Mktg – How Will Michael Jackson Be Remembered?
Mark Dolliver
NEW YORK It’s a sign of how entrenched celebrity culture has become that CBS News conducted a poll, released yesterday, asking the public to predict how Michael Jackson will be remembered “years from now.” Sixty-six percent of respondents said they think Jackson will be remembered more “for his music” than “for his personal troubles,” vs. 24 percent predicting the reverse. Six percent volunteered “both,” and 4 percent declined to answer.
The poll’s 45-64-year-olds were likelier than other adults to say they think Jackson will be remembered more for his music, with 73 percent holding that opinion, vs. 63 percent of the 18-44-year-olds and 59 percent of those 65 and older. The 18-44-year-olds, whose acquaintance with Jackson developed during years in which he was often in the news for non-musical reasons, were the most likely to say he’ll be remembered principally for his personal troubles. Twenty-eight percent of them picked that answer, vs. 18 percent of the 45-64-year-olds and 25 percent of those 65 and older.
Another question in the same survey inquired into public opinion about the news media’s treatment of Jackson, asking whether news outlets were “harder” on him or “easier” on him, compared to the way they’ve treated other celebrities. Overall, 35 percent said “harder” and 20 percent “easier,” while 42 percent said the media treated Jackson “the same as other celebrities.”
The younger respondents were the ones most apt to say the media gave Jackson a harder time than it gives other celebrities. Thirty-nine percent of the 18-44s said they believe the news media were harder on Jackson, while 17 percent think the media went easier on him. Most of the rest think the media treated him the same as other celebs.
The poll’s 45-64-year-olds were a little less inclined to say the media were harder on Jackson (36 percent) and correspondingly more apt to say the media were easier on him (21 percent). Among the poll’s 65-plusers, those who believe the media were especially tough on Jackson (21 percent) were outnumbered by those who think the media went easy on him (29 percent).
