Building credibility?
This has been a summer of celebrity deaths (find a few of them here) – and has it become an opportunity for celebrity gossip Web site TMZ to build its credibility?
In late June, TMZ was the first to report Michael Jackson died, and last night I noticed it again with DJ AM’s passing. What’s important about that? The site was right both times.
It’s interesting because so many main-stream media won’t report it until the news is confirmed (via the AP, or another major news source), and that doesn’t include TMZ. I don’t blame these media, considering I work for one of them, as credibility is of utmost importance and TMZ doesn’t carry the best reputation.
But what happens when the gossip site is the first to report major stories correctly – thereby improving its credibility? And how is this happening?
The day after Michael Jackson died, the Los Angeles times wrote about this same issue – how TMZ reported the scoop far earlier than any other media. (What’s interesting is that the managing editor of TMZ said “We were getting calls from everyone under the sun, established news operations, asking, ‘Are you sure?’ That’s such an odd question. We would not have published it if it were not true.”) And its happened again, granted on a smaller scale.
So how is this possible? What is main-stream media missing? Do we not have enough contacts who know people who know people? Or is there something more to it?
What do you think? How do you feel about this? What are your thoughts on TMZ – and do you think the site is building its credibility, or is it just lucky?
Comments August 29th, 2009
