Washington Post | Fishbowl DC | C-SPAN.org
TMZ founder Harvey Levin said at Monday’s National Press Club luncheon that old news media haven’t adjusted to changing “delivery systems” and evolving consumer tastes, and they remain loyal to old formulas at their own peril. “Young people aren’t interested in the traditional media,” he said. “It doesn’t speak to them.” TV news is hurting because it’s afraid to mess with an increasingly moribund formula, he added. Washington Post’s Paul Farhi covers the talk:
Local and national newscasts, he says, have presented information the same way for decades, with anchors handing off to reporters and reporters handing it right back to anchors. “It can be done better and quicker,” he suggested, mentioning as a model TMZ TV’s casual, conversational and often amusing presentation in its bullpen-style newsroom.
As for you, dear print reader, Levin says, it’s off to the scrap heap. “What is the magic of holding a piece of paper in the air when you read?” he asked. “You [in the news media] think you have to preserve this? Why?”
In a Q-and-A before his talk, Levin told Betsy Rothstein that Anderson Cooper is his favorite journalist “because he’s honest.” He also said he’s most proud of TMZ’s Mel Gibson DUI story “because we uncovered the bigger story of how the sheriff’s department lied about what happened.” || C-SPAN has video of Levin’s talk and Q-and-A session. (Click on the “Entertainment News Coverage” link on the right side of the page.)
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