ABSTRACT

This case study will analyze if TMZ prioritized getting a scoop above their commitment to ethical practice and responsible journalism. Using the Potter Box, a four-step framework that analyzes facts, values, principles, and loyalties of a media ethics issue related to how TMZ reported on Kobe Byrant's, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others deaths in an airplane crash on January 2020. Many law enforcement and news sources criticized TMZ for reporting on the deaths before the families were notified, which also led to misinformation. The case study will also use Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative philosophical principle to analyze the ethical duties of journalism duty versus being the first to get the story out. It will conclude by answering the following three questions:

Micro Question: How should celebrity death be reported?

Midrange Question: Should the victim's family give the okay to release information, or does the public have the right to know about a celebrity death?

Macro Question: Should tabloids like TMZ follow similar SPJ code of Ethics and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) journalism guidelines?