The site that broke the Mel Gibson scandal

The website that broke the Mel Gibson scandal is suddenly a must-read for lovers of celebrity gossip. TMZ.com is claimed to "hover" somewhere between gossip and news, and claims to be "the next phase" in the evolution of celebrity journalism. In just nine months since going live, TMZ has broken several Hollywood stories but none as big as Gibson's anti-Semitic ranting, complete with detailed police reports. TMZ is hardly a hole-in-the-corner outfit. It turns out to be a joint venture between AOL and Telestar but has the look and feel of a blog. While it's enjoying thousands of new readers, Gibson is trying to limit the damage to his reputation by asking for forgiveness from the Jewish community. (Via MSNBC.com: Newsweek)