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Message: [QUOTE="OttosBestFriend, post: 284717, member: 852"] Believe it or not, but TMZ is VERY serious about being first with news... to the point where aggression is the norm. And just as serious about being right. I can't imagine another ezine or magazine being even half as "competitive" as TMZ is when it comes to simply going after leads. And they research them all... Sure they slip hear and there (i.e. Scoop getting drafted) but being actually WRONG on something would kill them so they always verify sources and do more hard core investigating of stories than you'd ever imagine. Tons of fact-checkers. When I was there 3+ years ago, we had dozens of photogs (still & video) out EVERY night looking for leads and getting stuff on tape. And we had "ins" with lots of people in the know (cops, doormen, security, bartenders, celebrity assistants, airport employees) Trust me, if something happens in LA, TMZ knows about it first. (for the most part) And it was ALL checked out, double checked and checked again. One bad story would ruin what they've built. As for how it works each day, all of the footage came in to the then Sunset Blvd. offices between 3AM and 5AM. At 5:30AM the 10-12 TV producers (my job) along with anyone else who wanted to speak on the TV show (editors, assistants, etc) would come in and start watching the footage which had already been labeled with the celeb's name and location. We'd watch 10-15 clips each and then pitch them to Harvey in a 45 minute meeting that took place from 6:00 to 6:45. At 6:45 the Executive Producers would meet with Harvey and decide what 10-15 stories made that day's show and at 7:00AM we'd each get one story to produce. (write the copy, choose the clips, and determine any movie clips to insert for comedic effect) At 10:00AM you had to turn your completed story over to the editors who'd put it together by 11:30AM as the show HAD to be ready to go by noon Pacific because it starts airing in some Eastern markets at 3PM. Like them or not, it was a well oiled machine and you can't knock their effort. [/QUOTE]

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