U.S : Vanessa BRYANT didn’t deserve to find out her husband passed on TMZ.

TMZ broke the news about Kobe Bryant’s death before his family knew.

Demand TMZ founder Harvey Levin be held accountable for exploiting Kobe Bryant's death for clicks.

TAKE ACTION

Tuesday January 28,

Dear friend,

Vanessa Bryant didn’t deserve to find out her husband and child passed on TMZ.

Sunday afternoon, in a rush to break the news that basketball legend Kobe Bryant, at the age of 41, died in a California helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, celebrity gossip website TMZ ran the story before his surviving family was notified by authorities.¹ Losing loved ones is tragic no matter the circumstances, but no one should learn that their loved one has passed through a tabloid media outlet. TMZ’s lack of journalistic integrity should have consequences. 

In the modern age of split-second reporting, yesterday’s tragedy illuminated once again how celebrity gossip site TMZ has no regard for Black lives or legacies, and will use death as a driver for website clicks and profit. 

SIGN THE PETITION: Demand TMZ founder Harvey Levin issue a public apology and institute a new policy to consult with families before reporting Black celebrity deaths. 

TMZ has a history of using Black pain and death for profit. In 2013, after Andre Lowe was murdered the website rushed to post the video of his murder despite his family asking them not to post it.² Also in 2013, TMZ made false claims that rapper Lil Wayne was in a coma and on life support.³  When Whitney Houston died of an overdose in 2012, a TMZ reporter bribed hotel employees into letting him into her room, so he could take photos of the bath tub in which her body was found.⁴ These moments featured Black pain that drove millions to a website with approximately 500 million advertising impressions per month, resulting in over 100 million dollars in company value as of 2010.⁵ TMZ has built a company based on gossip that benefits from Black trauma and blurs the lines between journalism and knee -jerk click bait. 

According to the Society of Professional Journalists, ethical journalism should be accurate and fair, and treat subjects and members of the public with respect.⁶ Yet once again, in an effort to “get the scoop first,” TMZ decided to forgo a basic code of ethics by disrespecting the surviving members of the Bryant family and those who also lost their lives in the tragedy. Unlike major reputable news outlets that report to keep the general public informed, TMZ will stoop to any level to drive clicks to its site — even paying for stories and sources.⁷ TMZ is a threat to the field of journalism by hinging information-sharing on exploiting pain.  

SIGN THE PETITION: Demand TMZ founder Harvey Levin issue a public apology and institute a new policy to consult with families before reporting Black celebrity deaths. 

The trauma that TMZ put Vanessa and the rest of the Bryant family through is unimaginable. As a world-wide celebrity who represents a sports and cultural legacy with few peers, as well as the ways that status shielded him from credible accusations of rape, news of Kobe's death was always going to travel fast. Other outlets were irresponsible in their reporting of the details of this tragedy, spreading harmful rumors that former Laker Rick Fox as well as all 4 of Kobe's daughters had died in the crash. Yet TMZ stands alone as the outlet who choose to forgo giving the Bryant family a brief moment to process their grief alone before all the world began bombarding them with interview requests, phone calls, texts, DMs, and round-the-clock voyeurism of their pain.⁸ While the Bryant family waited for official confirmation of the worst news of their lives, TMZ was all too eager to capitalize on their loss. TMZ had the responsibility to report factual information with integrity and they failed to that.

For too long, TMZ has been negligent in ethically reporting on Black issues or people. Now is an opportunity for us to demand media accountability for our lives, legacies, and stories. We must act to hold TMZ accountable for exploiting the Black and Brown victims of this tragedy for their fame, and in the process denying a Black and Brown family in mourning the respect they deserve.

SIGN THE PETITION: Demand TMZ founder Harvey Levin issue a public apology and institute a new policy to consult with families before reporting Black celebrity deaths.

Until justice is real,

Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Jade, Future, Eesha, Samantha, Marcus, FolaSade, Jennette, Cierra and the rest of the Color Of Change team.

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References :

1. “Kobe Bryant, Daughter Gigi Die In Helicopter Crash…,” TMZ, January 27, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226640?t=9&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw.
2. "TMZ Video Murder Condemned By Family," The Guardian, January 17, 2013 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226654?t=11&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw
3. "Lil Wayne in Critical Condition After Seizures," TMZ, March 15, 2013 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226655?t=13&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw
4. The New Yorker, February 22, 2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226645?t=15&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw
5. “TMZ.com Valuation Tops $100 Million,” 24/7 Wall Street, January 3, 2010, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226643?t=17&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw.
6. “SPJ Code of Ethics,” Society of Professional Journalists, September 6, 2014, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226644?t=19&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw.
7. “The Digital Dirt. How TMZ Gets The Videos And Photos That Celebrities Want to Hide,” The New Yorker, February 22, 2016, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226645?t=21&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw.
8. "In Haste to Confirm Kobe Bryant News, News Media Stumbles," The New York Times, January 27, 2020 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/226656?t=23&akid=40507%2E1942551%2Ea4MCOw

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