NY Post Criticizes Coverage of Jackson’s Death, Calls Jacko “Wacko”

The New York Post’s inflammatory Page Six staff staged yet another jihad on the “liberal media,” this time disguised as concerned Michael Jackson fans.

The charges were that liberal media personalities like Jimmy Kimmel, The New York Times’ TV critic Alessandra Stanley and celebrity gossip Perez Hilton had covered the death of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett with poor taste and “Dis-honor.”

As examples, the Page Six staff touted a joke told by Kimmel on his comedy show, a review by Stanley of an NBC special devoted to Fawcett, and a post by Hilton that questioned the legitimacy of the early reports of Jackson’s collapse and hospitalization.

A few things. A) Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian. He doesn’t “report” on anything. Perhaps the joke was in poor taste (judge for yourself…joke in question at 2:50), but that is hardly a violation of what the Post dubs “the first commandment” of not speaking ill of the dead.

B) Stanley’s review of the NBC special noted that Fawcett’s career wasn’t exactly marked with many critical successes. Few would argue with that summation, but apparently Page Six is one entity that does. And the Post didn’t stop there. Stanley’s review contained this:

“NBC…never made the public service point that, besides abstinence, the HPV vaccine is the most promising form of prevention against this type of cancer, which in most cases is sexually acquired.”

The Post took that quote and tried to convince readers that Stanley was somehow blaming Fawcett for contracting the anal cancer in 2006 that ultimately killed her. If you’re scratching your head wondering how, join the club.

And finally, C) Hilton, whom the Post describes as a “bitchy blogger,” made an arguably valid point that Jackson had staged medical emergencies in the past ahead of highly anticipated perfermances. And of course, once the news took a tragic turn, Hilton joined the rest of the world in publishing sympathies and tributes.

NY Post: "Wacko," "King of Popping Pills," "Don't speak ill of the dead." Seriously.

But what truly earns the Post a spot in the Mediacrity blog this week is their curious placement of the story, entitled “Dead Celebrities Dis-Honored,” on their website. As of Saturday morning at 10am, the story is placed just under a rotating banner of their top headlines. And what is their top story? “King of Pain,” the Post’s headline announcing Jackson’s death. Without so much as the click of a mouse, the Post calls Jackson “the king of popping pills” and “Wacko,” and simultaneously chastises the media for speaking ill of the dead.

And we haven’t even mentioned the times that the Post has spoken ill of the living.