Los Angeles (AFP)

Already renowned for its gossip and indiscretions of all kinds on celebrities, the American celebrity site TMZ has found another specialty: to be in the lead to announce the death of the greats of this world, no matter what.

TMZ was indeed the first to report the helicopter crash in which basketball legend Kobe Bryant and eight others died on Sunday near Los Angeles.

Outraged, police officials reacted strongly, criticizing the website for having disclosed the athlete's identity before his family and those of the other victims had been officially notified.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva deemed the practice "extremely disrespectful" and "totally inappropriate".

His deputy, Tim Murakami, said he was "saddened", stressing that he was gathering information "when the media reported that Kobe had disappeared". "I understand that we want to have a scoop, but please give us time to personally notify loved ones," he wrote on Twitter.

"It is really hard to learn of a loss from the media. It breaks my heart," said the police officer.

Requested by AFP on its strategy and procedures in this area, TMZ, owned by the WarnerMedia group, did not respond on Monday afternoon.

Created in 2005, the Los Angeles-based site has already had more than one sparkle to its credit in this funeral field: it was TMZ who announced the death of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston or even Prince, before the great traditional media.

Among his memorable scoops are also the arrest for drunk driving of actor Mel Gibson, during which he had made remarks deemed anti-Semitic, and the violence of Chris Brown on his girlfriend at the time, singer Rihanna.

Experts say it's the tight network of informants, especially Los Angeles, the city of stars, that keeps TMZ so responsive.

Some claim that limousine drivers, airport officials and other court officials are among the sources, although this has never been officially confirmed. However, police and judicial officers have already lost their jobs after being accused of providing confidential information to TMZ.

"Indeed, when it comes to people who make headlines, like the story of Kobe, TMZ is in the lead," said Simon Thompson, journalist and producer specializing in the entertainment industry in Hollywood. "They have people everywhere."

- Paid "pipes" -

The media is known for remunerating "tips", rewards that can reach several thousand dollars, at the expense of basic ethical rules of journalism, wrote the New Yorker magazine in a portrait of TMZ evoking a "ruthless approach" to the press. to scandals.

TMZ founder Harvey Levin, a lawyer by training and a former journalist, told Fox News in 2014 that he saw "nothing wrong" with buying surveillance videos from sources.

Contacted by AFP, Mr. Levin did not react.

Traditional media generally balk at these practices, but TMZ is not a unique case and the primacy of the information it obtains has sometimes earned it recognition for its investigative work.

The name of the medium comes from "Thirty Mile Zone", an old expression used in Hollywood to indicate the limits of the district of the entertainment industry.

Building on its success, the site now produces television shows and manages excursions around the villas of stars and other celebrities.

TMZ's methods may well be highly criticized, but they are effective. "Whether you like it or not, they have a great network in place when they need to get specific information quickly," says Simon Thompson.

And the journalist adds: "Their history is rather solid".

© 2020 AFP