Celebrity tabloid website TMZ came under fire for the manner in which it announced the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, 41, in a tragic helicopter accident which also killed eight others. Bryant’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Gianna, was one of the other fatalities of the crash. It wasn’t only TMZ who made errors in their haste to report on Bryant’s death: ABC News, the BBC and Donald Trump also published inaccurate information regarding the death of the former Los Angeles Laker. 

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva led the criticism aimed at TMZ during a press conference given on Sunday 26th January, where he said: ‘it would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one perished and you learn about it from TMZ. That is just wholly inappropriate.’ 

The implication that TMZ broke the news of Bryant’s death before his family had been notified by the authorities – which TMZ founder and editor Harvey Levin denied doing knowingly – reinforces the need for journalists and news publications to find a balance between getting the story out first and ensuring that the articles they release are ethically appropriate. 

Shortly after the initial TMZ report, ABC News reported that all four of Bryant’s children had died in the accident, leading to an on-air apology from its correspondent Matt Gutman, who has since been suspended. The BBC also came under fire for using video footage of LeBron James in place of Kobe Bryant on its News at Ten programme. Over an hour after the LA Sheriff’s Department initially confirmed five deaths in the accident, US President Donald Trump also slipped up when tweeting about the ‘terrible news,’ saying: ‘Kobe Bryant and three others have been killed in a helicopter crash in California.’ 

What this timeline shows is that some publications and individuals prioritise getting a scoop above their commitment to ethical practice and responsible journalism. Some publications did exercise more restraint to ensure they got the facts right in respect of the families and friends of those involved in the tragedy: The Los Angeles Times tweeted: ‘we are aware of reports about Kobe Bryant and are currently investigating. We will update here as soon as we can confirm anything.’ NBC News also worked ‘to determine and confirm who was on board the helicopter before confirming anything. 

To report on the death of Bryant without commenting on his 2003 charge with sexually assaulting a teenager is to tell an incomplete story of the life and death of the athlete while glossing over the trauma he allegedly caused others. The case against Bryant, which was dropped in 2005 and ended with an undisclosed settlement, should have been discussed more widely in the discourse of him in the news after his death to remember him both as a basketball great and as a flawed man. 

The media hold a responsibility to tell us the full story and to do so in an ethical, responsible way. The reporting on Kobe Bryant’s death demonstrates that there is still more work to be done to make sure celebrity deaths are covered in a fair and thorough way that respects the victim’s family and offers a balanced perspective on their life.