The passing of an icon – Michael Jackson dead at 50

Here’s my share of the coverage of the immediate aftermath of the passing of Michael Jackson. On the day of his death I was hired by Newsweek magazine to cover the initial reactions of fans who, along with swarms of media and police officers, had gathered outside of the UCLA Medical Center and outside the home he had been renting in Holmby Hills nearby. In the days that followed I had a few more assignments for the AP, first covering a vigil in the Crenshaw neighborhood, then staking out his house with the rest of the media and finally meeting with his business manager, Dr. Tohme Tohme, for a quick portrait. Sometime that week I noticed a sign hanging from the window of the Sea of Ink tattoo shop across from where I live advertising Michael Jackson tattoos. I had met one of the tattoo artists who works there on a previous occasion and went up and asked her to give me a call should anyone actually get one. I hadn’t heard anything all week, until I received a phone call while lying in bed at 12:30 a.m. Monday. Turns out their first taker was a young rap artist named Tyga, who was there after hours getting his MJ tattoo. Lucky, the owner, says they often work on celebrities after hours so they can have their privacy. I almost didn’t go, but figured what the hell, since she was nice enough to remember to call me, and dragged myself out of bed. I’m still not sure if it was worth it. As of yet it remains unpublished. Still, made for an interesting conclusion to my Jackson coverage and I had a fun time. For the memorial service at the Staples Center I joined the majority of people, watching it at home on the TV.
Normally, I’m not too thrilled to cover celebrity news, but this was a little different. Whether he was a celebrity or not, he was arguably the most well known person on earth and his death was tragic and unexpected. It’s really unfortunate that he’s gone, but in the sense that it was a significant event for people all over the world, it was something in which I was interested in taking part.

There are several more photos after the jump!