CNN had the news first, at 11:17 AM:
This just in to us here in the newsroom. Michael Jackson hasn’t been buried yet, but now we’re getting word from Los Angeles that his burial will be Saturday, August 29th. It will take place at the Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, according to Ken Sunshine. That would be Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday or would have been his 51st birthday. The spokesman says it is going to be a private ceremony, limited to just family and close friends.
Fox News sounded its “ALERT” at 11:45 am (after teasing it, minutes earlier, as follows: “Breaking news next on what will happen with Michael Jackson’s body…”)
Now, I’ve just got an e-mail from the publicist of Michael Jackson, and what they’re saying is his funeral is scheduled for what would have been his 51st birthday. I’m just going to read this email to you…
MSNBC brought viewers the “breaking news” about thirty minutes later, at 12:13pm (the delay stemming from MSNBC’s apparent need to “confirm” the information before going on-air with it):
MSNBC has just confirmed that Michael Jackson will be buried next week at Forest Lawn Memorial in Glendale, California. According to a statement from family representatives, a private ceremony will be held August 29th on what would have been Jackson’s 51st birthday. Only family and close friends will attend…
MSNBC also nailed the key detail that “accommodations will be for the media nearby.”
Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.