TMZ.com is a celebrity news web site that debuted on November 8, 2005. It was a collaboration between America Online (AOL) and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. However, it is still affiliated with AOL News and has the AOL News logo affixed in the upper right corner. The letters TMZ stand for thirty-mile zone, referring to the "studio zone" within a radius of the intersection of West Beverly Boulevard and North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. The site claims that it does not pay for stories or interviews; however, Levin has admitted that TMZ does "sometimes pay sources for leads on stories". Levin has stated that "[e]verything is researched and vetted for accuracy."
Background
Since 2005, TMZ.com has signed
Revlon,
Chrysler,
Hilton Hotels (ironically related to
Paris Hilton, who is often mocked by the Web site) and
New Line Cinema as charter advertisers to their Web site. Alexa.com ranked TMZ.com as the five-hundred-fifth most trafficked website worldwide and as the one hundred-fifty-fifth most trafficked website in the United States.
Notable coverage
On July 28, 2006, TMZ.com was the first to report that Along with releasing the story, TMZ also reported "exclusive details" about the case shortly after. TMZ stated that the documents they posted were part of the original eight-page report that was written by the arresting officer, before the officer was allegedly instructed, by his superiors, to omit the inflammatory details about Gibson's alleged
anti-Semitic comments and behavior. On November 7, 2006, TMZ.com was the first to report that pop-singer
Britney Spears had filed a petition for divorce from then-husband
Kevin Federline.
after an altercation with her then-boyfriend Chris Brown in February 2009. TMZ.com stated that they'd obtained the photo legally, but wouldn't say how.]]
On February 22, 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.
On February 24, 2009, TMZ.com was the first to break the story that, Shortly after TMZ.com published the story, 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."
TMZ was the first to break the report of the death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009. 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," TMZ were also the first to receive the coroner's report of the singer on February 8, 2010, proving Propofol dosage and negligence killed the pop legend.
TMZ was the first to break the report of the death of Brittany Murphy on December 20, 2009.
Legal problems
Contempt of court motion
On June 20, 2007, a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee filed an emergency motion 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.
Photographer altercation
While actor
Woody Harrelson was at New York City's
La Guardia Airport, he had an altercation with a photographer for TMZ.com.
Blocked in the UK
On December 24, 2010 the gossip blog
Oh No They Didn't reported that TMZ.com began to block traffic from the
United Kingdom, displaying the message: "Due to laws within your region, you are unable to view this website." Asked for further comment, TMZ.com responded that the blocking was due to "legal restrictions." The UK website
Popbitch Board noted on December 31, 2010 that it is possible to get round the block by accessing the website through the Google Translate website. As of January 7, 2011, TMZ is accessible to the UK again as announced on Harvey Levin's Official
Twitter account.
Branches
TMZ Live
TMZ Live is a live-chat program from TMZ.com., that features Levin and Charles, and occasionally "Mike" (with occasional fill-in(s) for one or the both of them) From Monday to Thursday the live-chat lasts for on average thirty minutes, but on Fridays it usually lasts forty minutes to one hour. As part of asking question(s), viewers leave their question(s) in the comments section of a post reminding viewers that TMZ Live will begin soon. During TMZ Live the host(s) answer specific questions they read off via a printer that is printing out all of the questions posted. On certain occasions TMZ Live has featured interviews with celebrities, doctors and people with helpful information, i.e.
Dina Lohan (to talk about
Michael video taping and releasing phone conversations of her
and her daughter.), Dr. Arnold Klein (to talk about his client,
Michael Jackson), and
Ryan Seacrest (to talk about his stalker and the next season of
American Idol).
TMZ on TV
On September 10, 2007, TMZ.com launched an accompanying television series, entitled
TMZ on TV. The syndicated television series airs from Monday to Friday; excluding weekends, similar to TMZ Live. In the United States, the show airs in various timeslots on various stations, mainly either in early primetime or after late local news, with a 'best-of' program airing during weekends. The show covers stories similar to the website and TMZ Live, with the only difference being that TMZ on TV is only on TV and the other two branches are only on the web. TMZ.com offers viewers the option of being able to watch full episodes from the show on their website after the episode's air-date. Chris Persell, of TVWeek.com, stated that the show is a "complement [to] the Web site, with news updates added to later airings of the show." David Bianculli of
The New York Daily News strongly criticized the television show, its topics, and its reporters' tactics and lack of professionalism. Over the years, some have called for a boycott of TMZ.com and the accompanying show. Thane Burnett, of the
Toronto Sun, criticized TMZ.com's content of being more of a gossip site, rather than reporting on newsworthy items, stating: "Instead, on the TMZ site you'll find images of a favourite male celebrity peeing into bushes."
Movie City News, who strongly criticized TMZ for purchasing stolen items, remarked that, the then-new website, 'wasn't getting off to a good start' and wondered if TMZ's reach would approach that of
The New York Times; even though they have yet to achieve that newspaper's credibility.
Tony Manfred of The Cornell Daily Sun strongly criticized TMZ.com in an article entitled "I Want My TMZ", in which Manfred criticizes various aspects of TMZ.
Ken Sunshine, publicist for Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio, stated that his clients disliked the website because it has a tendency to always be negative towards celebrities when reporting on them. "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". The website has been harshly criticized for having a 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. Liz Kelly, of Washington Post, attacked both Levin and TMZ.com in an article, stating: "I know this is like spitting in the wind, but I have to say it: Harvey Levin, please stop it". Despite having a Photoshop expert proclaiming the picture as "authentic", the picture was later discovered to have not been of Kennedy at all. The photo was discovered to have been part of a Playboy photoshoot from November 1967, which was later confirmed by Playboy representatives.
Audience statistics
As of April 2011, TMZ.com was ranked as the second most popular Entertainment News property in the United States by
comScore Media Metrix.
References
External links
TMZ TV (Official Myspace page)
Category:Entertainment websites
Category:Infotainment
Category:Time Warner subsidiaries
