Hey guess what LA Times: they didn’t.
They had the information, knew it was correct and reported the news of Michael Jackson’s death first.
I suppose there are people who don’t “expect” TMZ to have accurate information. Those people either forget or don’t know that Harvey Levin–the man behind TMZ–is both a lawyer and entertainment journalist.
That story would not have run if it were not accurate.
Granted, the LA Times and CNN perhaps have a bit more credibility than a celebrity gossip site like TMZ; unless of course you know Levin’s credentials. It has been my experience though that Harvey Levin is a good journalist and expects the same from his team.
It would seem that TMZ was the dark horse in a race for quick and accurate information. He came out on top and the only defense the other mainstream media (as if anyone who’s into US pop culture and celebrity gossip doesn’t consider TMZ kinda mainstream and the whole idea of people in the media being surprised that TMZ broke the story accurately is such bullshit) has is, “but what if they had gotten it wrong?”
TMZ got it first, got it right, and you–dear “mainstream media”–had your ass handed to you. `
Related articles: My tribute to Michael Jackson.
You know what, though? I really don’t mind that TMZ scooped CNN and the rest of the MSM with this story, and I don’t think they should mind either. It’s true that, as my roommate said, Michael Jackson was “American royalty” but at the same time if any so-called “hard news” outlets had been devoting serious energy following Michael Jackson around I would have been severely disappointed.
TMZ is solely concentrated on celebrity news, so it makes sense to me that they would be the first place to break this kind of event. That they also broke the story of the falsified autopsy report is fine too, because if any hard news organization was still devoting manpower to what is basically a celebrity death story four days later they should be ashamed of themselves.