August 18, 1995
From Correspondent Steve Young
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's album "HIStory" has been skewered by charges of anti-Semitism and reports of faltering sales.
So, to prime the pump, Jackson and his wife Lisa Marie
Presley posed nude for a "HIStory" video. But after only two
months, "HIStory" has dive-bombed on the charts from first to
16th place.
Thursday night, cyberspace was called to the rescue.
For the first time, members of CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy could ask questions of the same host simultaneously. The text was also on the internet and MTV, and no reporters were allowed. [Transcript of the simulchat]
The session wasn't exactly a smooth-running machine. It took
a battery of typists to pull it off, and on MTV there were
seven commercials between the first question and answer.
Analysts scoff at the Sony publicists who said Jackson had been dying for years to spend a night in cyberspace.
"It's a little unusual for Michael Jackson," said media analyst Alan Kassan, "but I think he's got to try and create some momentum for the album."
America Online said Jackson attracted 16,000 subscribers, about eight times more than actress Sandra Bullock, the previous record holder.
"We never say never, but as of right now, we haven't made any specific plans for offering this type of event, said Margaret Ryan of America Online. "But who knows, we might do it again in the future.,"
Jackson may have rallied a total of 30,000 on-line subscribers plus the MTV audience.
"Never believe that tabloid garbage," Jackson told a fan who
asked about reports that he and wife Lisa Marie Presley were
near divorce. "Don't waste your time or money. No, it's not
true."
Jackson also said that if he were a superhero, he would probably be Batman, and that the person he would most like to be (living or dead) was Michelangelo.
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