In this age of instant news on the Internet and TV, newspaper editors sometimes face difficult choices about when to post news on their Web sites -- and what sources to trust.

The death of pop star Michael Jackson on Thursday, first noted by celebrity news site TMZ.com, provided Salt Lake Tribune editors with such a conundrum.

A story in the Los Angeles Times on Friday by Scott Collins and Greg Braxton explains the problem:

"With the death of pop star Michael Jackson, TMZ gave the most potent demonstration yet of its ability to stir the pot of entertainment news. The gossip site once again left TV networks and other traditional media outlets scrambling in its wake, even as they attempted to distance themselves from a source widely regarded as salacious, if not disreputable.

"Just after 1 p.m. (MDT) on Thursday, paramedics responded to a 911 call at Jackson's Holmby Hills mansion. Less than an hour later, TMZ -- the same outlet that broke Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade during a 2006 DUI arrest but that has also feasted on such fare as 'upskirt' photos of stars -- landed the scoop that the multiplatinum pop singer had gone into cardiac arrest. At 2:44 p.m. (3:44 MDT), it beat rivals by informing the world of his death, which occurred at 2:26 p.m. (3:26 MDT)"

When Tribune editors gathered yesterday at 4 p.m. for the afternoon news huddle -- where they decide what will be on A1 and the front of the

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Utah section for the next day -- the Associated Press, some TV news channels and The Tribune had reports of Jackson's rush to the hospital, but only TMZ.com said Jackson was dead.

As we discussed the stories for A1, we kept our eyes on a TV outside the conference room that was tuned to CNN to keep track. Breaking-news editor Michael Nakoryakov was searching the Web during the meeting looking for a legitimate report of Jackson's death. Finally, Nakoryakov explains, when the L.A. Times ran a death report, we wrote a story based on their information.

Nakoryakov explains, "We have our own services. The Associated Press, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times/Washington Post news wires. We routinely look for these sources, but we did post something after CNN said Jackson was hospitalized. We want reputable sources, well-established respected news agencies." CNN based its report on its California TV affiliate.

Even so, sltrib.com followed practice and attributed the story to the media source. "We don't pretend to know something when we don't," Nakoryakov says.

Explaining to CNN how his staff got the story, TMZ editor Harvey Levin explains: "Today I made 100 phone calls, and everyone else made 100 calls," he said of his staff. "Everyone blanketed the city. ...We were getting calls from everyone under the sun, established news operations, asking, 'Are you sure?' That's such an odd question. We would not have published it if it were not true."

But serious news organizations were not as convinced. They waited until they got reputable confirmation before declaring that Jackson was dead.

The Reader Advocate's phone number is 801-257-8782. E-mail: reader.advocate@sltrib.com. Write to her at The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.