No. 1 Michael Jackson; No. 2 Pope John Paul II; No. 3 Ronald Reagan; No. 4 Mother Teresa, No. 5 Princess Diana
Measured Global Print and Electronic Media from Day of Death to Day after Funeral since 1997
Austin, TX July 8, 2009– In an exclusive analysis performed by the Global Language Monitor, the death of Michael Jackson, the entertainment icon, has been found to be the Top Funeral in the Global Print and Electronic Media over the last dozen years . Jackson moved ahead of Pope John Paul II, whose funeral in 2005 previously set the standard.
The results follow:
- Michael Jackson, June 25 – July 8, 2009
- Pope John Paul II, April 2 – April 9, 2005
- Ronald Reagan, June 5 – June 10, 2004
- Mother Teresa, September 5 – September 14, 1997
- Princess Diana, August 31 – September 7, 1997
The death, aftermath, and funeral of Michael Jackson had some 18% more stories in the global print and electronic media than that of Pope John Paul II in 2005. The analysis covered the Top 5,000 print and electronic media sites, but excluded blogs and social media since they did not have a significant presence throughout the entire period of measurement.
“The death of Michael Jackson, and the media frenzy surrounding of its aftermath and his funeral, has moved Michael Jackson to the forefront of coverage of similar prominent deaths over the last dozen years,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of GLM. Other prominent passings include those of Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. “The strength (and depth) of the global media coverage only adds to his already significant legacy and shows no sign of abetting.”
When measured in terms total web presence, Jackson outdistances Ronald Reagan, at No. 2, by more a factor of 10.
The results follow:
- Michael Jackson, died in 2009
- Ronald Reagan, died in 2004
- Pope John Paul II, died in 2005
- Princess Diana, died in 1997
- Mother Teresa, died in 1997
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