Thursday was a crazy day for entertainment drama. First Farrah Fawcett dies, then Michael Jackson.
I’ve spent years working in newsrooms and big breaking news can get a little nutty. But in the midst of last week’s chaos, came a shift in the dynamic. TMZ broke the story of Michael Jackson’s death and by doing so established itself as a leader in entertainment reporting. TMZ got the facts correct and they got them first. TMZ reported Jackson’s death Thursday afternoon a good hour before the established cable news networks that didn’t want to source TMZ by name.
However by Thursday evening, some of those cable news networks featured TMZ reporters on their air to get the latest on the story. In fact, one network asked the TMZ reporter about the “big new angle on the MJ story” they were working on and that “they’d be looking forward to seeing it.” That told the viewers two things: TMZ is working harder than anybody else to get the story and the established network couldn’t get the story on its own.
It also speaks to a bigger issue of niche and how media is evolving. Some may not agree with TMZ’s style, but there’s no question TMZ reports on entertainment and only entertainment. That’s their brand and by consistently being ahead on undoubtedly the biggest entertainment story of the year, TMZ went from being primarily a gossip network to THE place to go for entertainment news. And apparently it’s paying off. TMZ is boasting a 200 percent increase in traffic to its Web site since breaking the MJ story.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Almost every report I’ve seen has sourced something from TMZ or had one of their reporters on as experts…its a huge win for them. Not so much for Perez Hilton who’s catty-ness has once again backfired on him.