Media News - Monday, June 29, 2009

TMZ was far ahead in reporting death

TMZ, the carnivorous celebrity news Web site, is accustomed to beating other media outlets on the stories that shape the entertainment world. On Thursday, it not only scooped every other outlet by announcing Michael Jackson’s death, it apparently beat the coroner’s office, too — by six minutes. The blog — owned by the media conglomerate, Time Warner, but operated as a Web-traffic-fueled fief in Hollywood — seemed to have sources everywhere: at Mr. Jackson’s mansion; in the ambulance; and in the corridors of the U.C.L.A. Medical Center. TMZ’s short post about the death was published at 5:20 p.m. Eastern time. For more than an hour, TMZ was essentially the only outlet claiming that Mr. Jackson was dead. Television and newspaper journalists read the TMZ report but largely held off on repeating it, for fear of making a mistake. Still, the bulletin traversed the Web with remarkable speed, creating a stark divide: on the Internet Mr. Jackson was dead, and on TV he was still alive. The Jackson news was easily the biggest scoop in TMZ’s nearly four-year history. Kurt Andersen, a journalist and cultural critic, said the story was highly indicative of the evolving editorial practices that media outlets are grappling with. (New York Times)

• Home |
• Seminars  |
• Events |
• Media Landscape |
• Newsroom|
• Media News|
• Resources

Terms of service and Privacy policy.

Copyright © 1992- 2011 European Journalism Centre. All rights reserved.

Valid XHTML and CSS.

European Journalism Centre

Sonneville-lunet 10
6221KT Maastricht
The Netherlands

Tel. : +31 43 325 40 30
Fax : +32 2 400 42 20

E-mail: info[at]ejc.net