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Elvis's death was a perfect example: The media doesn't understand Middle America
Forty years ago. I think I've restored the missing apostrophes.
Opinion: Elvis’s death was a perfect example: The media doesn’t understand Middle America
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Elvis’s death was a perfect example: The media doesn’t understand Middle America
By Gary Abernathy August 15 at 8:11 PM
Gary Abernathy is publisher and editor of the Times-Gazette in Hillsboro, Ohio.
HILLSBORO, Ohio
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of fans will flock to Graceland to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Today, Presley’s widespread influence and appeal are well established. But four decades ago, much of the media was caught off guard by the public’s response to the singer’s passing.
In 1977, before cable news or the Internet, the nightly news broadcasts of CBS, NBC and ABC were at their zenith. Newspapers were enjoying their most prosperous years. But in newsrooms across America, and particularly in the media mecca of New York, Presley was barely on the radar. If they regarded him at all, it was as a 1950s icon.
Elvis was only 42, so his passing was unexpected. But what really surprised journalists was the national reaction to Presley’s death. To them, his influence had ended when the Beatles hit the scene. But as the afternoon of Aug. 16, 1977, progressed, they couldn’t ignore the grass-roots rumblings. Tens of thousands began trekking to Memphis, some walking off their jobs. Newsroom phone lines were burning up with people seeking more information.
At NBC, anchor David Brinkley — a Southerner — understood the place Presley occupied in the lives of millions. ABC’s Harry Reasoner joined Brinkley in leading with the Presley story. As described in the 1980 book “When Elvis Died,” by Neal and Janice Gregory, “Millions of viewers, not finding the information they sought, immediately tuned out the video eye and switched to one of the other networks.” A CBS producer later confessed, “I had no idea that he had that much popularity.” ... By early evening, editors at the nation’s newspapers were slowly recognizing the magnitude of the national reaction. At the New York Times, according to the Gregorys, “some mild panic occurred when editors discovered no one had prepared an advance obituary” of Presley.
....
By Gary Abernathy August 15 at 8:11 PM
Gary Abernathy is publisher and editor of the Times-Gazette in Hillsboro, Ohio.
HILLSBORO, Ohio
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of fans will flock to Graceland to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Today, Presley’s widespread influence and appeal are well established. But four decades ago, much of the media was caught off guard by the public’s response to the singer’s passing.
In 1977, before cable news or the Internet, the nightly news broadcasts of CBS, NBC and ABC were at their zenith. Newspapers were enjoying their most prosperous years. But in newsrooms across America, and particularly in the media mecca of New York, Presley was barely on the radar. If they regarded him at all, it was as a 1950s icon.
Elvis was only 42, so his passing was unexpected. But what really surprised journalists was the national reaction to Presley’s death. To them, his influence had ended when the Beatles hit the scene. But as the afternoon of Aug. 16, 1977, progressed, they couldn’t ignore the grass-roots rumblings. Tens of thousands began trekking to Memphis, some walking off their jobs. Newsroom phone lines were burning up with people seeking more information.
At NBC, anchor David Brinkley — a Southerner — understood the place Presley occupied in the lives of millions. ABC’s Harry Reasoner joined Brinkley in leading with the Presley story. As described in the 1980 book “When Elvis Died,” by Neal and Janice Gregory, “Millions of viewers, not finding the information they sought, immediately tuned out the video eye and switched to one of the other networks.” A CBS producer later confessed, “I had no idea that he had that much popularity.” ... By early evening, editors at the nation’s newspapers were slowly recognizing the magnitude of the national reaction. At the New York Times, according to the Gregorys, “some mild panic occurred when editors discovered no one had prepared an advance obituary” of Presley.
....
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