Television
June 12, 2006
Fast-Growing Entertainment News Site Adds Content, Features In Switch To Blog Format
(June 12, 2006 - Burbank, CA) - TMZ.com, which in six months has become one of the top entertainment news sites online, has converted to a blog format and significantly expanded its coverage. Starting today, entertainment fans can access expanded real-time news coverage from TMZ and other sources, inside reporting from two veteran Hollywood journalists turned bloggers and the Internet’s largest selection of uncensored celebrity footage.
TMZ consistently ranks among the top entertainment news sites on the web, according to Media Metrix. With its re-launch today, TMZ puts a new spin on the blog format by melding its unique, visually driven, real-time reporting with the best viral and interactive elements of a blog. Users can still count on TMZ for its signature focus on breaking news, but now they can also comment on coverage, rank their favorite stories and suggest subject matter for the site.
“TMZ has already had a noticeable impact on entertainment news coverage,” said Alan Citron, General Manager. “This is an effort to capitalize on that momentum. Today, with these improvements, we hopefully become better, broader and more indispensable."
“We’re all about real time,” says Harvey Levin, TMZ’s Managing Editor. “When stories break, we deliver- immediately. I think that’s the way people- especially young people- want to consume news. TMZ is an experience that combines text, video, photos and polls. With the blog format, we’ll get consumers significantly more involved.”
Levin is one of two well-known Hollywood insiders who will begin writing daily blogs for TMZ. Also today, TMZ is pleased to welcome Claude Brodesser, host of National Public Radio’s syndicated entertainment program “The Business.” Levin, a nine-time Emmy winner who previously created and Executive Produced the syndicated television program “Celebrity Justice,” will focus on the story behind the story in his column “H-Wood.” Brodesser, who has written for Daily Variety, the New York Times Magazine, Premiere and Entertainment Weekly, will lend his unique perspective to the entertainment industry’s daily ebb and flow. In conjunction with its re-launch, TMZ is also adding blogs on music and fashion, with more to come.
TMZ is devoted to a new style of entertainment journalism, focusing on the unadorned side of celebrity life and entertainment culture, rather than the red carpet and the promotional circuit. Stories are told with a fresh, web-centric combination of editorial, still photos and videos. TMZ’s bloggers will augment the day-to-day coverage with pointed analysis and commentary. Another prominent feature that will soon be available is a full paparazzi section, updated daily, crammed full of hot videos and still photos.
TMZ will utilize BlogSmith’s technology for its blog platform, enabling visitors to TMZ to check out the latest in celebrity news or dive right into the site’s content, organized by category. The platform also allows users to comment on the content and adds RSS feeds, allowing a quick scan of our headlines for the latest hot story.
Named for the “thirty mile zone” around Hollywood, TMZ continues to provide a unique insider’s view into the world of entertainment with exclusive stories and video, in-depth articles, photos, blogs and a deep library of memorable celebrity footage.
TMZ.com is a 24/7 on-demand entertainment news network on the web powered by AOL and Telepictures Productions. Visitors can access the site at TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com ) and AOL keyword “TMZ.”
*Media Metrix ranked TMZ as the number one entertainment news site two of the last three months.
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