Who Broke the Story of Michael Jackson's Death?
A woman cries on the phone as she tells a friend that Michael Jackson has died at UCLA Medical Plaza in Los Angeles. The iconic pop star, 50, was rushed to the hospital after reportedly going into cardiac arrest.
So who broke the story of Michael Jackson's death?
Early news reports indicate it was TMZ, the Los Angeles-based celebrity gossip site owned by Time Warner.
Here's the TMZ page carrying the news of the star's demise. The information is attributed to what appears to be two anonymous sources, one in the hospital and another who may have been with the paramedics at his home.
The Los Angeles Times appears to have been the next news organization to report Jackson's death, though the paper first reported Jackson as being in a coma, then later confirmed he had died.
An early story by The Associated Press attributed news of Jackson's death to the Times, but in a later version the wire service had found its own source on which to peg the information. The AP story attributed the news to "a person with knowledge of the situation."
Techcrunch reported that several major websites, including the LA Times and TMZ sites, were temporarily knocked out of service after being inundated with millions of web surfers seeking the latest info on the death of the king of pop.
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Photo by Ann Johansson/Getty Images
i think it was TMZ. i first saw it in his website. as if I’m that reliable. lol! WHoever started it, the sad thing is He’s dead. *sigh*
I have the feeling that TMZ posted the story without getting confirmation that it was true. Tons of people were linking to the story on Twitter and talking about their site. And if they were wrong — all they would have had to do was say, “oops.”
Wasn’t there a supposed picture of MJ in an ambulance when he had died? Which paparazzi took the pic? No stories are consistent.