Fans All Around The World Unite To Say Goodbye To Michael Jackson
According to Nielson ratings, more than 31 million people in the US alone tuned in to watch the public memorial service of Michael Jackson at the Staples Center yesterday morning (or afternoon, depending on where in the US you are) … making it the second most watched funeral in US history (behind the funeral of Princess Diana). Millions more watched the broadcast in other parts of the world and online … a moment that was shared pretty much everyone who had even heard of Michael Jackson in his 40-year career in entertainment. Now that his memorial service is over, we can begin to move on and talk about other things rather than the death of Michael Jackson (tho, with the official cause of death yet to be determined, we will likely be hearing more on this subject in the weeks to come) … but I think it’s apropos for one more post on how fans the world over mourned the death of the King of Pop yesterday. Here are photos from Detroit, MI (site of Motown and the African American Museum of History), NYC, NY (Times Square), the Neverland Ranch (in Los Olivos, CA) and downtown LA of fans paying tribute to Michael Jackson yesterday:
More than 31 million people tuned in to television coverage of Michael Jackson’s memorial service yesterday, and millions more watched on computers at work, in parks and elsewhere. Measuring viewership on 18 networks that carried the live coverage, 1-4 p.m., the ratings service Nielsen calculated the average audience at 31.14 million viewers. That makes it the second most-watched daytime funeral Nielsen has ever measured. Princess Diana’s funeral, which began at 6 a.m., drew an estimated 33.25 million viewers spread across eight networks on Sept. 6, 1997. Former President Ronald Reagan’s mid-day funeral drew 20.8 million people on June 11, 2004. A prime-time program on Reagan’s burial that same evening drew an estimated 35.07 million viewers. The remarkable Nielsen numbers for yesterday’s Jackson memorial slightly undercount the total viewership, since Nielsen didn’t release figures for local stations such as WPIX/Ch. 11 or cable networks like NY1 and Current. On-line viewership also soared yesterday, perhaps reflecting fans who were at work during the service and watched it on their computers. MSNBC reported nearly 19 million online streams, topping the network’s previous high set this January during President Barack Obama’s inauguration. CNN said it had the second largest streaming day in its history, with 10.5 million streams in all and 4.4 million during the memorial service. The network recorded 26.9 million streams on Inauguration Day. ABC News Digital reported close to six million live streams of the memorial service on abcnews.com and its partner sites. The coverage was also a hit abroad. United Kingdom rating services earlier reported that six million British viewers watched the Jackson service.
Despite his many shortcomings, Michael Jackson will predominately be remembered as a huge iconic figure in the history of pop culture. His achievements far outweighed his missteps and no matter what anyone, me included, thought of the man when he was at his lowest, saddest point of life … it is very easy to take stock in his genius contributions to the world. There will forever be haters, naysayers and all around pitifully negative people in the world … sometimes, we are all guilty of such things … but if it’s one thing that I think we should all take stock in it is that the world is a better place because Michael Jackson lived. His music, his philanthropy, his overall contributions to our culture. I contend that even his most virulent detractors were fans of his at one time or another … and whether they choose to acknowledge that part of themselves or not, he will always be remembered for the good. There will never, ever again be another Michael Jackson. Never.
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July 8th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Very well said :-)
July 8th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Trent– I totally understand what you meant when you said you were emotionally spent after the memorial because honestly just watching it at home with my family totally took the winds out of my sails. MJ has been apart of my life since I was born and to really have the closure that he’s gone breaks my heart. I’m really glad you got to go and experience it. Regardless of the conflicting views people have on why you went and you twittering the service, you were clearly affected by this memorial. You’re also right when you say there will NEVER be another Michael Joseph Jackson. And honestly I wouldn’t want it any other way.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Very well said indeed. /This/ is why I read your blog. Thank you for ending this (aside from all the cause-of-death drama yet to come) on an honest and respectful note.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I very willingly watched it, but lets face it…it was hard NOT to watch it considering it was aired on all the major networks!
May he finally be at peace.
July 8th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
soo very well said Trent! i couldn’t have agreed with you more.
July 8th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Beautifully said Trent.
May he be free from the pain he endured through parts of his life. May he forever rest in peace.. Never ever will he be forgotten.
xxx
July 8th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Well said.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
…and now L.A. County wants people to donate money to help pay for the Staple Center shindig…maybe they should have passed the hat at the door. It looked like there were a few people there who could have afforded to fork over a few bucks. Too bad most of them weren’t there for Mr. Jackson while he was alive and needed friends.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Just wanted to share this amazing tribute to Michael Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhqR-ANRrvk
July 8th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Well said trent!
July 8th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
please watch this =D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je1KOcBYGjM
July 8th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Your DAMN RIGHT. There will NEVER be another Michael Jackson. That was very well written Trent.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
“D” that video was AWESOME.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
;-)
July 8th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
@ D – Hell yeah, thanks for posting that ! :)
July 8th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Just wanted to share this amazing tribute to Michael Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhqR-ANRrvk
That was beautiful
TY for sharing!
TY for the Detroit photos Trent!
July 8th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Update Princess Zakiya’s pic already!
July 8th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Very well said, Trent. <3 I hope people can atleast respect him and see him for all the good that he has contributed to this world.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Why do flash mobs always make me cry??? ;)
July 8th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
…well said. : )
July 8th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
OMG- Lula, I do the same thing! I got choked up within seconds- it’s so weird to me. I went on a rant to my friend after watching that video about 15 times that I have to join a dance collective and do performances like that. Assuming I won’t bawl if I’m one of the dancers- I grew up in ballet, but it’s totally not the same thing. Flash mob dancers are the shit!
July 8th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
well, i’m exaggerating when i say “bawl”, of course- i just get choked up and teary. something about tons of people moving together like that is so ..moving.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Absolutely well said Trent. I don’t think I’ve completely processed the fact that he really is dead yet and what you said is absolutely true. Thank you for your compassion and sincerity during this whole crazy time!
July 9th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Amen Trent.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Trent –
I could not agree with you more. You said it beautifully that the world is definitely a better place because of Michael Jackson and that there will never be a Michael Jackson EVER. I’m just so very lucky to have been living in the same century as him. Such an incredible person. May he finally rest in peace.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:06 am
I miss you michael
I love you
July 9th, 2009 at 3:31 am
stay tuned for more…there will be another video soon of it when we r dancing during the nighttime:)
July 9th, 2009 at 6:13 am
very well said indeed
thanks trent!
there will certainly never be another michael jackson
RIP MJ. you will be missed!!!!!
July 9th, 2009 at 6:59 am
I know. People get so unreasonable. You rape a couple of kids and everyone just FREAKS out…
July 9th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Totally, Mike! People just LOVE to speculate about terrible things they want to believe happened, and drag it out for years and years. It makes them feel better about themselves! They’re moronic like that.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:47 am
It was amazing to see that so many people in the US watched the memorial. You not only get that number from the people who like him but also those that didn’t. This was one of the days that all of the US was united for a common goal. RIP Michael you will be missed.
—-http://beyondrace.com/
July 9th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
@J — how have I been a “fool”? While I agree MJ was great I also know that he was severely flawed and I fear we’ll find out just how flawed he was when the official cause of death is announced. Which “foolishness” are you referring to?
July 10th, 2009 at 7:01 am
He died of a drug overdose, its obvious to anybody. Trent, with all due respect, about 80% of your posts have been about MJ, can you please try and not beat it to a bloody pulp like the rest of the media has been. It’s sad, we get it.
July 10th, 2009 at 7:21 am
@Smoo — I can try but depending on the news of the day, which has tended to be MJ for the past couple of weeks, I can’t make any promises.