Is Elvis Dead? And Why Aren’t the Media Sure?

Elvis is dead . . . and so is the media’s credibility.

Dennis McDougal does a fine job of publicizing “The Elvis Conspiracy” (“On the King’s Trail, Part II,” Calendar, Jan. 22), but by acting as a modern-day circus barker for the show’s host, Bill Bixby--who began his career, quite appropriately, as the star of “My Favorite Martian”--McDougal does his readership a disservice by not providing more depth and focus.

Rather, he quotes one of the producers that they “have turned up an extraordinary number of new leads and new questions . . . more proof that maybe, just maybe, the king of rock ‘n’ roll is still alive today.”

Leads and questions don’t constitute proof. What the show delivered instead was in large measure a recant of “The Elvis Files” which aired last year. Bixby essentially punched holes through that show, revealing the shabby research done in the first place.

Then after two hours of is-the-Earth-really-flat logic, “The Elvis Conspiracy” (which aired Jan. 22 on KTLA Channel 5) astonishingly concluded that Elvis is dead! Thank you very much. There’s nothing like a 15-year eulogy.

Not only is Elvis dead, but so is the credibility of those who had a hand in thrusting another “Al Capone’s Private Vault”-type show on the mass audience.

Similar reality-based programs such as “A Current Affair,” “Hard Copy,” “Unsolved Mysteries” and “Inside Edition” cannot be totally dismissed. Although sensationalism diminishes a story’s credibility, more often than not there is enough authenticity to these pseudo-news magazines to warrant varying degrees of attention.

What news and entertainment reporters must do, then, is help readers become totally aware, sophisticated consumers of the media . . . not just television but all media.

We exist in a media-rich environment. We’re subjected to hundreds of messages every day, and one estimate suggests each of us will be exposed to more than 7 million advertisements in our lifetime.

With the advent and ubiquitous presence of infomercials and infotainment and the fact that tabloids and news magazines often report the same topics--albeit with varying patinas of legitimacy--the public is left to sort through a plethora of perceived truths and realities in search of what is real.

What is real is the proposed offspring to “The Elvis Conspiracy” which could include a third installment, (“Nightmare on Elvis Street”?? . . . Heee’s baaack!!). And perhaps Bixby may even host a syndicated series, “Hollywood’s Unsolved Mysteries.” One of these mysteries is certainly the disappearance of good taste in the media. And another could focus on: Did Elvis Kill J.F.K.? Let’s see Bixby and company solve that one.

The unfortunate circumstance is that the line between entertainment and news is so blurred that apparently not even those who write about the media can always tell them apart.

Newspapers have an obligation to not simply report what is happening, but why and how. As a consumer and instructor of mass communications, I’m not as concerned about who’s buried in Elvis’ tomb (Grant?) as I am about why people are still asking.