The Sheriff's office slammed TMZ for announcing the death of Kobe Bryant on Sunday.
The Sheriff accused TMZ of posting the story when the family had not been notified.
In an interview on Wednesday Harvey Levin of TMZ said that he spoke to "Kobe's people" for one hour before publishing the story.
They told him, "go for it."
He also said that Vanessa knew before the story was published.
TMZ's handling of Kobe Bryant as well as the 8 other victims on the helicopter, has started a debate about how the media should handle sensitive topics.
What do you believe is the role of the media when it comes to handling sensitive issues such as death of high profile people?