TMZ and the Tabloid Takeover

When TMZ.com broke the news of Michael Jackson's demise, some also called it the demise of traditional journalism.

The Washington Post takes note of the entertainment Web site's scoop and asks the question: "Did TMZ just get lucky with its Jackson coverage -- a right-place, right-time lightning strike -- or has TMZ built a smarter new-media organization that could teach the rest of the pack how to get it done?"

The site's founder, Harvey Levin, basks in the glow but reveals few secrets of the site's operation. (It's lean, mean and pays for tips.)

Looking over highs and lows of recent reports, how is anyone shocked by TMZ's ascendance? Serious news stories bump up against celebrity scandals, and both merge in the tabloid-style misdeeds of politicians. The Supreme Court ruled in controversial voting rights and employment discrimination cases. American troops withdrew from major cities in Iraq. The president of Honduras was thrown out of the country.

Alongside these events and sharing -- some would say dominating -- public debate, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is still making news with his slow-motion self destruction. His hours-long confession was made to the Associated Press, about as traditional a media outlet as they come. Their get-the-facts technique elicited plenty from Sanford about his "forbidden" and "tragic" love story. Although when it came time to release records about state money spent on his adventures, he stops talking.

Giving Democrats equal time, John Edwards probably wishes that he had surrounded himself with illiterates. First, his wife, Elizabeth, and next, his former aide Andrew Young, get book deals. Young -- as reported everywhere, including the gray lady New York Times -- plans to reveal that he didn't father the child of Edwards' mistress. Who knew?

It's train-wreck politics, a reality show with famous people, serious people. It's personal and sad and it's hard to look away. The characters' failures aren't ours, and isn't that a relief.

If there's a line between serious news and tabloid fodder, it was blurred long ago. As Sanford said -- in a far different context -- we might try "to put the genie back in the bottle." But it won't be easy.