Above is the very non committal headline E Online chose to run as TMZ was reporting Michael Jackson was dead, CNN was saying he was rushed to the Hospital.

The Michael Jackson story was an interesting study in new media. I first heard via Facebook. My first response as an LA person (but in Chicago) was to go to KTLA and then KCAL on the web as they have afternoon newscasts (and therefore most likely crews), nothing concrete but both soon had live helicopters over the hospital feeding live to the web. One twitter user asked what was so different about the helicopter shots and google earth.

Speaking of twitter, it was buzzing… most people citing TMZ who was already reporting in grave terms. Perez Hilton followed. It was at least a half hour after TMZ and Perez Hilton said he had died that any mainstream media followed. Once the LA Times called it, everyone followed. In the office here in Chicago everyone worked the web and no one even thought to turn on the TV until after he was pronounced dead.

The earliest indication of how bad it was that I found was on KCBS live feed from their copter over the hospital where the pilot said (off air but on the web) “I have followed a lot of ambulances to the hospital where the patient was found in full cardiac arrest… wanna know how many survived… Zero”. Ouch, but you know many of the news media has similar experience and knew how bad it likely was.