This article is from the archive of our partner .
CNN spent most of Thursday covering Justin Bieber's arrest, an event mostly relevant to die-hard teen fans (some of whom were so distracted they're totally going to fail midterms) and celebrity gossip outlets like TMZ. But with TMZ also providing the bulk of scoops on the matter, we couldn't help but compare how the two news organizations handled the affair. And a careful analysis has led us to the definitive conclusion that TMZ is better than CNN. Not only better at reporting on Bieber, but better at reporting, full stop. Hear us out.
Breaking Bieber News
Early yesterday morning, Justin Bieber was arrested on DUI and drag racing charges. Naturally, TMZ — which makes a habit of keeping tabs on celebrities in the early morning hours — was on the story right away and kept up with developments all day, as you can see by a dense series of tweets on the subject:
Justin Bieber ARRESTED For DUI and Drag Racing http://t.co/bFMMEek7Im
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 23, 2014
VIDEO of Justin Bieber Being ARRESTED For DUI and Drag Racing http://t.co/bFMMEek7Im
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 23, 2014
Justin Bieber ARRESTED For DUI, Drag Racing and Resisting Arrest [MUG SHOT] http://t.co/ukwhWu6NFj pic.twitter.com/jhncYxBtU4
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 23, 2014
Justin Bieber MUG SHOT: Arrested For DUI, Drag Racing and Resisting Arrest http://t.co/X0nvIdazVu
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 23, 2014
Justin Bieber -- Faces the Judge After DUI Arrest [LIVE] http://t.co/Ck8bM3hMrM
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 23, 2014
Justin Bieber -- He Picked Wrong Town to Screw Up in ... Says Miami Beach Mayor http://t.co/qtUnptwsG8
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 23, 2014
CNN, jumping on board a little later, didn't tweet nearly as much:
Should they #FreeBieber? Justin Bieber's mug shot and arrest details have just been released: http://t.co/vEqfLIvPBA pic.twitter.com/IuJMHsvdGZ
— CNN (@CNN) January 23, 2014
Their muted response initially makes it seem like a more reputable establishment, giving a trivial story trivial attention, although the #FreeBieber hashtag is a blatant social media ploy to get more attention.