Public thinks media overboard on Jackson

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Many Americans think the media have gone overboard covering the death of pop singer Michael Jackson, a poll indicates.

The Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday showed nearly two-thirds -- 64 percent -- of those asked said news organizations gave Jackson's June 25 death too much coverage, 29 percent said coverage was about right and 3 percent found too little coverage.

Half of the respondents said the media properly balanced reporting on Jackson's musical contributions and his troubled personal life, with 26 percent saying coverage was slanted too much toward his legal problems and 11 percent too much toward his music .

Thirty percent of respondents said they followed developments about Jackson very closely, the Washington research center said.

African-Americans followed death of the black entertainer more closely than whites -- 80 percent compared to 20 percent.

The weekly News Interest Index survey of about 1,000 people was conducted by the center June 26-29. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.