On June 25, the world was rocked by the news that Michael Jackson had died suddenly - and mysteriously, it soon emerged - at the young age of 50.

The story took the media landscape by storm - and not just the entertainment pages; it was front-page news everywhere you turned, sparking a frenzy of TV and online commentary and speculation.

His death was the biggest entertainment story of 2009, as Canwest editors across the country agreed nearly unanimously in an end-of-year survey.

"Whether he was considered a pervert or the King of Pop, the story drew a tremendous readership. It was our era's 'Where were you when John Lennon was shot?' story," said Paul Harvey, the Calgary Herald's assistant managing editor.

The tone of the coverage that evolved in the hours, days and weeks after Jackson's death contrasted starkly with what had, until that day, been sensational and scandalous. With his career floundering over the last decade, The King of Pop was known more for his offstage and out-of-studio antics than for what he was creating as an artist: Jackson had faced allegations of child molestation; his face was so distorted by cosmetic surgeries, he often looked more monster than man; he was massively in debt; and there were rumours that an addiction to painkillers was behind "Wacko Jacko's" more erratic behaviour (e.g. dangling one of his children out of a fourth-storey window).

Never mind. As memorials poured in, from near-hysterical fan tributes to loving eulogies by fellow performers - even U.S. President Barack Obama pronounced, "like Elvis, like Sinatra, like the Beatles, he became a core part of our culture" - we collectively revised our image of the world's most infamous man-child, from mocking and scornful to nostalgic and reverent.

"The news of his death was a shocker, but in the days and weeks that followed, we got to more properly reflect on his impact on the music scene without the distractions of his personal problems," said Michael Shenker, associate managing editor of the Montreal Gazette.

What also served to burnish Jackson's image was the release of This Is It, a concert film documenting Jackson's rehearsals for a concert series of the same name, scheduled to start July 13, 2009 in London, but cancelled after he died. In the film, Jackson is seen in the days before his death, his voice and dance moves so strong and sure, they belied reports he wasn't up for another tour.

Nearly two months after his passing, Jackson's death was ruled a homicide from drug overdose, with the news that his personal physician could be charged with manslaughter - a premature and ignoble death, to be sure.

But what can't be disputed is that Jackson's musical and cultural legacy will endure for generations to come.

"In an era of a million-and-one celebrities, Michael Jackson was the king," said Phillip Jang, Victoria Times Colonist news editor.