Today is a tough day for me on many levels. First, after spending over five years with arguably the best news team this side of the Mississippi, KIRO News Radio and a year with the nation’s best news team at CBS News Radio, I’ve developed a very strong sense for news. Lucky me, I know, and total luck because let’s face it, I did all that standing on Dave Ross’s coat tails. Thing is, I grew a nose for news- I can’t help it. With all that newsy background came a great deal of lessons on the integrity of journalism and what makes a news story versus an entertainment story and how to appeal to the masses without losing a sense for telling the public about important issues the nation or local community might be facing.

Today with the death of Michael Jackson and the big funeral, we on the Ron Reagan Show, are forced to ask ourselves some important questions: How can we cover this memorial and death of a major icon and make it interesting, informative and entertaining? Should we cover this for longer than a segment or two on the program? Are we doing a disservice to the public by covering this instead of say, the coup in Honduras, strife over elections in Iran, the healthcare crisis, Palin’s resignation, horror in Western China?

I'll be honest, if Ron Reagan had it his way today we'd cover this story maybe the first hour and then move on to other, more important news items. He might be right, but I had to put up a fight on this, even though in my heart I'm questioning it. I know that the majority of the world cares about this musical icon. He changed the face of music and culture in America like we haven't seen since Elvis Presley; he's made a major impact, to put it lightly, on the African American community around the globe, he's given more to charity than any other celebrity, and he's nutty. The story of Michael Jackson is a human story, with many relevant angles: how art affects the world, how family can be both the strength and the  destruction of a person, as well as what influence music and art have on the world. It's also about how or if we should separate art from the artist, and even how Americans can value talent and money over other virtues. It is a news story because of its tragedy and intrigue. So in the end that's what we're going to do. We're going to talk about Michael Jackson and the many angles this story has for the entire show today and whether it's the right or wrong thing to do. I'm honored to be in a place where I get to ask that question.