Michael Jackson dead at 50

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

The problem is that TMZ have been pretty dickish about the way in which they got their story.

The only way for them to know of this before anyone else would be if one of the paramedics who tried to revive MJ at his house phoned up TMZ and told them that he was being unresponsive, and if that is the case... telling the media before MJ's family is completely retarded.

The only way they could get reports from within the hospital that MJ was dead would be if the doctors offered a bribe for his medical condition report, there is no way that a single MJ family member would tell TMZ themselves that Jackson had died.

There's always the possibility that they made shit up the second that they heard of the incident, and just managed to be coincidently spot on, but this story reeks of insider knowledge that has been obtained through dodgy methods.

My guess is that they were either monitoring the police scanner (which is something all media outlets do) and one of his dozens of hangers on/staffers were doing the leaking. It has been reported a staffer called 911.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

I somehow doubt TMZ would have a police scanner.

[naiwf]

I somehow doubt TMZ would have a police scanner.

I don't see why they wouldn't. It's not like they're all that expensive, and TMZ makes its living on reporting sleazy shit at all hours of the day. It's easier to think that they heard something on a scanner than someone in Jacko's camp happened to have TMZ's number handy when he was dying/dead in the ambulance.

[Maxx]

It's entirely possible the news about his death came out for all news outlets at the same time, but TMZ doesn't have to worry about journalistic integrity, so they could report it immediately without having to do any fact checking. If the information turned out to be false, people would have just said lol, TMZ. If something like NBC News reported it wrong, it'd be a massive black eye for them.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Maxx

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

I somehow doubt TMZ would have a police scanner.

We have one in my college newspaper newsroom. Its not like they're hard or expensive to get.

Edited June 26, 2009 by TheSqauredCircleMessiah

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

It's entirely possible the news about his death came out for all news outlets at the same time, but TMZ doesn't have to worry about journalistic integrity, so they could report it immediately without having to do any fact checking. If the information turned out to be false, people would have just said lol, TMZ. If something like NBC News reported it wrong, it'd be a massive black eye for them.

I am not defending them, but like Dante Hicks, I believe in giving credit where its due. I mean, TMZ didn't bite on that bogus Jeff Goldblum rumor at all.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Right, but normally isn't it just "disturbance at so-and-so a location", "call from address X", that sort of thing? When your entire site is run on news that specifically affects celebrities, how are generic reports the least bit helpful?

[Robsturgh]

Well, this is strange for me, because at work today, I heard nothing but M.J jokes, from like....everyone, old people, young people, business men and builders. This seems to be the only place where others seem to be actually mourning. I'm not too bothered myself, but its quite surreal to see how nonchalantly M.J's death has been recieved in the world.

[GoGo Yubari]

Right, but normally isn't it just "disturbance at so-and-so a location", "call from address X", that sort of thing? When your entire site is run on news that specifically affects celebrities, how are generic reports the least bit helpful?

If you know who lives in which neighborhoods and have some form of easy access to the addresses of famous people, that would actually be pretty helpful.

[Kaney]

Personally, if I had to call in that I'm treating someone as huge as Michael Jackson, I wouldn't really be worrying about formalities on the radio. I'd assume the paramedic/whoever simply said "oh shit Michael Jackson is fucking dead!" Just because they are in a position of responsiblity doesn't make them robots

[METALMAN]

Stuff about drugs

[Powerhart]

I somehow doubt TMZ would have a police scanner.

I have one.. so I doubt a bunch of Reporters who have good money can't have one.. Plus there's been said that the cause of death could've been an Overdose of some drug he was addicted to, they say he took a big dose of morphine and some other drug, demenor or something like that.

[zero]

Yeah, there's no way TMZ doesn't have a police scanner. But there's also no way TMZ doesn't have someone sitting outside Michael Jackson's house 24 hours a day when he's there. This is what these people do.

[Troy Maskell]

It's pretty saddening when a person of such immense talent passes away.

I wasn't the worlds biggest Jackson fan by any stretch.......I can probably count the songs I like of his on just both my hands. But it's still a pretty hard hitting death when you realise he is actually gone.

Just on some of the jokesters, I must give props to the mods, this is actually the tamest board I've seen in terms of Lame Jackson Jokes.

[Ghg398]

Might not be true because of its source but

Less than four months before Jackson's death, one of his biographers, Ian Halperin, revealed that Jackson had a secret library of over 100 unreleased songs which he planned to release after his death to support his children

-wikipedia.

[Cactus Drags]

Well, this is strange for me, because at work today, I heard nothing but M.J jokes, from like....everyone, old people, young people, business men and builders. This seems to be the only place where others seem to be actually mourning. I'm not too bothered myself, but its quite surreal to see how nonchalantly M.J's death has been recieved in the world.

I would imagine it's due to the fact that the guy's been a punchline for a good twenty years now, and his recent self became so far detached from the King of Pop persona that it's just not the same, people respond like it's the Wacko Jacko that's gone and not the guy who revolutionised pop music.

[Powerhart]

Yeah, well.. there's been rumors that he may not be dead but just ranaway from life like many celebrities have done, to some unknown island.. people say Elvis is there aswell as others.. I don't know if anyone has heard of such Island or it was a dream I had..

[Nerf]

I heard he's engaged to Princess Dianna, too.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Yeah, well.. there's been rumors that he may not be dead but just ranaway from life like many celebrities have done, to some unknown island.. people say Elvis is there aswell as others.. I don't know if anyone has heard of such Island or it was a dream I had..

It's actually a peninsula.

[Hellfire]

I know people that have told me that he ran away to supermodel island, where he's joined a supergroup featuring Tupac, Elvis and Kurt Cobain. Album's going to be out next year sometime.