895 The Jackson Trial

I'm really getting sick of Michael Jackson’s trial coverage. First of all, he should be accorded the same rights as other citizens, and he is innocent until proven guilty. I plan to click “mute” whenever it comes on the T.V. I can still remember seeing him at a downtown Columbus hotel when he was a cute little African-American child in bell bottoms and a bright shirt singing with his older brothers.

Second, commentators and pundits are really getting graphic with the details and then moving on to tell salacious and lascivious stories that have nothing to do with Jackson, but everything to do with weird behavior and a strong desire for ratings. They are using this case to snicker and giggle. Pedophilia is not funny.

One radio talk host with the initials G.B. went on and on about how he wouldn't know what to say to his kids if they were in the car listening to reports of the trial, and then he went into a comedy shtick that caused me to be thankful no other adult was in my car. And so I changed channels. I had the impression he thought he was doing a nightclub comedy routine instead of drive-time a.m.

Jackson is strange, horribly disfigured, and a has-been publicity seeker. What's the excuse of the people reporting on the trial?