Buzzfeed's "The Down and Dirty History of TMZ"
An interesting story all the way through. A couple of highlights:
[quote]BuzzFeed spoke to nearly two dozen former TMZ employees, and it’s clear that Bieber’s tape was not the only near-priceless piece of dirt in the proverbial TMZ vault. (TMZ did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) According to these ex-employees, the sealed testimonies from the Michael Jackson molestation trial hide there as does footage of various celebrities — Bieber, Lohan, Travolta — behaving badly. The vault isn’t a secret at TMZ — even the lowest on the staff ladder have heard whispers of its existence. As to what goes up on the site and what stays vaulted, that’s a finer, more esoteric calculus — and one in which celebrities and their publicists have come to live in fear.
[quote]Levin, according to one source, is “one of those gay men who’s just never been able to get along with women.” He’s stacked his organization with young, bro-ish men who help make the tone and feel of the website masculine and definitively non-gay. It’s not that Levin’s homophobic — he’s spoken openly about triumphing over his fears of being outed in his early career, and how he’s operated as a gay man in the contemporary mediascape — so much as he’s savvy as to the ways in which any hint of effeminacy on the site could repel the target demographic.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 41 | September 18, 2020 2:18 PM
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Why do they try to appeal to this 'bro' (or, sorry,"BRAH")demographic? What straight guy is interested in celebrity gossip? I'm as gay as a pink goose on ice skates, and I barely care.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | July 28, 2014 9:47 PM
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The level of delusion on Levin's part is just hilarious. I suppose he jerks off the the fantasy of sexy, ripped, straight frat boys sitting around in nothing but their boxers, reading every petty little word he has to say about Paula Deen with great fascination.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | July 28, 2014 10:07 PM
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Well, we already knew Harvey is a self-hating pig who doesn't care about anything but money, so this doesn't surprise me.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | July 28, 2014 10:08 PM
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If Harvey Levin thinks this strategy isn't anything but transparent, he's kidding himself. The self-hatred radiating from those dreadlocked and surf-stained trade can't be any more obvious.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | July 28, 2014 10:12 PM
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I want to hear more about the secret vault
by Anonymous | reply 7 | July 28, 2014 10:38 PM
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Levin has always struck me as being narcissistic, maybe he's seeing all these brahs as how he views himself?
Odd little guy.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | July 28, 2014 10:41 PM
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The writer of this article always annoys me with her academic, long form style. I don't care about movie star gossip industry from the 1950s. The rest of the article is pretty good, but also pretty obvious. Who didn't already know this? The people with the patience and intellect to read that whole article already knew, basically, the gist of the article. Everyone else won't read because it's too long and academic.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | July 28, 2014 10:44 PM
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[all posts by childish idiot removed]
by Anonymous | reply 10 | July 28, 2014 10:48 PM
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People think it doesn't happen today for two reasons: They think people have "evolved" and social media makes it difficult to hide.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | July 28, 2014 11:07 PM
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Whew! That's a lonnnng article, but very interesting.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | July 29, 2014 12:43 AM
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One of you needs to get Harvey drunk and get him to dish the dirt
by Anonymous | reply 13 | July 29, 2014 1:32 AM
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The article states Harvey does not drink, R13.
Next idea?
by Anonymous | reply 14 | July 29, 2014 1:39 AM
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Eh, I dislike Levin, but I dislike the celebrities more.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | July 29, 2014 2:36 AM
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[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]
by Anonymous | reply 17 | July 29, 2014 3:23 AM
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The kids he hires for the show are some of the most annoying people on TV.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | July 29, 2014 8:25 AM
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[quote]The writer of this article always annoys me with her academic, long form style.
It's not even remotely academic (do you know what that word means?) and it's obviously meant to be a longform piece. You sound like you're just bitching because it wasn't 350 monosyllabic words with a lot of pictures as filler. That may be your preference but that doesn't mean Petersen is wrong or annoying for not catering to your baby tastes.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | July 29, 2014 8:33 AM
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[all posts by childish idiot removed]
by Anonymous | reply 20 | July 29, 2014 8:40 AM
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I find it pathetic when gay guys use their own company or office to hang around hot straight employees and act like these employees are their buddies.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | July 29, 2014 9:57 AM
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[quote]Why do they try to appeal to this 'bro' (or, sorry,"BRAH")demographic? What straight guy is interested in celebrity gossip?
Well, they've figured something out:
[quote]From the start, TMZ was working to cater to a market that it’s cornered today: male consumers, many of whom wouldn’t even consider what they were reading “gossip.” Today, 42% of TMZ’s readership is male; compare that to usmagazine.com (15%) and people.com (11%).
by Anonymous | reply 22 | July 29, 2014 10:08 AM
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In our changing world I don't think it's that far off that straight guys are interested in TV entertainment gossip.
I can only imagine how relieved some of the straight guys are that some of these alpha male looking actors are gay and not a real threat they need to compete against.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | July 29, 2014 10:26 AM
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They use they dirt they have as leverage to get exclusive interviews with the stars. Most of the juiciest dirt goes unreported and is used for leverage
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 24 | July 29, 2014 3:29 PM
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"In our changing world I don't think it's that far off that straight guys are interested in TV entertainment gossip."
They're not - they go to tmz because it has stuff about sports stars. There is even a separate sports section.
"I can only imagine how relieved some of the straight guys are that some of these alpha male looking actors are gay and not a real threat they need to compete against."
Compete for what? They don't even know those guys.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | July 29, 2014 3:31 PM
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I find Harvey Levin very sad and pathetic.
He is an old queen who tries very hard to come across as hot and young.
Wear some long sleeves and stop flexing when you speak, you silly old man.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | July 29, 2014 4:01 PM
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He needs to fix his teeth.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | July 29, 2014 4:05 PM
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R19, Yes I do know what "academic" means, as I am an academic myself. That's probably why I don't enjoy reading long form articles about pop culture that sound remotely academic. It would be nice if the article had an abstract. Is that too much to ask for?
by Anonymous | reply 28 | July 29, 2014 6:35 PM
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I have not looked at that site in ages. It really does scream National Enquirer for the internet age. I'm embarrassed to admit this but I always thought Levin was kinda hot when he was on the People's Court.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | July 29, 2014 6:50 PM
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Vote r29 for flames and freaks
by Anonymous | reply 31 | July 29, 2014 7:12 PM
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I think a straight guy does the hiring. Heterosexual males are always looking for other heterosexual males to be around. It's called a network. In the case of heterosexual males it is called the Old Boys' Club. Heterosexual males use these networks to advance their careers. Heterosexual women won't say a thing about it either because these are the guys they are looking to marry instead they will trash gay people and other women. If Harvey leaves a heterosexual male will take over, no doubt about it. Remember that when he does leave. TMZ has been captured by heterosexual males.
Celebrity gossip. Why in a field gay men are interested in and heterosexual males not do heterosexual males dominate? You'll never see any discussion about that among gay men because gay men are more loyal to heterosexuals and don't give a shit about their own self interest enough.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | July 29, 2014 7:19 PM
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TMZ must get some hefty payouts from these stars.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | July 29, 2014 7:26 PM
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Can we hire some twink to seduce Harvey and get some secrets out of him? Anyone gonna volunteer to take one for the team?
by Anonymous | reply 35 | July 30, 2014 5:11 PM
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Since this is anonymous, I'm going to admit to something. I manage a team of 10 that supports financial institutions. My team is all recent college graduate dude/bro/jock guys. I am really close with the HR Manager, so he always sends these types my way. I won't hire women. So I'm a gay guy surrounded by these Sean Cody model types. It is heaven and I love to listen to them talk about their lives, etc.
My department always receives top marks for efficiency and there is zero drama. It's heaven.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | July 30, 2014 5:25 PM
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Ellen survived her take-down, and Harvey will too.
I loathe Harvey, but unless he pissed someone off, he ain’t going anywhere... yet.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | September 18, 2020 1:55 PM
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In the end, he's just another person who created a space for himself in the media landscape by lowering the bar just a little bit more than it had been prior. He's just following in the footsteps of Jerry Springer, Perez Hilton, and Andy Cohen...each one pushed the envelope a little bit further and gave the lowest common denominator a more extreme form of what they wanted...trash and dirt and people behaving atrociously for their amusement. It's kinda sad, but it is what it is.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | September 18, 2020 1:58 PM
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r36 I will guarantdamntee those bros are laughing at you behind your back, like Levin's boys laugh at him. They can barely contain their contempt for him ON CAMERA.
What a deluded old queen (him and you).
by Anonymous | reply 41 | September 18, 2020 2:18 PM
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