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CBS /60 Minutes' Tours Michael Jackson's Estate Warehouse Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT CBS

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"Priceless"
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Yes, of course the reporter had an agenda. I notice whenever the media mention Branca or talk to him they bring in how Michael was 1/2 million in debt and now earns more dead than alive. Then they claim his debt is due to overspending. I see this Forbes guy, who is annoying, brings in the allegations. Branca did not know they would cut his dialog and interject the Forbes guy, then bring back Branca again, so that they make Michael's image = debt & allegations. This is a typical type of editing they engage in.

You have to ask yourself: Why was this Forbes guy there, if the person handling the estate is present and knows about its finances & Michael's debt? This Forbes guy is talking about Michael spending, when he will never see the type of money that Michael earned in his lifetime.
 
"The Forbes guy" is writing a book called "Michael Jackson, Inc." about Michael's finances and his marketing and business genius. I suppose he works closely with john Branca on that. So I think he is well aware of what Michael earned in his lifetime ;)
 
etoile 37 said:
I think they should talk not just about what a great artist he was, but also what a good person he was. Ever since he died, the media have been saying, "He made good music, let's forget about all his sins." That's not right. The executors need to start working on that part of his image as well, not just his artistry. Michael said on the tape recorded by Murray, "That will be remembered more than my performances." That's what Michael wanted. He considered his philanthropy to be just as important as his art, it's an important part of his legacy.



So true! The problem with Bashir is that Michael gave him full control of the editing. I think from this point on, the executors should always ask to have approval of the final editing before it airs.
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I think the main problem is that the media is only knowledgeable about the tabloid version of MJ--they can recite the tabloid litany very well--and we know how THAT goes. That's all they know. So to educate them is an enormous undertaking and would take a lot of time. I mean that interviewer acted as if she had never listened to an Michael Jackson song EVER--never danced to a Michael Jackson song EVER. She was a total ignoramous when it came to MJ. She knew nothing before he died or even after he died (totally ignorant about Cirque show). Why she was picked for that interview is amazing and she clearly did NO preparation/research. She was worse thsn useless. They could have used a robot.
 
Thanks to those who uploaded videos so that we who couldn't watch the show get the chance to see it. Felt quite teary eyed seeing all of those things and the memories they brought back. I miss him.
 
Thank you for the uploads; these were great to see (although I do agree about the reporter's unnecessary comments and the handling of original papers etc without gloves).

I really hope that in addition to 'cataloguing' these materials, the Estate is also properly archiving them, with advice from a conservator. It would be worthwhile investing in the proper expertise and materials eg acid-free storage for papers etc, so that these items do not deteriorate further, eg to prevent papers from yellowing completely and becoming damaged from light, greasy fingers etc.
The items in these warehouses represent a 'world heritage site' for entertainment and cultural history from the mid 20th to early 21C (and possibly earlier, if Michael's own collections of artefacts relating to film and entertainment are also stored there). I hope that they will still be in a good state for exhibition very many years from now.

It is surprising to see so many petrol-engined vehicles stored in close proximity to so many combustible items. I hope the warehouse sprinkler systems are good. (Although water would cause nearly as much damage as fire!)
 
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myosotis said:
Suddenly, 'Cataloguing a warehouse' (or five) has just gone to the top of my league of 'dream jobs'.
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:wild:

I wonder if Karen needs an assistant? I can volunteer to help her and I don't need any salary either, just 1 ticket to Michael Jackson One show would be enough :D
 
Michael Jackson's Neverland Contents Almost Up For Sale


Tonight, May 19, CBS CBS +3.97%’s “60 Minutes” will air a segment on Michael Jackson’s legacy and personal possessions.

Jackson accumulated a half-billion in debt at the end of his life says a CBS news website promoting the show. But now it seems The Michael Jackson “The Immortal World Tour” earns Jackson’s estate millions, but his possessions sit in storage, specifically in five 20,000-foot California warehouses.

One fan who saw a clip of the upcoming segment on a CBS news website commented online, “I couldn’t believe the reporter was handling those clothes when OBVIOUSLY they shouldn’t have been handled without gloves.”

Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, which auctioned off an autographed version of the “Beat It” jacket this weekend for $10,000 at New York City’s Hard Rock Café offered, “Michael Jackson fans are very passionate and outspoken.”

Julien said that for the short term, not wearing gloves to handle the gloved ones’ items is not that serious. “Long term,” he said, “oil on hands expedites deterioration, but only for clothing.”

Julien would know firsthand about Michael Jackson memorabilia. He told me that Jackson hired him, when he was still alive, to “clear” his beloved Neverland of its contents.

“It took 90 days, 30 men and 10 semi-trailers,” said Julien. The folks at Julien’s Auctions catalogued the items and put them on exhibition. But then it seems Jackson had a change of heart…


“It was the greatest auction that never happened,” said Julien. Apparently, concert promoter AEG came through with an advance for the “This Is It” tour and Michael Jackson no longer needed to sell. The LA Times reported the advance was about $30 million. (AEG is presently being sued for Jackson’s wrongful death.)

Jackson and Julien settled for an undisclosed amount and “ended on good terms,” reported Julien who estimated that the Neverland items his company cleared were worth somewhere between $2 to $6 million.

Why broadcast a segment about Jackson memorabilia now? “The estate is trying to reach out to fans and make them feel more part of the singer’s career,” offered Julien. (My money is on the AEG suit as another reason.)

According to the Daily News, tonight’s “60 Minute” broadcast will show a crystal glove Jackson wore on tour, estimated at $80,000. So how many legitimate sequined gloves are out there? Julien estimates there are 20 and that each true glove is heavily documented.

“The designer did something special to each glove that no one else would know about,” said Julien.

In 2009, Julien’s Auctions sold the glove the King of pop wore during the 1983 “Motown 25” celebration where he performed the “moonwalk” for the first time. The glove sold for $420,000 to a Hong Kong businessman.

Clearly, lots of money has changed hands in the name of Michael Jackson. What’s nice is that, in this case, the children, and not some overseas collector, will have their father’s things.

I’m thinking any Dad, Michael Jackson or not, would want that—even if that means 5 full warehouses.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lynndou...cksons-neverland-contents-almost-up-for-sale/
 
I often did not like the tone of the interviewer. Did she really need to open with the "sharing bed" question? And I wish Branca had answered it better. But the stuff presented in the show is amazing. Wow at that 1979 manifesto! Even at such a young age Michael knew what he wanted, didn't he?

I wish if all those notes and drawings by Michael would be put in a book, similarly to the book entitled The John Lennon Letters: http://www.amazon.com/The-John-Lennon-Letters/dp/0316200808?tag=533643275-20

http://www.wnblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lennon-Letters-005.jpg
 
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bluetopez said:
I found the reporter Lara Logan annoying as hell with some of her comments. But other then that is was pretty good. It was a pity they didn't actually air the part about that Note MJ wrote when he was 21. The Video about the note was better then the whole program aired IMO. Said much more about MJ the person.
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What? It wasn't in the show they aired on TV???

How stupid of them! That is the best part!
 
I think they could have at least tried to put that debt in context. He didn't spend half a billion dollars on stuff for himself to fill up those warehouses. There was a significant amount put down to expand his catalogue as well as generously helping many people.

He may never have stopped spending money like in the 80s as the news piece said, but he also never stopped giving to others either. It just would have been nice if someone pointed it out to that willfully ignorant reporter.
 
http://www.cbsnews.com/2102-18560_162-57585140.html

Michael Jackson's lucrative legacy
The following script is from "Michael Jackson" which aired on May 19, 2013. Lara Logan is the correspondent. John Hamlin, producer.
It's been almost four years since Michael Jackson died, but he continues to make headlines. Some of them coming out of a Los Angeles courtroom right now where his mother is suing for damages over his death from a powerful anesthetic in June 2009. But the headline of this story is that Michael Jackson is making more money after his death than he ever did when he was alive.
Tonight you'll hear about the most remarkable financial and image resurrection in pop culture history. And get a rare look at what Michael Jackson left behind. The Michael Jackson brand is alive and well. Well-paid that is. Extremely well-paid.
John Branca: We sold 230,000 tickets in two days in Japan. We did 90,000 people in Moscow. 190,000 people in Mexico City alone.
John Branca is an executor of Michael Jackson's estate -- an architect, if you will -- of how to make money off his legacy, most of which will eventually be turned over to Jackson's three children. Branca was Jackson's lawyer and advisor off and on for over 25 years and negotiated many of the singer's biggest deals during his lifetime.
Lara Logan: It's just unbelievable. Michael Jackson sells more tickets dead than most artists do alive.
John Branca: That is absolutely true. Worldwide box office now is over $300 million. And Michael has almost 60 million Facebook friends. He's the biggest selling artist on iTunes and he's sold approximately 50 million albums since he passed away.
Lara Logan: It feels like you can't talk about all those great things about Michael without talking about the fact that his image was so battered and tarnished by the time of his death. Have his fans just forgotten about all of that? About all the weirdness?
John Branca: As managers of the estate, we don't really pay attention to the tabloids. We look at the Michael that we knew, the real Michael, the artistic genius, the visionary.
Lara Logan: The real Michael Jackson also told Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes that he let young boys sleep in his bed. You can't run away from that right? You can't hide from it.
John Branca: Well, I don't recall that interview and, um, I just know the Michael Jackson that I knew was somebody I considered, you know, a very honorable person.
John Branca chooses his words carefully. Another subject he doesn't like to discuss is Michael Jackson's family. Jackson's father and some of his siblings challenged Branca as executor and the validity of Jackson's will. But the California courts upheld the will and Branca's ability to carry out Michael Jackson's wishes.
John Branca: There was a series of wills and they were substantively almost identical.
Lara Logan: In that 20 percent went to charity, 40 percent went to his children, and 40 percent went to his mother as long as she was alive, and on her death would go to the children. The basic principle never changed.
John Branca: Never changed. The whole objective of Michael's estate plan is to take care of his mother during her lifetime and to accumulate the principle and assests for the benefit of Michael's children.
The will named Branca and John McClain, a longtime friend of Michael Jackson, as co-executors. Jackson's crippled image was not the only thing they had to contend with. At first glance, Michael Jackson left more debt than anything.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: The day he died, Michael Jackson had about half a billion dollars in debt.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg is a senior editor for Forbes Magazine and he's been covering the estate since Jackson's death.
Lara Logan: How much did his lifestyle and his personality have to do with his debt?
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: He never stopped spending like it was the 1980s. We charted it in Forbes. I mean, he was making $50, $60, $80, over $100 million some of those years-- and even into the 90s, but after the first allegations in 1993, he never toured in the U.S. again. He never got another endorsement deal in his lifetime.
Lara Logan: The first allegations of child abuse?
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: In 1993, correct. He became in many ways radioactive to brands and to the sorts of companies that would, you know, contribute to those massive paydays in the 80s. And the upkeep on a place like Neverland, you know, the spending on antiques and so forth and the maintenance of his entourage and all of that, you know, really-- it really added up.
Lara Logan: This is one of how many warehouses that you have?
Karen Langford: Five.
You can see how he spent his money and some of what made up his extravagant lifestyle in this California warehouse.
Lara Logan: Wow that's the actual sign from Neverland?
Karen Langford: That is the actual sign from Neverland that was over the gates.
Karen Langford was friends with Michael Jackson and worked with him from 1981 until his death. She's now the archivist for the Jackson estate. There are rows and rows, floor to ceiling, of Jackson's possessions, most of it never seen publicly since he died. This warehouse is 20,000 square feet. Every inch of it is full. There are antiques and video games from Neverland ranch, his Grammys...
Lara Logan: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male 1983. Billie Jean.
And 30 years of cars he never wanted to get rid of.
Lara Logan: Are these all Michael's cars?
Karen Langford: Uh, these are some of them.
Lara Logan: Some of them?
Karen Langford: Some of them.
Lara Logan: More cars.
Karen Langford: More cars.
Lara Logan: It's another Rolls Royce.
Karen Langford: Yeah, well, there's a few.
Lara Logan: Did he drive any of these cars?
Karen Langford: He did drive on occasion.
Late in his life Michael Jackson financed much of his lifestyle by routinely borrowing against his assets, but it wasn't these personal belongings that he used as collateral.
Although the copyright value of his own songs was worth well in excess of a hundred million dollars, the crown jewel of his investment strategy was his portfolio of other people's songs - especially those of the Beatles.
Lara Logan: Tell me about the music catalog, the publishing catalog that you advised Michael to buy.
John Branca: We started with the Sly & the Family Stone catalog, we bought some rock classics, People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield. Dion & The Belmonts, Runaround Sue, The Wanderer. When a Man Loves a Woman. Great Balls of Fire. Shake, Rattle, and Roll. But then one day I got the call that the Beatles catalog was for sale. It was called ATV Music. And it was as if we had hit the mother lode.
Lara Logan: And you paid?
John Branca: The price was $47.5 million. And we later merged it with Sony's music publishing company to create one of the biggest publishers in the world, Sony ATV Music, that the estate, to this day, owns 50 percent of.
Lara Logan: And so how much is that worth today?
John Branca: I -- I wouldn't want to speculate about what it's worth, but it --
Lara Logan: Come on, John. You didn't --
John Branca: It's --
Lara Logan: You didn't make all this money in this town without knowing what your investments are worth.
John Branca: Well, it would be speculation at this point.
Lara Logan: It's estimated to be worth, like, a billion dollars.
John Branca: Michael's half?
Lara Logan: Yes.
John Branca: Well, you know, you never really know what something's worth until you go to sell it. And we are not sellers. We are not gonna sell any assets.
At the time of his death Michael Jackson had borrowed $380 million against the value of the songs he owned. So the estate had to move quickly to avoid losing the songs to creditors.
John Branca sold future music rights to Sony for a reported $250 million. It was the biggest record deal in history.
Branca's team also combed through personal video shot during rehearsals for a comeback tour Jackson was preparing for right before his death. The footage showed the talent Michael Jackson still possessed as a singer, dancer and entertainer, then 50 years old.
It was made into a movie, called "This Is It" and was released within months of Michael Jackson's death. So far it's made over $500 million.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: A lot of companies got on board with Michael Jackson once they saw the success of "This Is It" and once they saw, you know, Sony investing a quarter of billion dollars for that record deal. You know, then you see Pepsi coming back and doing an endorsement with him. You see Cirque du Soleil coming in and doing a show. You know, I think that those first couple deals proved that Michael Jackson was no longer radioactive.
Lara Logan: So, death erased all his sins or even possible sins or suggestion of sins?
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: I think his death caused people to remember him as he was in the Thriller years. You started to hear Billy Jean and Beat It and Thriller on the radio all the time, I think that that transported people back to the mid-'80s when Michael Jackson was at the peak of his career.
That's what the Jackson estate and Cirque du Soleil gambled on. Michael Jackson's 1983 Thriller video helped the Thriller album become largest selling ever. It had seven hit songs on it.
His music drives the touring Cirque du Soleil production. Jackson's estate and Cirque du Soleil are 50/50 partners. And while this show is expected to continue touring for years, a new production opens this week in Las Vegas. It's called Michael Jackson: One. And we were allowed in to watch one the final rehearsals.
This show features more of classic Michael Jackson choreography, and more of Cirque du Soleil's signature acrobatic production created by founder Guy Laliberte.
Lara Logan: Do people come here to see Michael Jackson? Or are they coming to see something else?
Guy Laliberte: I think people are coming here -- yes, because they're passionate about Michael. So it's very tricky because you're touching an iconic figure. And we have to be careful. Because the base fans they are very, very difficult and demanding.
Making money on Michael Jackson's legacy is one thing. Keeping it is another. John Branca needed a team of lawyers to navigate a litany of claims against the estate.
John Branca: There were so many claims that were filed. And I can honestly tell you that most of them were ridiculous. Most of them were absurd. People making paternity claims and claims to have written all the songs that he ever wrote. And, you know, when you have an estate and you're in front of a court, you have to take these things seriously.
Lara Logan: Every single one?
John Branca: Every single one.
Lara Logan: Settling some-- throwing some out?
John Branca: Throwing many out, settling the ones that we thought were valid. There's a couple that are still pending.
Also still a work in progress is the sorting of Michael Jackson's effects.
Lara Logan: Michael Jackson's personal clothing?
Karen Langford: Uh-huh (affirm).
Lara Logan: This is what he wore.
Lara Logan: There's that famous jacket.
Karen Langford: Here it is.
Lara Logan: Wow. That's amazing.
Karen Langford: This is one of the safes that we have and...
Karen Langford showed us some of the more valuable items, which are kept in this safe. Like this sequined glove he wore while on tour. It's estimated to be worth over $80,000 at auction.
Lara Logan: Can I touch it?
Karen Langford: Sure.
Lara Logan: Gently.
Karen Langford: Gently.
Lara Logan: Wow, it's kind of heavy.
Karen Langford: Uh-huh (affirm).
Lara Logan: Look at that. Sh -- I mean, you can't look at that without -- look at how it sparkles.
Karen Langford: Yup.
All of his belongings will be preserved until Michael Jackson's children come of age.
Karen Langford: This is his shoes.
When they can decide what's to be done with all of it. The more time passes, the more its value. And the more money his legacy generates. Executors Branca and McClain get 10 percent of what they make for the estate, but their results speak volumes: they've already erased the half billion dollars of debt Michael Jackson had at his death.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: Since Michael Jackson died, the estate has taken over $600 million.
Lara Logan: But he died in 2009.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: He died in 2009. And he made --
Lara Logan: It's -- it's in four years, roughly four years --
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: $600 --
Lara Logan: $600 --
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: --over $600 million. And that's more than any single living artist has made over that period of time.
Lara Logan: And he's not around to spend any of the money.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg: Correct.
 
etoile 37 said:
I have nothing against the executors of the Estate, but I'm getting the feeling that they are the ones pushing this whole "Michael was half a million dollars in debt and we are the ones who resurrected his tarnished image. He's worth more dead than alive, thanks to us."

I understand that the media will say it anyway, but the executors should fight it, not go along with it. They're supposed to protect his image, don't they know anything about marketing? There's a reason why Michael never talked about his debts and why he always said that his finances were doing great. John Branca doesn't seem to understand that...
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It was forbes guy that mentioned the debts and one thing has changed. Estate is in probate and the accounting , several documents are public now. You can't really say "there are no debts, his finances were great" because then you would look like a liar.

When Michael was alive most of the details of his finances were private and there were no reason to discuss them publicly and the information being private allowed for deniability. However now when almost all the income and debt details are public, there's not much sense in denying it without making themselves looking like liars and in denial. Even without the specific details , probate is the process of paying debts first. Estate being in probate signals the existence of debts, Estate still being in probate means there are still debts. How can you deny it and say "no his finances were fine".
 
I liked the program very much!

Thanks so very much for sharing videos and the youtube clips! Thanks thanks thanks!

Loved it. - I've just shared on facebook. - This should be spread so everyone can see it!


Maybe MJ died with a debt. - But as long as all his assets are worth many billion dollars - he was never ever in need of money!

MJ died a very rich man! - He could have sold some of his belonings, made an album, he could have toured (TII) etc.

A man like MJ could never go bankrupt! - He was worth so much! A man who can sell out 50 concerts in the same city within hours are never gonna need anything!! - The interest for MJ was still HUGE!!

I hate when people say he is worth more dead than alive! - It's simple not true! - If he had made a fullscale comeback with a succesfull album, completed the 50 concerts in London and then had taken TII around the world with a lot of concerts. - He could also have made 600 million dollars on 4 years. - And he had still been here to write new music, make films, musicvideos, future concerts etc. etc.

I really miss MJ - So sad he had to die so sudden... :(
 
respect77 said:
I often did not like the tone of the interviewer. Did she really need to open with the "sharing bed" question? And I wish Branca had answered it better.
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We don't really know when the segment was filmed. If it was in the last few days then i feel a news org would just have to refer in some way to the new child molestaton allegation as it's breaking news - it's the elephant in the room. If that's the case, that it was just recently filmed then i thought branca's answer was worryingly lame, i would want something alot more emphatic. I assumed when i saw this segment announced that it was some estate puff piece to counter the wade today interview but after watching it, it looks as if it might have been in the works before, prob to provide publicity for the one vegas show so maybe the whole thing was filmed before wade's interview and we just had the sealed complaint, idk, hard to judge.


ivy said:
It was forbes guy that mentioned the debts and one thing has changed. Estate is in probate and the accounting , several documents are public now. You can't really say "there are no debts, his finances were great" because then you would look like a liar.
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Agree, but that is all they talk about - his massive debts. 99.9% of the public thinks mj died minus $450m in debt - this is v apparent from media reports and people's comments. There is no one saying that he held these debts against huge assets that meant he was 100s of $millions in the black when he died - it's kinda disapppointing zach o'malley just continues with this image. If some celeb owns a huge $1bn asset, you don't automatically hear what loan they have on it and you certainly don't just hear about that loan to the exclusion of everything else.
 
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Bonnie Blue said:
Agree, but that is all they talk about - his massive debts. 99.9% of the public thinks mj died minus $450m in debt - this is v apparent from media reports and people's comments. There is no one saying that he held these debts against huge assets that meant he was 100s of $millions in the black when he died - it's kinda disapppointing zach o'malley just continues with this image. If some celeb owns a huge $1bn asset, you don't automatically hear what loan they have on it.
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I think this is unfair. The reporter did say specifically that MJ borrowed against his assets, namely Sony/ATV catalog that Branca then discussed in detail and hinted that it cost a lot of money. Neverland was also mentioned. I think their representation of MJ's financial situation was quite honest, even if not much to fans' liking.

The only thing that rubbed me wrong from the estate side was the denial of Ed Bradley interview. I understand that John probably wanted to avoid derailing the topic of conversation, but he could have said "Michael spoke his heart" or "Michael could do some not very well-thought public moves at hard times" - anything, instead of pretending like it never happened. Denial gives public an impression that the estate tries to whitewash the past.
 
morinen said:
I think this is unfair. The reporter did say specifically that MJ borrowed against his assets, namely Sony/ATV catalog that Branca then discussed in detail and hinted that it cost a lot of money. Neverland was also mentioned. I think their representation of MJ's financial situation was quite honest, even if not much to fans' liking.
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I'm actually one of those fans who doesn't underestimate the financial probs of mj in his last yrs, but i do strongly feel that the public believe mj only left a debt when he died - i don't see a correction to this in this tv segment. Branca never gave a figure for mj's half share of atv catalogue and even if he had done are we really expecting the viewer to do the maths in their head all on their own and work out assets minus debt = net assets, it's all far too subtle. I would say the general public believes mj died in debt.


The only thing that rubbed me wrong from the estate side was the denial of Ed Bradley interview. I understand that John probably wanted to avoid derailing the topic of conversation, but he could have said "Michael spoke his heart" or "Michael could do some not very well-thought public moves at hard times" - anything, instead of pretending like it never happened. Denial gives public an impression that the estate tries to whitewash the past.
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yes, it was such a politician's answer - 'i'm not familiar with that interview'. Didn't inspire me with confidence at this particular time which is why i hope that this was filmed some time ago, pre-wade. Prefer tmez's approach - coming out swinging.
 
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Michael Jackson, Prince top Sunday ratings

By Hal BoedekerStaff writer8:49 a.m. EDT, May 20, 2013


350x525

Prince performs Sunday at the Billboard Music Awards. (Michael Simon /
Startraks Photo via ABC / May 19, 2013)


Two music legends helped put two very different shows at the top of Sunday's ratings locally and nationally.
A segment on Michael Jackson's property brought viewers to CBS' "60 Minutes"regular edition, which had 175,700 viewers in Central Florida.

Prince's performance at the Billboard Music Awards was a big winner for ABC with 140,100 viewers. The program also featured performances byNicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez,Bruno Mars, Selena Gomezand Taylor Swift. Who knew that Swift could give a better acceptance speech than Madonna?

A second hour of "60 Minutes," which aired at 8 p.m., was third with 102,700 viewers.
Rounding out the top five were Discovery Channel's "North America" with 83,000 viewers and "America's Funniest Home Videos" on ABC with 69,000. Next in the rankings were the finale of NBC's "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" with 62,600 viewers and Tim McGraw's CBS special with 56,500. By the way, Trace Adkins won "Celebrity Apprentice."


The top programs in the 18-to-49 age group were the Billboard Music Awards, Fox's "Family Guy," Fox's "The Simpsons," "North America" and the 7 p.m. hour of "60 Minutes."

Also of note: "Game of Thrones" had 44,200 viewers on HBO, and "Mad Men" on AMC had 30,300. The strange episode of "Mad Men" seemed like something out of "The Twilight Zone"as the ad agency staff reacted strangely to shots administered by a physician.

In national ratings, the first hour of "60 Minutes" drew 10.4 million viewers, and the second had 8.5 million. The Billboard Music Awards averaged 9.5 million viewers for ABC. The awards were easily the night's biggest show with young adults.
ABC won the night in total viewers and young adults. The prime-time averages in total viewers: ABC with 8.9 million, CBS with 7.8 million, NBC and Fox with 3.9 million apiece.

Other programs of note: the "Simpsons" season finale with 4.2 million viewers, the "Family Guy" season finale with 5.2 million, the "Celebrity Apprentice" finale with 5.3 million and the Tim McGraw special with 6.2 million.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ente...e-lead-sunday-ratings-20130520,0,4959175.post

 
This lady was so ignorant. I hope someday real journalists and reporters will want to talk to the estate and others about the real Michael. You know what I see that people hardly mention? Michael spent money and had debt. Most people in the world have some kind of debt. But Michael also gave away a lot of money to CHARITIES. Nobody gave more of his time and money to charity. Michael helped pay for other people's education, funerals, bout equipment and donated his whole paychecks to charity. This interviewer was a classic example of people we encounter as fans regarding Michael. They don't use their minds and just recite tabloid crap. How very educated of them.
 
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As for the success... everything is cool, ok.. blah blah, but why on earth that Zack O'Malley Greenburg is twisting the facts?
I have found him a cool objective journalist who is able to cover MJs HIStory from that financial point of view - objectively

But if he was talking about the making money... hey..., again, American people and journalists have a thing for the USA as the whole world, like anything outside the USA means nothing and its irrelevant - because its not American..., but there are 4 other continents, especially Europe and Asia with 4 billion people potential.

the Dangerous tour (eventhough it ended infamously, for a reason, and the album) was a huge global succees, the HIStory tour is one of the largest in history of music biz, HIStory album is the best selling double album + BOTDF album, that was the 90s and hundreds of millions in earnings = 2 mega successful albums, 2 mega successful world tours.

American media and reporters subjectively report about the 80s as the peak of MJs career or that only that era matters and is relevant for MJ. Yes, MJ was controversial, but able to attract fans and people in the 90s and during the new millenium aka This Is It - that was the peak after all these years of humiliation.

Michael Jackson was just inactive, not radioactive, he didnt need to release an album every 2-3 years, and go on world tour every 4 years like Madonna, Rolling Stones, or U2 to make money.
If he had wanted he could have done it like them, and have made hundreds of millions.

I am always pissed off of these reports from American media!

BTW, HAVE YOU NOTICED THE CONNECTION - HMMM, WHAT A COINCIDENCE, AGAIN, THIS DOCUMENTARY, THE INTERVIEW, THE CONTENT ... AND..... THE AEG TRIAL AND THE WADE ROBSONS CLAIMS ... TO MONEY.

HALOOOOO
 
Nice to see the press picking the interview up...

Even in death ***** is still bigger than Bieber: Michael Jackson posthumously makes $600m
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-jackson-posthumously-makes-600m-8623859.html

Michael Jackson’s estate has made more money through ticket sales in the four years since his death than the "Thriller" performer made during his lifetime. His posthumous sales are believed to amount to more than any single living artist during the same time period.

Jackson's estate has earned $600 million since his death in 2009. Contributing factors include ticket sales for Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson’s One and profits from the film of Jackson’s concert performances This Is It, according to US documentary Michael Jackson 60 Minutes.

John Branca, a co-executor on Jackson’s will, told US TV channel CBS: “Worldwide box office now is over $300 million. And Michael has almost 60 million Facebook friends. He’s the biggest selling artist on iTunes and he’s sold approximately 50 million albums since he passed away.”

Jackson had debts of approximately $500 million before he died. Zach O’Malley Greenburg, a Forbes reporter who has covered Jackson’s estate in depth, said: “He never stopped spending like it was the 1980s…he was making 50, 60, 80, over 100 million dollars into the 90s."

“But after the first charge of assault in 1993 he became radioactive. He didn’t tour again in the US, brands dropped him from their commercials…and the upkeep of Neverland really added up.

"Since Michael Jackson died the estate has taken over $600 million in four years, and that's more than any single living artist made over that period of time."

To try and settle his debt, Jackson continued to borrow against his assets, including the rights to The Beatles songs which he bought for $47.5 million and later merged with a Sony publishing company to create Sony ATV music. His estate still owns 50 per cent of the company.

As stated in Jackson’s will, he intended 20 per cent of his estate to go to charity, 40 per cent to his children and 40 per cent to go to his mother as long as she was alive.

“The whole objective of Michael’s estate plan is to take care of his mother during her lifetime and to accumulate the principle and assets for the benefit of Michael’s children,” said Branca.

Prince Michael, Paris and Michael Jr are also entitled to sell Jackson’s possessions, which currently sit in five warehouses, when they come of age.

The possessions include Jackson’s 30 year car collection, antiques and videogames from the Neverland Ranch and the black sequined jacket he wore in the video for “Billie Jean”.

Michael Jackson died of a cardiac arrest in June 2009 after an overdose of prescription drugs, termed "acute propofol intoxication".

Jackson's mother Katherine is suing concert promoters AEG Live for negligence in an ongoing civil case, claiming the firm was responsible for hiring Conrad Murray, the star's personal doctor, who was convicted of manslaughter in 2011 and is serving four years in jail.
 
ivy said:
It was forbes guy that mentioned the debts and one thing has changed. Estate is in probate and the accounting , several documents are public now. You can't really say "there are no debts, his finances were great" because then you would look like a liar.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that they should say he didn't have debts, I'm just saying they shouldn't be doing television programs about his debts. And to ensure that the interviewer doesn't mention them, they should ask to have approval of the editing. Or if they do talk about the debts, then they should put them into context. I'm sure a part of those debts were due to investments and to Michael giving to help others, not just lavish spending. They should also make sure to remind people that Michael still had earning power. He just took a break from his career for a few years, but when he was ready to get back to it, he sold 50 shows in a few hours. What's more, his debts were never bigger than the value of his assets. Michael didn't need to die to pay off his debts, and the executors should make sure that the world knows that. All big companies have debts. As long as they can eventually pay them off, it's not a problem. And we have no reason to believe that Michael couldn't have paid them off.

And the Forbes guy calling Michael radioactive because he didn't have endorsement deals... Maybe Michael just didn't feel like endorsing products at the time. There was a Pepsi ad for Thriller 25, so I don't think Pepsi thought Michael was radioactive. And he said Michael never toured anymore in the US in a way that made it sound like he COULDN'T tour the US because his career was over. When the truth is Michael didn't want to tour the US, he wanted to go in poor countries to visit hospitals and orphanages. And he didn't NEED to tour the US, because he was so global, which is an achievement in itself.

Moonwalker.Fan said:
Michael Jackson was just inactive, not radioactive
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
It's sad to see they could do a segment like this even though they were dealing with MJ's estate and not just one of MJ's incompetent managers.

MJ has to be the only celebrity that even when you "play the game" and give the media access, the interviewers will still make it obvious at some point that they still don't like him.
 
That reporter was so bias and was saying things that were really unnecessary. She couldn't just keep it positive at all. Branca was speaking about Michael's success as an artist and she wanted to talk about his "weirdness" and "sharing his bed." With the way he answered to it, I feel like he wasn't prepared to answer about that.

It was cool to hear about his earnings and sales. I've been wondering about it myself. With what's going it, it's good to hear that despite the crap, he's still on top. But other than that, I wasn't that impressed with this. That reporter who clearly didn't like Michael was touching his personal items that cost millions of dollars with her bare hands while the archivist herself was wearing gloves.
 
Moonwalker Fan--thanks for reminding me that the Greenburg used the word "radioactive" to describe MJ before he passed--what a shockingly stupid word to use for someone who sold out 50 concerts in hours!! With thousands still in line to buy tickets!!

Here are Laura's bloopers:


Lara Logan: It feels like you can't talk about all those great things about Michael without talking about the fact that his image was so battered and tarnished by the time of his death. Have his fans just forgotten about all of that? About all the weirdness?

Yes, Laura, fans have forgotten about the nonexistent 'weirdness' and what about you???

Lara Logan: The real Michael Jackson also told Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes that he let young boys sleep in his bed. You can't run away from that right? You can't hide from it.

News Flash, Laura--there was a trial in 05 and he was acquitted on all 14 counts.



Lara Logan: So, death erased all his sins or even possible sins or suggestion of sins?

No, Laura, death hasn't erased 'all his sins' b/c you are still harping on it--but to fans, we don't look at his 'sins." We look at his beauty, his power, his artistry.

Lara Logan: Do people come here to see Michael Jackson? Or are they coming to see something else?

Laura, you are asking the Director of the Cirque du Soleil this question about the MJ shows? Wake up!
 
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