So, now the Rev. Al Sharpton is a media critic. Well, let me tell you something. He is a very reckless one -- making racially-charged allegations without having his facts straight.
Sunday, standing in the pulpit of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, Sharpton called coverage of Michael Jackson's death "disgraceful."
"I am here because of the disgraceful and the despicable way some elements of the media have tried to destroy the legacy and image of Michael Jackson," he told the congregation, charging the media with using different standards for black and white performers.
"You have had other entertainers that have had issues in their life," he said. "But you [the media] did not degrade and denigrate them... Show the same respect for Michael and Michael's family that you showed Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley."
From what planet was Sharpton following Presley's death if he thinks tawdry aspects of Presley's life weren't reported? There was no shortage of reporting about the details of how and where Presley's body was found, the cocktail of drugs to which he was addicted and the weirdness in general of Presley's life at Graceland. And in 1977, we didn't have the vast landscape of Web and cable outlets that we do today.
But Sharpton went further yet, according to wire reports, attacking the media for what he characterized as a lack of diversity and sensitivity to black culture in reporting the story.
"I don't think the media understand who Michael was,'' Sharpton was quoted as saying in wire reports. ``I don't think they have any cultural significance.''
One of the leading sources of mainstream media information on the Jackson story has been CNN. And the anchor who has been sprearheading CNN's coverage in Los Angeles is Don Lemon, who is African American.
I was on the CNN media show, Reliable Sources, with Lemon and others Sunday. The show offered 30 minutes of analysis of Jackson's "cultural significance" and coverage of his death, with a clear and strong African-American voice at the center of the discussion. Lemon made a great and passionate case for the cultural importance of Jackson.
Perhaps turning on his TV to one of the leading cable channels in America and watching 30 minutes of coverage before taking to the pulpit is asking too much in the way of homework from Rev. Sharpton.
I could cite dozens of other examples of Jackson's racial and cultural significance being explored in mainstream media in the last 10 days, like the Wednesday night special on CBS that found anchorwoman Katie Couric interviewing Spike Lee on that very topic.
Katie Couric and Spike Lee on CBS in prime time. More than 8 million viewers watched the conversation, but Rev. Sharpton apparently missed it -- or conveniently chose to ignore it because it didn't fit his inflammatory and divisive rhetoric.
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