Think Progress recently completed a months long investigation over celebrity gossip site/tv show TMZ's role in the Trump administration. The results show that Trump and his team have a very close relationship with Harvey Levin, and that Levin is limiting anything anti-Trump on the site or on the show.
- While Fox News is bigger and more well known, they're targeting an audience that's already pro-Trump. TMZ viewers are younger, diverse and often apolitical. This is the type of audience Trump supporters want to draw in.
- Harvey Levin, founder of TMZ, and Trump have a long relationship. They speak on the phone regularly according to former and current TMZ employees.
- TMZ staff, who are mostly younger and liberal, have said that any critical stories about Trump are struck down almost immediately. More favorable stories can get on the site in a matter of minutes, even without proper editing or fact-checking. This means staff rarely bother to write anything critical of Trump at this point.
- When Levin gets information directly from a close Trump source he often writes the articles himself, a break from the normal editorial process (TMZ has no bylines so it's impossible to tell which stories he wrote).
- After the sexual assualt allegations against Trump came out, Levin instructed the research team (comprised of mostly young women) to find information to discredit the accusers.
- Levin and Kellyanne Conway used to talk all the time but recently had a falling out. Levin regularly talks to Trump's attorney Michael Cohen.
- A former TMZ staffer says that Levin seems to like having powerful friends, so being friends with the President of the United States is a major ego-boost to him.
Source
I HIGHLY recommend everyone read the full article because it's full of really important information. It's a really fascinating and infuriating investigation.
You'll probably be angry after reading it so here are some kittens.
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