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| URL | TMZ |
| Type of site | News Celebrity |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Owner | Time Warner |
| Launched | December 2005 |
| Alexa rank | 367 |
TMZ.com is a celebrity news website which debuted in December 2005, and is a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros. (all of which are owned by Time Warner).[1] The letters TMZ stand for thirty-mile zone, referring to the "studio zone" within a thirty-mile (48.3 km) radius of the intersection of West Beverly Boulevard and North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. Shooting within this zone is considered local. Locations outside this zone are subject to mileage and travel time charges by the talent and crew.
TMZ's managing editor is Harvey Levin, a lawyer-turned-journalist who got his start as a legal expert on LA's KCBS-TV.[2] The site claims that it does not pay for stories or interviews. Levin also admitted that TMZ does "sometimes pay sources for leads on stories". [3] [4][5] Levin has stated that "[e]verything is researched and vetted for accuracy."[6]
A companion TV series, TMZ on TV, debuted on September 10, 2007.
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Notable coverage
In early 2009, TMZ covered the story of how Chicago's Northern Trust Bank received $1.6 billion in federal bailout money and subsequently spent millions of dollars on a series of lavish parties and concerts in Los Angeles at venues like the House of Blues that featured performances by Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, and Sheryl Crow and gift bags from Tiffany's. Soon after the story was published, United States Congressman Barney Frank demanded that Northern Trust repay the money it received in the bailout. Northern Trust CEO Frederick Waddell sent a letter to members of the House Financial Services Committee, stating that the bank will repay the money "as quickly as prudently possible."[7]
Also in early 2009, TMZ released what has been identified as a police evidence photo of pop-singer Rihanna after she was assaulted by now ex-partner Chris Brown. Controversy ensued, as police were keen to isolate any information leaks.
TMZ was the first to break the report of the death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009.[8][9] The report was treated with caution by mainstream media sources at the time, despite being cited on rolling news channels. TMZ's scoop beat the major broadcast and cable news outlets by almost 3 hours, until CNN finally confimed the story as well. Part of this delay was later explained as the other outlets' "stricter confirmation standards" [10], but TMZ also claimed it verified multiple sources in confirming the story.
Contempt of court motion
On June 20, 2007, a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee filed an emergency motion[11] requesting that the web site be held in contempt for its publication of the entire manuscript of If I Did It, O.J. Simpson's purportedly fictionalized account of the murder of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. The filing claims that TMZ's posting of the PDF of the entire book has "diminished or destroyed" the value, which the Goldman family eventually published as Simpson's confession to the murders.[12]
Criticism
TMZ.com has been criticized for its usage of photographs and videos from paparazzi.[citation needed] Some have questioned the effect that aggressive and obtrusive photographers have on the subjects they cover. Many videos on the site simply depict stars being chased by paparazzi, a practice that has been called dangerous and "creepy".[13] Paparazzi who sell to sites like TMZ.com can make thousands of dollars a week. Over the years, some have called for a boycott of TMZ.com and the accompanying show.[14]
According to Ken Sunshine, publicist for Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio, "I hate that they have anything to do with trying to put celebrities into the worst light possible and that they play the 'gotcha' game".[6]
Others have harshly criticized TMZ.com's personality cult of figures such as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton – celebrities who are known more as targets for paparazzi than for the work they do.[13]
References
- ^ Newsweek, What’s a TMZ?
- ^ "Harvey Levin Top 49 2008". http://www.askmen.com/specials/2008_top_49/harvey-levin-32.html. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz
- ^ "A breakthrough victory for new media?". http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2009/0627/1224249639791.html. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Michael Jackson death news: Online activity heats up Twitter and Google, slows down some sites". http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-jackson-mediajun26,0,5302945.story. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ a b Freydkin, Donna (August 1, 2006). "Handed a 'smoking gun', TMZ's Levin ran with it". USA Today. p. 3D. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-07-31-gibson-tmz_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "Northern Trust to return government bailout money: Chicago-based bank says it will monitor entertainment spending after criticism of golf event activities". http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2200618/. Retrieved March 11 2009.
- ^ "Michael Jackson Dies". http://www.tmz.com/2009/06/25/michael-jackson-dies-death-dead-cardiac-arrest/. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Michael Jackson may be turning point for TMZ". http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-tmz28-2009jun28,0,3577013.story. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ CNN, Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz
- ^ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0620071oj3.html - Contempt of Court filing against TMZ regarding If I Did It
- ^ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0620071oj1.html - A Contemptuous Act?
- ^ a b http://cornellsun.com/node/24490 "I want my TMZ"
- ^ Nguyen, Katherine (Jan. 21, 2007). "On Paparazzi Patrol With TMZ.com". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/homepage/article_1549705.php. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
External links
- TMZ.com (Official site)
- TMZ TV (Official Myspace page)
- Mike Shields, "AOL-Time Warner Launches TMZ.com" Mediaweek (December 5, 2005)
- Five Reasons to Watch TMZ on TV at film.com
- Michael Cieply, "A Star Watcher Has Star Power", New York Times, October 25, 2008
- Michael Jackson: how celebrity gossip site TMZ got scoop of the decade
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