Telegraph.co.uk communities editor Shane Richmond has hit back at pundits like Stephen Glover, who have argued the death of Michael Jackson got too much media coverage.
Richmond disputes Glover's claim in The Independent about Jackson: “He was a phenomenon of sorts, but hardly to be compared, in the annals of popular culture, with Elvis or the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.”
Richmond argues: "Oh dear Michael Jackson most certainly can be compared to those figures. His 1984 album, Thriller, is the biggest-selling album of all time. His follow-up, Bad, spawned five US number one singles, a feat that remains unsurpassed. An estimated 500 million people across the globe watched the 1991 premier of his Black or White video.
"Jackson’s impact on popular culture extended beyond mere sales. He was the first black artist to have a video played on MTV, he took pop star excess to levels that make Elvis seem restrained and he helped to establish the model of the pop star as a singer as well as a dancer. Whether or not you think any of these things are positive, I can’t imagine how anybody could argue that they are insignificant.
"Glover may prefer Elvis or the Beatles or the Stones, that’s a matter of taste, but Michael Jackson’s place alongside them in “the annals of popular culture” is a matter of fact. "
I still wonder if the death of any other popular music figure would generate such coverage across all the media. Dylan, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney? Which makes me think the blanket coverage was as much to do with Jackson's lifestyle as his music.
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