Thank You, Charles Thomson

It's been over a month since my last post. I gotta apologize for this. It's a difficult time. June is back and it brings all painful memories. Was devastated last night while following the news from court. Hard to believe it's been a year already and we don't seem to be getting any closer to justice for Michael Jackson.

June 13 marked the 5th anniversary of MJ's vindication in court, when he was pronounced not guilty on all counts back in 2005. Memories of this particular day recalled others related to the horrible media coverage ever since the news about the allegations broke out.

Well, I gotta confess I'm angry. Actually, OUTRAGED will be a more appropriate word. It is very hard to avoid this frustration attack on your system, which may easily leave you totally disheartened when you've been witnessing all the injustice over and over again. Yet, giving up was never in my nature.. and I got MJ to thank for that too. This man was an incredible fighter! His example just leaves you speechless! He still amazes me every time I face something that would make me feel like the world is coming to an end or something. I would remember him and instantly say: "What a sassy spoiled girl you are Nagla!"

At times like these we must always look for hope, not allow yourself to sink into the whirlpools of negative thoughts.

As soon as I reached out for hope, there he was; the British award-winning journalist who has earned the love and appreciation of the Michael Jackson fan community, Charles Thomson.

Mr. Thomson is a rare example of what journalism ought to be like but unfortunately failed so miserably to become. He made it his mission to expose the bias and fabrication in today's media world, and with his special interest in black music, and particularly Michael Jackson, Charles Thomson did a thorough research, an objective and honest one, with the aim of standing on the truth amid all the controversy that surrounds this pop icon. Naturally, he found himself in a position where he was regarded as a Michael Jackson defender, or even propagandist! Well, that's what we, Michael Jackson fans have been trying to explain for decades now! We support Michael Jackson not out of a blind obsession, but because we happened to care about him we cared to know the truth and collect factual data, that's how we found out he has been truly innocent all the way. If anyone, even those who think they hate Michael Jackson, would allow themselves a chance to investigate the evidence that were deliberately hidden by the media, they would find themselves defending him. It's not about taking sides. If you are a person who values truth, you'll spontaneously find it in your heart to speak out against this huge injustice. But many people are still in denial. They are not ready to admit that they have been fooled by some puppeteers who created this whole Wacko Jacko fable with its "pedophile" horror sequel.

I've been following Charles Thomson's blog since November 2009, when his famous article Chandler Suicide Highlighs Media Bias Against Michael Jackson was being shared by the MJ fan community all over social networks. Seriously, my first impression was: What?? Is this true? Did I understand this right? Is he really critcizing the media bias against MJ or am I just imaging this? I was very skeptical and did not want my enthusiasm to make me see something that I wanted to see but was not actually there. Then I was delighted to see it did not stop there. Thomson wrote a series of excellent articles that cleared up many of the lies and exposed the crimes committed by mainstream and tabloid media against Michael Jackson. He soon became considered a Michael Jackson expert. And I believe he earned it. Unlike most journalists (and even academics and so-called researchers as previously shown) we see today, Charles Thomson puts a lot of thought and effort into what he's doing. His most recent article, "One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History," published in the Huffington Post on June 13, bears proof to how seriously he takes the profession of journalism. This is one research that should be taught at media studies departments worldwide.

Can't forget how elated I was to find he wrote about the the Press Complaints Commission's shameful handling of the case against the Guardian over a hideous article they published back in October 2009. He was the only journalist who cared to expose the absurdity of the PCC's rule in favor of the Guardian. I happened to be one of ten who complained against the Guardian regarding this article, and I was extremely frustrated when I received their decision after trying so hard to convince them to merely put it through! Yes, somehow this had been a challenge! Will share the full story with you later.

Another thing I gotta praise Mr. Thomson for is his attempt to bring the readers back to reading this endangered species of articles: the long, whole, fully covered piece. This is something which is disappearing in our junk food style newspapers, and is particularly lacking in online journalism. The mainstream style of providng empty, easy to swallow, cut out, small pills to the readers is completely taking over. This is very sad! I so much like the term Michael Jackson coined to describe postmodernist media, calling them "medialoids" and I find this to be very true, not only concerning their content, but in following the 'journalistic' style of tabloids. Serious research articles cannot be presented in the form developed by gossip tabloids.. a flashy title and a few lines underneath! This is such a pity. What I like most about Charles Thomson's articles is that they are fully developed, so that a person who has little or no background on the subject can really learn something after reading them. He takes his readers seriously, and that's why I predict a brilliant future for him, whether he continues to write about Michael Jackson or not. Should also give him credit for giving me the spark I needed to start this blog, for I was indeed partly inspired by him, and I am sure I am not the only one.


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*You may also like to read Lorette Luzajic's interview with Charles Thomson: Part 1 and Part 2.

Lorette Luzajic's blog, Extreme Michael Jackson, is one of my favorites. She has her personal unqiue view of Michael and she expresses it beautifully.