Broadcast TV searches for the new bottom

We thought they couldn't debase themselves any further than the 2008 campaign, and then came the 2009 death and memorializing of Michael Jackson.

“ABC, CBS and NBC are supposed to be the last bastions of sober broadcast news reporting, but the flight of viewers and advertisers to the Web and the no-holds-barred slugfests of the cable nets have thrust "real" journalism into a deep identity crisis. Like your 50-year-old moonwalking uncle, they tried to be hip with their coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial, and it was a sad sight to behold.”

I heard it on the street while sitting on my porch at Lakeside. It was storming and our power was out. People were walking around surveying the damage and I heard someone on a bicycle say, “Michael Jackson died.” But millions found out via the internet (they had power).

“We were all treated to the awkward sight of ABC's Charles Gibson and NBC's Brian Williams having to preside over a commercial-free memorial for an entertainer -- not a dead president, pope or princess to be found for miles. CBS's Katie Couric was a little better prepared, thanks to her previous "Today" experiences; in the first hour of her former NBC morning show, she would interview princes and kings; in the last hour, personalities like Prince and Don King. Tuesday didn't have to happen. The Web was ready to step in and save Charles, Katie and Brian from cable news hell.” Story at TechNewsWorld