Discovery

The Huffington Post just posted this article on the state of celebrity new coverage.

It seemed appalling at first, a live feed of his body removal. How gross! And there I was watching it and linking to it. What can you say, it’s human fascination.

TMZ set up a camera streaming live video and audio outside 421 Broome Street in New York, where Heath Ledger was found dead earlier today. As reporters and crew members were waiting for Ledger’s body to be removed from the apartment (which eventually happened at 6:30 pm local time), they could be overheard discussing subjects including past coverage of Ledger and the potential price of on-scene footage.

“Heath was fun to cover,” one cameraman was overheard saying. “Remember when he’d leave parties every 5 minutes? You know he was going on drug runs.”

Later, a reporter was heard asking, “How much money can we get for this?” Another reporter on the scene answered, “The best shot is what’s going to sell.” (Note: The best shot appears to be captured by INF and can be seen at Usmagazine.com)

As the body came out, screams of “Body! Body! Body!” could be heard as onlookers scrambled to get a good look (one woman screaming loudly, and repeatedly, “Don’t fucking push me!”). Soon after, a reporter was heard asking his cameraman, “Was it good? What did it look like?” to which the cameraman responded, “It was wrapped in black. A black bag.” The scene diffused relatively shortly after that, with screams of “The ME [Medical Examiner] left. The ME is gone,” and then, “Everybody’s going.”

While Los Angeles papparazi may be used to such a spectacle, people were heard on the scene saying, “It’s not everyday this happens. Not in New York.”