An investigation into...

The representation of Michael Jackson in the media before and after his death and the ethical and legal constraints

By Jasmine Aloma

Introduction

For my report, I have been looking in depth into the media portrayal and representation of Michael Jackson before and after his death. I also looked into the 2005 paedophilla court case and the preceeding trials regarding him following his death (Conrad Murray trial, AEG/Catherine Jackson trial).

I complied both secondary and primary research to help support my report and aid as evidence. For my secondary research, I looked into 12 different sources in print media, cross-referencing and compiling a timeline of events.

For my primary research, I used 3 different methods to source information. I held a focus group with 3 girls in between the ages of 17-18, undertook a content analysis of different media sources in regard of the Jackson paedophilla case and a questionnaire with 12 respondents between the ages of 16-40.

Why I chose this topic I have been an avid fan of Michael Jackson for most of my life and hearing about the death of such

an influential star gained my attention. Because of being a fan of Michael, the challenge is to not be subjective.

The events preceding the trial were sensational and heavily overtook the news and media in the following months and years. Being heavily interested in PR and representation, I decided to carry out my research into the representation of Jackson after his death and the court cases surrounding his death. The question I chose to focus on was ‘How was Jackson represented after his death and what were the legal and ethical constraints?’

Jackson's’ doctor, Conrad Murray was a suspect of involuntary manslaughter and went to court to serve a prison sentence for giving Jackson drugs which were usually only administered under controlled conditions e.g in an operating theatre. I also was interested in the court case against AEG, the company behind Jackson's last tour This Is It. The legal and ethical concerns of these court cases also interested me as sensitive and private information was divulged.

Was this constant release of sensational stories in order to gain the right verdict? Or was it to aid the storm of hype around the star and sell media?

Jackson’s representation

In my research into secondary sources, I found most of the stories regarding Jackson were the 2005 paedophilia court case, the ‘Living With Michael Jackson’, his death, and the Conrad Murray trial. To find a general view of how the media portrayed Jackson, I looked at different online newspapers ranging from tabloid to broadsheet which included The Guardian and LA Times.

As well as looking at newspapers, I searched the web to look at independent websites e.g blogs. In my research, the representation of Jackson differed from topic. In regards of his death, the commentary appeared to be more balanced. Whereas in the reports of his paedophilia allegations, the stories I found appeared to be quite biased and forthright in accusing Jackson of wrongdoing.

Therefore with this varied mix of stories and viewpoints, I had a balance of sources to contextualize and compare.

Within my research, the legal and ethical implications regarding Jackson's death were a big centerpoint. My main point of research was looking towards the negative representation of Jackson as this was a common view of him whilst he was alive.

Through searching through Google, I came across an issue of OK! Magazine on July 7th 2009. The magazine published a ‘tribute issue’ for Jackson with the front cover depicting graphic imagery of the star presumably dead or unconscious.

According to the source of Brand Republic, OK! magazine paid $500,000 (£300,000) for exclusive rights to a photo of

Michael Jackson taken as he lay dying while paramedics attempt to resuscitate him using CPR.

The celebrity gossip title claims the photo is the last one showing Jackson alive after his fatal heart attack. This appears

to be a ploy to gain readers and sells and it promoties it’s ‘exclusivity’ and the ‘last pictures of Michael with bold

headlining and offers of ‘free’ memorabilia for the reader also. This therefore brought me to a conclusion that the

media use the death of celebrities or those in the public eye to gain a profit. According to the PCC code of accuracy ,

this goes against the code. The ruling states, ‘It is unacceptable to photograph individuals in private places without

their consent.’ As Jackson was unconscious, it is highly likely that Jackson did not consent to this photo being taken.

Therefore, this breaches his ethical rights as it was taken out of his knowledge and shows him in compromising

circumstances.

Source 3 - Legal and ethical constraint on Jackson’s privacy

Source 4 - Legal and ethical constraint on Jackson’s privacyThe Sun also published a photo of Jackson in a hospital bed, again in a apparent comotose state.It engaged debate to

gain a more balanced view, I looked into the article by Roy Greenslade, a columnist for the Guardian expressed his

personal views.

‘The jury in the trial of Jackson’s doctor were shown it - and the paper is merely giving its readers the chance to

see what the jurors saw.

I suppose it might upset his family, but can the picturing of a body of a relative be said to be intrusive into their

privacy?’ (Source 4).

According to my focus group, it was believed to be unethical. It posed the question on whether consumers are entitled to

know the inner details of their idols or are there limits to what we are and are not allowed to see. (See further in slide

14 and 15)

Within the PCC Editor code of conduct, the public interest is a factor within the codes. The public interest includes

detecting or exposing crime, protecting public health and safety and preventing the public from being misled by

actions or statements from individuals or organisations in the public eye. In this case, Murray was a registered doctor

in LA and did treat American patients. Also, Murray was convicted for the crime of involuntary manslaughter.

Therefore, a crime was exposed to the public which is a clause in the code of public interest.

Although the front cover image appears to be quite colloquial and arguably disrespectful to Jackson, the demographic of

the newspaper should be taken into consideration. 68% of its readership are of the C2DE demographic, who are more

inclined to read tabloid newspapers and magazines rather than broadsheets such as The Guardian for example due

its content (although, this is a general perception on audiences and demographics). Similarly with OK! (Source 3),

therefore meaning both prints are trying to engage their readers and increase their readerships.

Headlines are informal and use colloqulisms e.g ‘death pic’ ‘doc’

Takes away serious issue of the topic and displays lack of empathy

Jacksons will

Whilst looking through Google, I came across the will of Michael Jackson avaliable as a .pdf file for viewing online.

(Source 7)

The will was shown in the media, on magazine site ‘The Smoking Gun’. (Source 14)This may not be a negative or positive effect on his representation but it shows the executors of his estate and highlights the fact that his father is not eligible to any of his trust fund, which supports the negative relationship Jacksons speaks of having with his father in his documentary. On the other hand, although the family members names are shown on the will, their information such as address and contact numbers are blurred.

This leak of sensitive information leads to Source 8 where Murray gave interviews about Jackson, breaching California law. This shows a trend of the media showing a lack of ethical consideration in the regard of Jacksons sensitive and private information.

Court cases following Jackson's’ death - Conrad Murray - Source 5

The trial of Conrad Murray following Jackson's death was highly shown in the media and contributed to the portrayal of Michael Jackson, as Murray made allegations against the late Jackson to support his plea of innocence.

The Guardian (Source 5) details how Murray used the media to alter his perception in the media as a murderer and suggested Jackson used the anesthetic Propofol, which later killed him ‘long before they met’. This is a conscious effort by Murray to shift the blame, as it were, to Jackson who was known to be losing a lot of weight and not sleeping, according to a court testimony regarding Jackson’s well being which was also reported by the Guardian (Source 11).

This could be seen as the media being used a tool to aid perception of those in legal battles. It then poses the question of whether the media should not be allowed inside a courtroom and jurors should not be allowed to speak to the media. However, in the AEG court case in 2013, the judge denied TV networks access to televise the trial, to curb ‘a circus like atmosphere’. (Source 10). This effort to deny access to the courthouse therefore shows an active effort from the courts to support Michael Jackson ethical rights and stop further sensationalization of the proceedings.

The publication of court evidence in the media - Source 11

Alongside the involuntary manslaughter case against Murray, there was the case against AEG, brought forward by Jackson's mother, Catherine.

In one article I studied (Source 11) emails sent between promoters of Michael Jackson’s comeback tour,

corresponding about the fear of Jacksons’ stability were released, after being shown as evidence in court. The

Los Angeles Times obtained some 250 pages of messages between employees of AEG working with Michael.

Some of the emails indicated that executives were also concerned that Jackson’s show would be too expensive.

This reveal of discrete emails, although helpful towards the case are a breach of privacy of Michael Jackson and

also the sender and recipients of the emails. The emails sourced were looked at by the courts in plain form and

also were reproduced by the Los Angeles Times, therefore meaning the information was scrutinized by many

sources, increasing reliability that the content was accurate and real.

However, with the newspaper being able to access and read such information links back to my focus group where

respondents in my group agreed that there should be tighter legislation on the media's access to information

which could alter an individual's representation.

The publication of court evidence in the media - Source 9 and 10Among most of my sources, it appeared to correlate that most revealed detailed accounts of

evidence revealed within a courtroom. This not only generally damages Jackson’s image but is an ethical breach.

The Guardian (Source 9) reported of the private affairs of Michael Jackson being ‘laid bare’ as evidence. Details regarding Jackson’s drug-taking, his mental state and lowest moments, including the child molestation charges from the 2005 court case against him. It was also documented that the judge warned the jury there were going to be witness some ‘ugly stuff’

AEG’s defence stated:“The truth is Michael Jackson fooled everyone. He made sure that no one –

nobody – knew his deepest, darkest secrets.” (Source 10)

This in context is the defences effort to clear AEG of wrongdoing and knowledge of Michael’s condition. However, out of context, the reader could believe this as accurate as it was stated under oath and in a court of law. In my opinion, in regards of the respect of Jacksons public representation and ethical rights, the proceedings of the courtroom should not be relayed by the media.

Content analysisIn my content analysis, I decided to focus on the 2005 paedophilia case against

Jackson, which arguably changed Jacksons perception and image in the media until his death in 2009.

My main focus where how the media handled these stories legally and ethically and I compared my different sources. I chose this story as it gained a lot of media attention at the time and there were many different articles for me to compare and reference between. I also hoped to gain different viewpoints and perspectives of the case to see how different newspapers and magazines targeted different demographics and psychographics.

I also looked at the documentary, ‘Living With Michael Jackson as this was used as evidence in the trial and was highly interesting as it was a vital effort of Michael Jackson to alter his representation in the media. However, this was used against him in a court of law and according to Jackson, ‘altered to portray him in a negative light’.

Content analysis findingsIn my content analysis I found that there was quite candid descriptions of the accusations and the

proceedings within the court. NYTimes (Source 1) gave a descriptive insight into what the set up of the court looked like and how

Jackson ‘dabbed his eye with a tissue’ and his lawyer ‘sobbed quietly’. This was a somewhat positive portrayal of Jackson as it showed he displayed some emotion to the trial. However, some could interpret this display of emotion as guilt or worry of conviction.

The article by NY Daily News (Source 2) is more direct with its allegations and uses an unnamed source. The article included a picture of Jackson and various other children at an arcade, where the photo was sourced from CCTV. According to the PCC code of conduct concerning children, this broke the PCC law, ‘The press must not, even if legally free to do so, identify children under 16 who are victims or witnesses in cases involving sex offences.’ However, as this is an American press release, the legislation is partially relevant.

Content analysis findingsThe Guardian (Source 3) also portrayed a quite negative view of Jackson with an image juxtaposing

underlying text. It appears that he cares more about his fans than he cares about the proceedings of the court case.

This comes across as a deliberate attempt to show Jackson negatively. Alongside this is description of some of the allegationsagainst Jackson, which include molestation of a child. Although this was told in a court of law, I believe this is a legal and ethical issue as it should stayed within the court and this therefore damages Jacksons media portrayal further.

I viewed the Jackson documentary on Vimeo (Source 4) and although the documentary featured Jackson speaking predominantly, it appeared Bashir was quite aggressive with his questions and seemed to believe Jackson was guilty of the allegations. This made the documentary biased and unbalanced as Bashir was subjective, entering the documentary with his own strong opinions.

Focus groupMy focus group was formed of 3 people; 3 girls between the ages of

17-18 and I chose this demographic as they are generally known for their heavy consumption of the media.

I began the focus group by finding out about what they all individually knew about Jacksons death and how they viewed in the media, what they thought about Jacksons image in the media and if they believed Jackson played a part in how he was represented.

I then presented three sources for thegroup to look at which were two front covers from The Sun (Source 4) and OK! Magazine (Source 3).

However, I did use quite captivating and arguably, subjective images to begin a discussion and engage an interesting debate.

Qualitative results1. Did you watch any coverage about Michael Jackson’s death such as the funeral, the memorial service? If so how did

you respond?

I found the general consensus to be shock in terms of the loss of Jackson's life but respect for the portrayal the media

showcased at the time. It was agreed all round that the coverage was generally positive. However, they felt they ‘went back’

on the way they represented him when he was alive, which was mostly negative.

2. Did you think Michael Jacksons image was skewed by the media? Do you believe he played a part in his

representation?

His character of someone quite eccentric made him quite vulnerable to the media, the group said. They agreed that he did play

a part in his portrayal when he did put himself out there in terms of documentaries and publicity stunts. However, he was not

the only factor. His family played a part and so did people who were close friends e.g Macaulay Culkin.

3. In Source 1 (The OK! magazine cover), do you think the text and picture link or juxtapose?

The group felt that the picture of Michael close to death or dead, alongside text stating ‘World Exclusive’ was an infringement to

Michaels privacy and his legal and ethical rights. It was agreed that a different photo should've been used, in order to

remember Michael Jackson during concert or in a professional photo shoot for example.

Qualitative results4. What do you think about the Sun’s depiction of Michael Jackson? What do you think of Jacksons body being on the front cover?

Similarly, they agreed that the photo was unacceptable for the front cover of the newspaper. They also spoke about the colloquial language

used such as ‘death pic’ and ‘Jacko’ as disrespectful and are bad representations. It doesn’t give much information and doesn’t serve

much purpose.

5. Did you think that any of the sources breached Michael Jacksons ethical rights? Which of the three do you think did the most,

the least and why? Did these publishings invade into his privacy?

Out of all three sources, Source 3 (Michael’s will) was seen to be the biggest breach of Michaels ethical rights. The file is able to be accessed

on-line and downloaded within seconds. Personal and private information is able to be seen and the group believed this was even more of

an ethical breach as his children’s information was also able to be seen.

6. Do you think this breaks any UK laws? Do you think the law should be tightened to prevent such publications being shown in

future or is it our right to see such things?

The group believed these sources did break UK laws as it invaded his privacy. They did not agree that the public have a right to know all

about those in the public eye, and they should have boundaries of how much information is divulged about them. They said that the

magazines and newspapers should have been sued or asked for damages. They also commented that a law should be made to make

such images not be released again in respect for his family and also for his fans.

7. Overall, what is your general view on the media representation of not only Michael Jackson but his family?

The general view was that the representation of Michel is detrimental to his children and is damaging. As Michael Jackson is not around to

defend himself after death, it is therefore unfair and a considerable breach to his ethical rights.

QuestionnaireThe third element of my primary research was to compile a questionnaire which asked

fellow peers about their knowledge of Michael Jackson, before and after his death. I

also looked into how they reacted to the media coverage in the following days and

months after his death and their view into this, which will follow into my final report.

In my questionnaire findings, I surveyed 12 different people with the following

questionnaire. I surveyed people from the ages of 16-40 and 9 women and 3 men

responded.

Quantitative results As the quantitative results show, it was conclusive that all of the respondents

questioned felt that the media treats and almost puts a ‘celestial’ view on celebrities once they die. Some viewed the media and print magazines/newspapers using the death as a sensation to sell or maximize their reader intake, referring back to Source 3. This therefore leads the question if the press are too invasive into celebrities privacy, and should there be laws implemented to prevent the press from using their private information to gain a gross profit. One respondent commented,’They’re just human beings’.

Many of the respondents agreed but suggested the media were ‘hypocritical’ due to the treatment of Jackson during his lifetime, especially in the case of the Martin Bashir documentary.

Almost of the respondents I questioned responded that in the following weeks and months following Michael's death, they saw albums released more than 10 years ago or ‘Greatest Hits’ of the star bound into the Top 10 charts. There were extensive plays of Jacksons music also played on the radio, in the following week after his death, commemorating the musician. Whilst on music channels, there were special commemorative programs remembering Michael.

What I did not find in my primary research

• I interviewed mainly the demographic of 17-18 as this is the demographic I fall into and relate to. However, I could have interviewed an older bracket to gain a more accurate and balanced view as they were old enough to remember more of the coverage.

• Although I believe I gained quite a balanced view on the percival of Michael Jackson in my questionnaire, I could of added more commentary questions alongside the selective choice as this would of contextualized my answers further, aiding my research.

What I did not find in my secondary research

• Whilst my sources focused more on print media, I could have incorporated new media such as YouTube and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, looking at how he was represented by bloggers or the general public who are not constrained by the same rules and regulations that the press face

• I could of looked even further into the history of Jackson in the media and some of the controversy caused more by Jackson himself (e.g the dangling of his son over his hotel balcony, his change of skin colour, the hyperbaric oxygen chamber rumours in 1986

Evaluation (Secondary)I found my secondary research sources by focusing and searching different

topics including the Conrad Murray trial, the death of Michael Jackson and Michael Jackson court cases. Using them in my final report, helped give me a wide scope to understand the representation of Michael Jackson in the media after his death.

I tried to make sure all of my sources were mostly reliable and did not use blogging sites as they are not regulated by the PCC and the views stated are subjective to the author of the blog. However, I did look into a columnist from the the Guardian’s opinion to gain a counter argument on one of my sources depicting Jackson unconscious on a hospital trolley. I later showed the same image to respondents in my focus group as part of my primary research to add to that view.

Evaluation (Secondary)Conducting my secondary research at the beginning of my findings helped me

understand more about my topic, which then gave me to confidence to hold a focus groups. My research into print media prompted me with questions I wanted to put forward to an audience to gain a more balanced view, alongside my own.

Although I felt that my secondary research really aided me to continue with my primary research, I would of added a video source to balance the representation shown in print. For example, such as an interview or a recording captured by the media. I would of looked at how it was edited, if it was known to been recorded and the publisher and their reliability. However, I did analyse a video source in my content analysis, the documentary ‘Living With Michael Jackson’.

Evaluation (Primary)Using a focus group, questionnaires and conducting a content analysis greatly aided my research

as it helped me gain a more balanced view of how different demographics felt about my topic. I also compared qualitative against quantitative research also, for example graphs compiled from results and commentary from my focus group. This supported my secondary research and I used some of my secondary research to use as examples to put forward to my respondents.

The majority of my respondents were in the same demographic as I (17-18) and I chose people with varying psychographics to balance out my findings. I decided to do this because 17-18 year olds are dominant social media users and avid users of technology, gaining them consistent and instant access to the news. Therefore, I gained varied and thorough answers. However, I could of asked more respondents of the 25-40 demographic who were more aware of the 2005 court case and also his death, where the demographic I mainly targeted may not remember as well due to their age.

However, I will take into consideration that the views I collected and used for my research were subjective and based of more opinion than fact. I also used quite shocking and somewhat subjective material to gain more a opinion and debate among my respondents. However, I feel that aided my focus group in becoming more in depth and illustrated.

Evaluation (Primary)Although I am a fan of Jackson, I made sure to remain objective and not subjective, allowing

the respondents to give their own answers. That meant I could not ask leading questions and push people into saying certain things. The only time I pushed for an answer was in my focus group, to help continue the discussion and make sure everyone had a fair chance to speak. However, to make my focus group better I would have possibly had more males to make it a more balanced discussion. Although, in my questionnaire, I made sure there were male respondents with 9 women and 3 men.

In conclusion, I have discovered a vast amount about how and why the media represents not only Jackson but those in the public eye in general. The media makes financial gain by altering perception and creating selling points for ‘exclusive material’, which is usually originally private or taken without the celebrity’s consent. However, a celebrity is also responsible for their own representation in the media and they can change it by participating in interviews, documentaries or photoshoots. However, in regards of Michael Jackson, doing so changed his media reputation in the public eye indefinitely.

WebographyList of sources

1. Author N/A, 28 October 2013,Conrad Murray released from prison after serving two years, The Guardianavaliable from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/28/michael-jackson-doctor-conrad-murray-released, accessed on 12 February 2014

2.Author N/A, 26 June 2009, Michael Jackson found dead, available from:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8119993.stm, accessed on 19 February 2014

3. Jacquie Bowser, 30 June 2009, OK! Magazine pays $500k for ‘death photo’ of Michael Jackson, Brand Republic, avaliable from http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/916601/OK-magazine-pays-500k-death-photo-Michael-Jackson/, accessed on 19 February 2014

4. Roy Greenslade, 28 September 2011, Do you find The Sun’s Michael Jackson picture offensive?, The Guardian, available from: http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2011/sep/28/sun-michaeljackson, accessed on 19 February 2014

5. Riazat Butt and agencies, 10 November 2011, Conrad Murray uses TV interview to defend his actions, The Guardian, avaliable from: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/10/michael-jackson-doctor-tv-interview, accessed on 28 February 2014

6. Sean Michaels, 11 November 2011, Michael Jackson’s family call on MSNBC to cancel Conrad Murray documentary, The Guardian, avaliable from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/11/michael-jackson-family-conrad-murray, accessed on 28 February 2014

7.Author N/A, 7 July 2002, Michael Jacksons will available for viewing online, available from: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_documents/jackson_will.pdf, accessed on 18 March 2014

8. Sean Michaels, 29 November 2013, Conrad Murray gives interviews to the media, revealing sensitive information, The Guardian, avaliable from: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/29/michael-jackson-doctor-cease-desist, accessed on 19 March 2014

9.Rory Carroll, 3 April 2013, Michael Jackson’s life to be laid bare once more in $40bn court battle, The Guardian, avaliable from:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/03/michael-jackson-wrongful-death-lawsuit, accesed on 19 March 2014

10. Rory Caroll, 1 May 2013, Michael Jackson trial: defence warns jury of singer’s ‘darkest secrets, The Guardian, avaliable from:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/30/michael-jackson-trial-darkest-secrets, accessed on 19 March 2014

Webography11. Associated Press LA, 3 September 2013,Michael Jackson emails show promoter concern about singer’s well-being, The Guardian,

available from:http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/03/michael-jackson-emails-promoter-concern, accessed on 19

March 2014

12. Jeff Gottlieb, 15 January 2014,Michael Jackson estate settles ‘This Is It’ tour lawsuit, LA Times, available from:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-jackson-tour-settle-20140115,0,1846521.story#ixzz2wP80nimV,

accessed on 19 March 2014

13. Press Complaints Commission, 1 January 2012, The Editors Code of Conduct, The Press Complaints Commission, available from:

http://www.pcc.org.uk/assets/696/Code_of_Practice_2012_A4.pdf, accessed on 22 April 2014

14. Author N/A, 1 July 2009, Last Will of Michael Joseph Jackson, The Smoking Gun, available from:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/last-will-michael-joseph-jackson, accessed on 22 April 2014

Content analysis links:

1. John M. Broder and Nick Madigan, 14 June 2005, Michael Jackson Cleared After 14-Week Child Molesting Trial, NY Times., available from:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/national/14jackson.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0, accessed on 9 April 2014

2. Rich Schapro, 30 June 2013, Michael Jackson spent $35 million to cover up molestation of 24 boys: report, NY Daily News, avaliable from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/michael-jackson-spent-35-million-cover-molestations-report-article-1.1386325, avaliable from on 9 April 2014

3. Dan Glaister, 1 March 2005, Michael Jackson sexually abused boy at Neverland ranch, court told, The Guardian, available from:http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/01/media.michaeljacksontrial, accessed on 11 April 2014

4.’omouallem’, 21 April 2010, Living With Michael Jackson, Vimeo, available from:https://vimeo.com/5434340, accessed on 12 April 2014