One may hate Michael Jackson, or love him madly, or remain totally indifferent to him, but one just can’t ignore this musical phenomenon and his mass appeal. Jackson’s memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles is expected to be an even bigger global internet video-viewing event than the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, reports ANI.
A Michael Jackson page at Facebook has already topped 6.5 million fans, unseating Obama’s “fan page” as the most popular at the California-based social networking service.
“We are preparing for numbers that easily outweigh the inauguration. There is just so much global reach for this star; something about him or his music has touched people around the world,” the Telegraph quoted Randi Zuckerberg, Facebook’s marketing director, as saying. More here…
At least 16 major television networks are planning live coverage of Michael Jackson’s memorial service, making it one of the biggest Michael Jackson televised event of the year after the January 20 inauguration of President Barack Obama, reports The Economic Times. The pop legend, 50, died after a suspected cardiac arrest on June 25.
CNN will start its coverage at 9 am local time with Anderson Cooper, Larry King and Don Lemon as anchors, while MSNBC will begin its coverage at 8 am, with Chris Jansing anchoring. Shepard Smith will anchor for Fox News.
As many as 88 movie theaters in 31 States too would be showing live the memorial service. More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.