Why in the holy hell is John Ritter getting more airtime than Johnny Cash?

[SweetZombieJesus]

Look, I'm sorry John Ritter died, but from watching CNN at work today, there was at least a 3:1 ratio of John Ritter to Johnny Cash coverage, and that's just ridiculous. John Ritter was a fucking sitcom actor, and Three's Company was a shitty sitcom at that. Since when does pretending to be gay in a "hilarious" fashion merit more coverage than the second best country singer of all time, and one of the most important musicians of the 20th century?

Flame me if you must, but the way they're acting like these two are even close to being equals is ridiculous, and CNN's emphasis on John Ritter shows where its soul lies: mediocre sitcom stars are more important than one of the greatest musicians of all time.

[CMT]

1. truly Johnny Cash was a legend

but his death is not as much of a surprise as that of John Ritter which is why I think they are playing that up more.

[liberalnurse]

17. That true.

His sudden death was a rare phenomena, dissecting aortic anerysum. They have had medical commentators explain the condition. Also, his age was signifigant, 54 without a history of chronic illness.

[GOPisEvil]

2. I dunno; I think Ritter's death was more shocking.

We've all pretty much known Johnny Cash was near death for a while now.

But, you're right. As far as legacies are concerned, Cash's dwarfs Ritter's.

[SiouxJ]

15. Exactly. I was gonna say the same thing

When I got up this morning and turned on CNN, I heard Johnny had died. I was sad, but I knew it was only a matter of days. I had just said something about that to my dad yesterday as matter of fact.

Then not 30 seconds later, they said Ritter had died. It just stopped me in my tracks. I was like - no way! He was so young! That just sucks!! I was really just astonished. I hated "3's Company" but I loved Ritter for his other roles. And he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

It's sorta like when Warren died. I was very sad, he too was a legend, but I knew it was coming so I wasn't shocked.

Also, for a few months now people have been doing tributes to Cash on different shows and news programs so I guess they sort of did their tributes while he was still alive, knowing he was going soon. That's pretty cool actually. He got to see some of it. Like the MTV thing.

I really don't care who gets more coverage, it's just incredibly sad. This whole year has sucked! We lost Zevon, Cash, Hepburn, Peck, Hope, etc. etc. etc.

[catzies]

3. IMO, each medium is honoring their own.

I'm at work with the radio on (NPR, as always) and all morning they played Johnny Cash's music.

That said, you do have a point. :)

[trotsky]

4. FWIW

CNN's web page had Cash featured most of the day, while Ritter just got a link on the side.

[soleft]

5. The same reason Princess Di got more coverage than Mother Theresa

there is no reason, it makes no sense, don't spend too much worrying about it.

[jmm]

6. Maybe because Ritter is younger than Cash

and he seemed to be in better help. Everybody I've spoken to today has been saddened by the news of both their deaths but were shocked by John's.

[kmla]

7. It's all about the amount of exposure.

Sadly, John Ritter has received more exposure in the last 10-15 years that has Johnny Cash. Hence, more pop culture interest.

It has nothing to do with the talent level of the individual, although I do think John Ritter was a good actor. Not great, but pretty good.

Johnny Cash, however, will never be replaced. He was a rock among pebbles...

[trof]

9. Bingo.

He was on tha teevee more.

[otohara]

8. Unexpected vs Matter of Time

Died at work, vs at home - too young vs old guy.

[short bus president]

10. why in the holy hell would you let it bother you in the least?

"My memorial's bigger than your memorial!" Buncha inappropriately public hoohah nonsense, says I.

[meegbear]

11. More accessable film clips probably

[rabid_nerd]

12. I coulda cared less about Cash

and Ritter's death bothered me.

The news pays attention to what I want, so that's why.

:tinfoilhat:

[SweetZombieJesus]

13. Incidentally, Ritter died the same way my dad did

Maybe that's why I want to see less of coverage of his death, it reminds me too much of my dad.

[Pallas180]

14. Cause dying ill at old age is more normal than dying young & healthy n/t

.

[rock]

16. Duller minds than ours have made the decision

That's the way it is.

[Deja Q]

18. Callous me not?

How would you like it if I started dissing Johnny Cash?! Country music is the worst form of "music" out there and it's suicide-inducing too. It's pathetic.

If I just didn't end a 30 hour work day, I'd have a clearer mind to write something that really would offend you.

Facts are facts:

* Cash is older and is in the age range where people start to die.
* Ritter's death was far more shocking and unexpected and, as such, is far more newsworthy than hearing about some old guy die.
* The tragedy here is that we had two celebrity deaths in such a short period of time so why don't you sue God?
* Two celebrities died. How come the rest of us don't get any media coverage when we snuff it? What they do in life is their jobs. That makes them no different than the rest of us.
* Not everybody is going to like Ritter or the shows he did and not everybody is going to like Cash and his music genre.

That having been said, I am aware that Cash was a respected artist and helped define his genre, or worked within the genre so much that he stood out.

John Ritter did the same thing, though he took a different route (shock tactics, "Three's Company" was very racy for its time - looking in retrospect, of course it seems tame. Yet it still has more class than most of today's comedies.)

Have you ever tried acting? It ain't easy.

[NicoleM]

21. Johnny Cash was a freakin' genius.

I hate country music, but I love Johnny Cash. Lots of people have said that today. He was way more than a country musician. Somebody help me out here, I can't explain the greatness of Johnny Cash right now.

[SweetZombieJesus]

22. Oh please, spare me your harsh words!

:eyes:

Saying that John Ritter "did the same thing" as Johnny Cash is patently ridiculous. John Ritter was an actor, and a mediocre one at that. If Three's Company's "raciness" is a watershed moment in the medium's history, then I feel sorry for future TV watchers. Three's Company was banal, lowest common denominator crap, even in its own time. It was the "Friends" of the Me Generation.

And if you feel like making fun of Johnny Cash, go for it. Nothing you can say about Johnny Cash would hold water with me or anyone who truly appreciated him anyway, since he was a genuinely groundbreaking talent, and any mud you can sling at him would be rather easy to wash off.

Like it or not, after the mourning is over and done, John Ritter will be a footnote in pop culture history, and Johnny Cash's legacy will live on, nay, thrive, while John Ritter's contribution to society will only continue to devolve into shittier and shittier sitcoms.

CNN's coverage would be just as retarded if Bob Saget and Bob Dylan died on the same day, and they overloaded us with America's Funniest Videos and Full House clips while barely mentioning Dylan.

Johnny will get his due, but the Ritter overload is just too much.

[NicoleM]

26. And now I must stand up for Mr. Ritter

First of all, John Ritter agreed with your assessment of Three's Company for a long time. Second, he was a much better and more versatile actor than you're giving him credit for. He did a lot of dramatic roles--he played a minister on The Waltons and he was great in Slingblade.

I'm not going to argue about his contribution to society vs. JRCash, but John Ritter ain't no Bob Saget.

[SweetZombieJesus]

28. I know, I was exaggerating to make a point

I kind of liked 8 Simple Rules, and that movie Stay Tuned, so it's not like I hated the guy or anything, but they're calling him a "comic legend" and focusing on Three's Company so much you'd think it was All In The Family, they way the speak so lovingly of it.

The man was closer to Ted Danson than Jack Benny. I think "comic legend" is a wee bit overblown.

He's an ok guy, but he's barely a footnote in our cultural history compared to Johnny Cash.

[NicoleM]

30. Okay.

eom

[tjdee]

29. He was quite good on Three's Company.

He, apart from what anyone thinks of the rest of the show, was not bad. He was a great physical actor with good comedic timing and carried the show on his back (I watch it every night, LOL). In fact, Lucille Ball actually did one of the "look backs" of the show and talked him up a bit. He wasn't responsible for the stupid scripts or the goofy blondes, etc. I think his work on the show was nothing to be embarrassed of, and I think eventually he came to be okay with it.

Is the show "All in the Family" caliber? Of course not.

As for the entire topic of the thread, I can't really add anything.

[regnaD kciN]

43. How DARE you...

Three's Company was banal, lowest common denominator crap, even in its own time. It was the "Friends" of the Me Generation.

...insult Friends in that manner?

;-)

(Actually, Three's Company was a mediocre copy of a much better BritCom, Man About The House.)

[Breezy du Nord]

19. You know, I think if the guy's DEAD you can lay off

Jeez.

[SweetZombieJesus]

24. Lord, I'm not saying he was a bad guy

Besides, WORDS CAN'T HURT HIM. HE'S DEAD.

That being said, the amount of coverage he's getting in comparison to Cash is still lopsided.

[CO Liberal]

20. I've Noticed Equal Coverage So Far.....

I'm basing this on the local news shows in Colorado Springs - KOAA (NBC) and KKTV (CBS) - and ABC and CBS Radio News.

[nini]

23. because he's younger and his death was more of a surprise?

either way.. both will be missed.

[Fridays Child]

25. Why does either story get airtime when we have a murderous...

...bastard in the White House who is trying to ride shotgun on the world?

Ritter and Cash were both talented and beloved by many. I'm sorry about their deaths. But compared to the depradations of the bushistas, everything else is bread and circuses.

[SweetZombieJesus]

32. You've got a point, but I got pissed this morning when discussing Cash,

they showed a picture of him on stage, joined by none other than Chimpy McCokespoon himself. Nice little subliminal message there, CNN! Thanks for trying to make people think the second greatest country singer of all time was a fan of Dubya!

[PurityOfEssence]

27. Gosh, why isn't Country Radio giving much coverage to John Ritter?

Sure, Cash left a more valuable legacy, but for sheer popularity, Ritter was way up there once upon a time. As others have said, his was also unexpected and "natural", so it has the "it could happen to you factor". TV is the medium where Ritter worked and gained his fame, after all, so a bit of it's a "one of our own" kind of thing.

Incidentally, I don't agree with the premise; it seems that TV coverage is giving more time and emphasis to Cash.

It's not a marginalization of C&W music, but it certainly does show our "cult of the personality" problem to a great degree. Remember, though, that Cash didn't write many of his songs, so he was an "interpreter" too, which is a similar function to "actor". Admittedly, he chose the songs, as opposed to a largely-series actor who just took the scripts as they came. Cash's legacy is far greater than Ritter's, so I'm not arguing that.

If you're going to get annoyed at the "greater artist is unfairly ignored" issue, then think of this: are they crediting any of the writers of Cash's hits when praising his songs? CNN has "A Boy Named Sue" as the viewers' second-favorite of his songs, but I don't hear Shel Silverstein's name being mentioned.

The day that River Phoenix died, he dominated the media, even though it was the same day that some nobody named Federico Eellini died.

More prescient to you is that the day Magic Johnson announced he had HIV was the same day they announced that Frank Zappa had prostate cancer. Guess what took all the thunder...?

[SweetZombieJesus]

31. Well, in those other examples, I would have agreed with you

In the words of Bob Dylan, "To live outside the law you must be honest", and by that measure, Johnny Cash was a true outlaw. He rebelled against the pre-fab Nashville music industry and made his own music for thirty odd years. He helped Dylan branch out from his folk scene roots. He led the way for people like Waylon, Willie, Kris Kristofferson, and Merle Haggard. Hell, Merle Haggard might still be in jail if not for Johnny Cash playing at San Quentin while Merle was there.

Johnny Cash, though he might not have written all of his own songs, was every bit the equal of Fellini or Frank Zappa in my mind. These are all people who've enriched my life and countless others with vibrant, soulful art.

John Ritter did pratfalls and pretended to be gay to fool Mr. Roper. Let's get some perspective here.

[NicoleM]

33. he did that on ONE SHOW

He did a lot of other stuff, too. Perspective. :)

[SweetZombieJesus]

34. Yeah yeah, I know

Again, I just wanted to go out on a good line ;-)

John Ritter was a decent actor, but the way CNN is going on about him, you'd think he was Sir Laurence Olivier.

Oh well, at least he's not one of those new celebrities who become famous just by virtue of appearing on a reality show.

[NicoleM]

35. I hear you but

CNN is run by idiots. You can't gauge anything about anything by what they say.

[NicoleM]

36. You'll be happy to know

ABC is leading with Johnny Cash.

Has anybody done a "favorite Cash song" poll yet?

[yella_dawg]

37. NPR got it right...

In a discussion of Ritter, they said he actually got to meet Johnny Cash once.

As for the Country Music bit, remember, Cash was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame too.

[SweetZombieJesus]

38. Yeah, they said only three people had been inducted into both the Country

hall and the Rock N Roll hall. I know Hank Williams Sr. was one of them, but who was the other? Jerry Lee Lewis? Elvis?

[Kahuna]

39. I like John Ritter, but I think you have a point...

Ritter was a mediocre sitcom actor. Albeit very likeable. Cash was a great and unique artist. I'll just leave it at that.

[SOteric]

40. I can't believe this is some sort of contest in your mind.

John Ritter was more than the star of a defunct 70's sitcom, he was an Emmy-winning actor with an extensive filmography.

Additionally, he was for many of the older generation, a sweet faced little boy, the child of Tex Ritter and Dorothy Faye, whom they'd been seeing on television since he was a wee tyke.

Both Johnny Cash and John Ritter were men with a significant impact on American Culture.

Truthfully Johnny's death was little surprise. His health had declined quite significantly owing to diabetes. He was an elderly man who'd lived a long, rich and very full life. And he suffered greatly the recent death of his wife. In the back of our minds we all know there is a timeclock attached to this mortal coil.

John Ritter was a relatively young man. He had lived a rich life, but most of us didn't have it in the back of our minds that his clock was about to stop. He hadn't battled any illnesses. His life seemed filled up with his lovely wife and his children. He had a successful show on television. It is a shock.

The human psychology requires us to ruminate our shocks more than expected information. However gruesome this may be.

I do not believe that the focus of attention is in anyway a slight on the career of either man. I can't imagine why you'd want to perceive it that way.

[SweetZombieJesus]

41. It's not a contest in my mind

When I was watching CNN, at LEAST twice as much time was spent talking about John Ritter as they spent on Johnny Cash. It's not something I imagined, it was just how it was presented this morning when I was watching it.

Maybe that's chalked up to the suddenness of John Ritter's death, but from my perspective, he was getting more coverage because he was on a hit show (8 Simple Rules), and Johnny Cash got the short end of the stick, because in the mainstream media, outside of music channels, he's only thought of as some old country star.

[SOteric]

42. If you're thinking about it that way,

then yes, it is a contest in your mind. You imply that the press coverage is some sort prize or report card that ought to go to the most deserving, and you don't think the most deserving won.

[REP]

44. People Dying From Diabetes Isn't a Big Surprise

Cash was known to have been in fragile health for a while, and even though he wasn't that old, even for a diabetic, Cash was at an age where it is not unusual for people to die. In the run-up to the MTV Music Awards, it was mentioned over and over that Cash was too ill to attend, and he was wheelchair bound at his wife's funeral. Still, he's been a presence for all my life - already famous before I was born - and in a way, it doesn't really seem possible that someone's who's "always' been around can actually die.

John Ritter was about the same age I'm guessing a lot of TV execs are. Additionally, the heart defect that killed him is scary - hard to detect, nearly impossible to correct. A seemingly healthy man dropping dead is shocking, especially when he is well-known.

What struck me was that both these men were successful had had access to healthcare, and despite that, Cash died from one of diabetes's harshest complications, and Ritter died from a rare heart defect. It's sad, and it's a little frightening.

I was more a fan of Cash's than of Ritter's but I am sorry that they have died.

[Piperay]

45. Ritter was probably closer in age to

most of the talking heads on TV, someone dying of natural causes that is near your age is frightening to most people. :scared: I know it was a real shock to me because Ritter was not THAT much older than myself. :-(

Also you could tell when you saw Cash that his heart has been broken ever since losing his wife, so his death doesn't "seem" as tragic.

[Dancing_Dave]

46. Good Question without an answer...

Nor are we ever likely to get a good answer, beyond the fact that 99% of TV and most of all the so-called "news" is just TOTALLY BOGUS!