TMZ

TMZ was founded in 2005 by Harvey Levin and Jim Paratore.⁠[1]

TMZ later recalled that Paratore and Levin developed the concept of TMZ together and that Paratore sold it to company executives.⁠[2]

TMZ published a report saying that actor Mel Gibson had hurled religious epithets when he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, alleged that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had the initial report doctored to hide what happened, and said it had obtained four pages of the original report written by the arresting deputy.⁠[3]

In its annual report for fiscal 2007, Time Warner described TMZ.com as a joint venture between AOLAOLAOL is an American internet brand offering a news portal, email, and membership services. Its history dates to an online-services company founded in 1985.Open the full entry and Telepictures Productions of Warner Bros. Television Group, called it the number-one entertainment news website in the United States based on comScore data, and said Telepictures produced TMZ, a television series based on the website.⁠[4]

At 6:20 p.m. Pacific time that day, TMZ published news that Michael Jackson had died, saying he had suffered a cardiac arrest that afternoon and paramedics had been unable to revive him; he was 50.⁠[5]

On November 8, 2009, TMZ marked the fourth anniversary of the site’s launch and listed stories it had broken.⁠[6]

In its annual report for fiscal 2009, Time Warner listed TMZ.com as the online destination of Warner Bros. Television Group and described it as one of the leading entertainment news websites in the United States.⁠[7]

After posting a photo showing a man who appeared to be John F. Kennedy, TMZ corrected itself the same day, saying the man was not Kennedy and that the image came from a 1967 PlayboyPlayboy, Inc.Playboy, Inc. is a publicly traded American consumer brand and licensing company that owns brands including Playboy magazine and the Rabbit Head Design, and operates the lingerie brand Honey Birdette.Open the full entry photo shoot.⁠[8]

Paratore, president of Telepictures Productions from 1992 to 2006, died of a heart attack on May 29, 2012, during a cycling trip in France; he was 58.⁠[9]

He had spent 26 years as a Warner Bros. executive, founded ParaMedia in 2006, and served as an executive producer of TMZ.⁠[10]

In its obituary, TMZ called him a driving force behind TMZ.com and said he was critical in creating the TMZ television show.⁠[2]

Fox announced that TMZ Live would air on all 18 of its owned stations beginning that September; the show had first been tested on Los Angeles station KTTV.⁠[11]

TMZ Sports published audio of Los Angeles ClippersLA ClippersThe Los Angeles Clippers are an NBA basketball team based at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, United States.Open the full entry owner Donald Sterling, recorded during an April 9 argument with his girlfriend, in which he told her not to bring Black people, including Magic Johnson, to his games.⁠[12]

TMZ Sports released video of NFLNFLThe NFL (National Football League) is a U.S. professional American football league of 32 clubs. Founded in 1920 as the APFA and renamed in 1922, it is organized into the AFC and NFC, with the season culminating in the Super Bowl.Open the full entry player Ray Rice punching his fiancée in an elevator and knocking her unconscious, and questioned the NFL’s earlier two-game suspension of him as too lenient.⁠[13]

FOX Entertainment announced it had acquired TMZ and its media properties from WarnerMedia, including the TMZ and TMZ Live programs, TMZ Sports, TooFab.com, TMZ.com, and celebrity tour operations in Los Angeles.⁠[14]

Terms were not disclosed. After the acquisition, Levin continued to oversee TMZ’s operations, reporting to Rob Wade, FOX Entertainment’s president of alternative entertainment and specials; at the time TMZ and TMZ Live both aired on 18 Fox Television Stations affiliates, with the new seasons cleared in 99% and 72% of the United States, respectively.⁠[1]

In its annual report for fiscal 2022, Fox Corporation said its acquisitions of MarVista Entertainment and TMZ would reduce its reliance on third-party content providers.⁠[15]

TMZ retracted its report that singer Jerry Lee Lewis had died, saying the information had come from someone claiming to be Lewis’ representative, and said it regretted the error.⁠[16]

In its annual report for fiscal 2023, Fox Corporation said TMZ produced daily syndicated magazine programs and television specials for platforms including FOX Television Stations, Tubi, and FOX Nation, and operated TMZ.com, the TMZ app, and the TMZ FAST service.⁠[17]

TMZ said Beyoncé would appear as a special guest at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; her representatives said she was never scheduled to be there and that the report of a performance was untrue, and TMZ then acknowledged on X, “we got this one wrong.”⁠[18]

During a TMZ livestream from its headquarters covering the assassination of Charlie Kirk, cheering and clapping could be heard; Levin and producer Charles Latibeaudiere apologized, saying the sounds came from employees elsewhere in the building who were watching a car chase and were not a reaction to the shooting, but acknowledged that this was “tone deaf.”⁠[19]

TMZ announced that its Washington team, TMZDC, had started work, setting up a new bureau on Capitol Hill with an initial staff of three producers; earlier, during a government shutdown, TMZ had asked readers to submit photos of members of Congress on vacation.⁠[20]

TMZ.com is owned and operated by EHM Productions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fox Corporation; Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere are executive producers, and Michael Babcock is executive producer of TMZ Sports.⁠[21]

TMZ: Official website: https://www.tmz.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[21]

X: Official account: https://x.com/TMZ (opens in a new window)⁠[21]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Official account: https://www.youtube.com/user/TMZ (opens in a new window)⁠[21]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Official account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tmz/ (opens in a new window)⁠[21]

Fox Corporation: Official website: https://www.foxcorporation.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[14]