The breaking news of Michael Jackson’s sudden death dominated the web yesterday (and today), causing spikes in traffic and overwhelming social networks such as Twitter and Facebook with bursts of information and updates from millions of users. In comparison, discussions of Jackson far exceeded those of the swine flu scare as well as the inauguration of President Obama.
Nielsen Buzzmetrics analysis shows that more than 16% of tweets over the past 24 hours reference Michael Jackson, and less than 2 percent of Tweets mention Farrah Fawcett and Iran.
A Topper of Charts and a Major TV Draw
That Jackson’s passing dominated the web is no surprise, as he has been a major media draw for decades. According to Billboard, over the course of his solo career, Jackson charted 47 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, 13 of which went to No. 1. As part of the Jackson 5, he earned an additional four No. 1 Hot 100 hits.In addition to his unparalleled dominance on the Billboard music charts with albums like Thriller, his past television appearances have attracted millions of curious viewers eager to see more of the reclusive, yet ubiquitous, star.
| Notable Michael Jackson TV Apperances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NETWORK | DATE | SHOW | DETAILS | VIEWERS |
| ABC | 2/6/2003 | 20/20 Special | Controversial documentary on Jackson by Martin Bashir | 27,111,000 |
| CBS | 12/28/2003 | 60 Minutes | Ed Bradley interviews Michael Jackson | 18,784,000 |
| CBS | 11/13/2001 | 30th Anniv Special | Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Special | 25,731,000 |
| ABC | 6/14/1995 | Primetime Live | Diane Sawyer interviews Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley | 37,532,000 |
| MTV | 9/8/1994 | MTV Video Music Awards | Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley debut as husband/wife | 5,359,000 |
| ABC | 2/10/1993 | Oprah Winfrey Special | Oprah and Jackson Interview | 62,289,000 |
| NBC | 1/31/1993 | Super Bowl XXVII | Michael Jackson Super Bowl halftime show | 90,990,000 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company |
