I wish this was at least partly true. For roughly a week CNN was the 24/7 MIchael Jackson Is Dead Network and the twitter/facebook/email live feed they scrolled was a perpetual "STOP SHOWING MICHAEL JACKSON S***, PUT ON REAL NEWS PEOPLE ARE DIEING IN IRAN" and it never made a difference.
True, but the problem is that Dead Jacko was actually a ratings bonanza for the news networks. The reason all the Twitters and whatnot were negative is because only the people who actually care about real news were motivated enough to send them. But they were eclipsed by the deluge of viewers who tuned in to hear Larry King's breathtaking interview with Tito or whatever.