Breaking News Of Jackson Death Boosts TMZ Traffic
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Breaking the news of Michael Jackson’s death boosted weekly traffic at TMZ.com, putting it ahead of all other celebrity news sites for the first time since it posted an exclusive police photo of a bruised Rihanna in February.
“That set the record for us back in February and this one severely trumped that,” TMZ General Manager Pam Russo commented.
TMZ’s traffic rose 70 percent year-over-year, attracting 7.95 million visitors in the week that ended June 28, according to tracking firm comScore. Three days earlier, TMZ reported Jackson’s death at least a half hour before other news organizations were able to confirm details.
Category leader omg, a unit of Yahoo Inc., was second during the period with 7.84 million visitors.
The Rihanna photo, which TMZ posted Feb. 22, vaulted the site to a record-breaking week with 6.83 million visitors. The pop star’s ex-boyfriend Chris Brown later pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault.
TMZ is a unit of Time Warner Inc.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
