media?
For one thing, it had actual news value. Once the fact of his death was announced, producers could fill time with purported experts who could expound on Jackson’s cultural and historical significance. That was not an option after death of Smith, a comparative nobody.
Once that was out of the way, reporters could then talk about the holy trinity of tabloid journalism: sex, drugs and money.
And what a broad field it was. There were the allegations that he had sexually molested boys, reports that his death had been caused by the abuse of prescription medication, and endless speculation on the worth of his estate and who would get it.
Best of all, these questions could all be answered by two very traditional journalistic responses, both of which are ideal for producers trying to keep a topic on the front burner.
Did Jackson actually abuse those children?
We may never know.
Will there be criminal charges relating to his death? And who is going to get the money?
It’s too soon to tell.
For the full Pew report: http://www.journalism.org/numbers_report/Michael_Jackson_Stays_in_the_News
***
In dayparts for the week ended Aug. 9, ABC’s “Nightline” led the week with 3.3 million total viewers, followed by CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” and NBC’s “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” with 2.9 million. In late late night, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” each averaged 1.4 million viewers, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” bringing in 1.3 million and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” at 0.8 million. Among 18-49s, “Tonight” averaged a 1.1 rating, followed by “Nightline” at 0.8 and “Late Show” at 0.7. In late late night, “Late Night” averaged a 0.6, while “Late Late Show” and “Kimmel” averaged a 0.4 (with a Monday encore for “Kimmel”) and “Last Call” averaged a 0.3 (in encore episodes).
NBC’s “Meet the Press” was the most-watched Sunday morning show on Aug. 9 with 2.99 million tuning in, followed by ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” with 2.68 million, CBS’s “Face the Nation” with 2.39 million and Fox “News Sunday” with 1.16 million. Among 25-54s, NBC averaged a 0.8 rating, followed by ABC and CBS at 0.6 and Fox at 0.3.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first for the week with 4.82 million total viewers, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 3.65 million and CBS’s “Early Show” with 2.38 million. “Today” averaged a 3.6 household rating and a 15 share, followed by “Good Morning America” at 2.8/12 and “Early Show” at 1.8/7.
In daytime, CBS was first with 3.3 million total viewers, ABC second with 2.75 million and NBC third with 2.53 million. Among women 18-49, ABC was first with a 1.2 rating, followed by NBC and CBS at 1.0.
In evening network news for the week ended Aug. 16, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first with 7.35 million total viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 25-54. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” averaged 6.74 million viewers and a 1.5 rating, followed by CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” with 5.55 million and a 1.3 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending August 9, 2009
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
ABC |
2.1 |
7 |
0.8 |
2.990 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
NBC |
1.9 |
6 |
0.6 |
2.682 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
1.6 |
5 |
0.6 |
2.389 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
0.8 |
2 |
0.3 |
1.159 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending August 9, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
3.3 |
0.8 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman |
CBS |
2.9 |
0.7 |
|
Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien |
NBC |
2.9 |
1.1 |
|
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon |
NBC |
1.4 |
0.6 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
1.4 |
0.4 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live** |
ABC |
1.3 |
0.4 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly* |
NBC |
0.8 |
0.3 |
|
* Encore telecasts
** Monday’s “Kimmel” was an encore
Source: NTI |
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending August 9, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
3.6 |
15 |
4.823 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
2.8 |
12 |
3.652 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
1.8 |
7 |
2.380 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending August 9, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.30 |
1.0 |
|
ABC |
2.75 |
1.2 |
|
NBC |
2.53 |
1.0 |
|
Source: NTI
|
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending Aug. 16, 2009
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
1.7 |
7.350 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
1.5 |
6.743 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.3 |
5.551 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 9, 2009 |
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
5.5
|
6267
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
4.6
|
5281
|
|
3
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
4.1
|
4665
|
|
4
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.7
|
4208
|
|
4
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
3.7
|
4191
|
|
6
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
3.5
|
4008
|
|
6
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
3.5
|
4007
|
|
8
|
GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)
|
WB
|
3.0
|
3468
|
|
8
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.0
|
3441
|
|
8
|
CSI NEW YORK-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.0
|
3472
|
|
11
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.9
|
3291
|
|
12
|
LAW & ORDER:SVU-SYN (AT)
|
NBU
|
2.7
|
3091
|
|
12
|
INSIDE EDITION (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.7
|
3117
|
|
14
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
CTD
|
2.6
|
3023
|
|
14
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.6
|
2967
|
|
16
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.5
|
2841
|
|
17
|
TWO-HALF MEN WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.4
|
2805
|
|
17
|
KING OF THE HILL-SYN(AT)
|
2/T
|
2.4
|
2737
|
|
17
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
DAD
|
2.4
|
2723
|
|
17
|
GEORGE LOPEZ WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.4
|
2713
|
|
21
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.3
|
2633
|
|
22
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
DAD
|
2.2
|
2489
|
|
22
|
GEORGE LOPEZ WKND A (AT)
|
WB
|
2.2
|
2482
|
|
24
|
KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.1
|
2382
|
|
24
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
2.1
|
2446
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
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