During a recent visit to Reagan Washington National Airport, TMZ's Charlie Cotton was chatting up with Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff for an interview that would later post to the online tabloid's site.
"You don't look like Pee-wee Herman," Cotton told Ossoff, who's locked in a high-profile reelection campaign against Republican challenger Rep. Mike Collins.
President Trump recently called Ossoff "Pinky Herman," an apparent reference to the iconic 1980s character Pee-wee Herman. But on this day, Cotton wanted to talk more about their shared roots. Cotton is from Australia, and Ossoff's mother is a native Australian too.
"You know, there is a laid-back culture, I think, in Australia," Ossoff said. "We get a little wound up over here sometimes."
That can be particularly true on Capitol Hill, where TMZ is bringing a new approach to reporting on Congress since launching a bureau in the nation's capital this year. Now, the site that carved out a reputation for celebrity scoops is putting a lens on Washington, mixing levity, gossip and also more legitimate exclusives in hopes of drawing new readers who might not be politically inclined.
Cotton, a longtime producer for TMZ, and colleague Jacob Wasserman make up the new D.C. bureau. Wasserman recently covered the criminal trial for the scandal-plagued hip-hop mogul Sean Combs.
"What me and Charlie are trying to do is we need to take a step back," Wasserman said in an interview. "And while it's great to get into the importance of social and political issues, we want to understand who these people are."
The site started gaining attention in Washington this year when TMZ founder Harvey Levin asked the public to share photos of vacationing members of Congress during a partial government shutdown. The photos went viral, including one of late GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham holding a bubble wand at Disney World. Graham said he was in Florida for a meeting with President Trump and stopped at the park afterward to meet with friends.
"It just went so viral that Harvey just came to us and said, 'Now is the time. It's now or never. TMZ D.C. needs to start now,'" Cotton recalls.
They launched in April.
"This place is kind of like a reality show"
Wasserman argues that TMZ could be a political gateway for some.
"You might get TMZ even if you're someone who is politically disengaged," Wasserman said. "So we're speaking to those people who have never heard of Ted Cruz or Elizabeth Warren and might be coming across them for the first time, and maybe that gets them politically curious."
Cotton said the way to get there is by asking interesting, relatable and funny questions while also holding members accountable on tough issues.
"This place is kind of like a reality show," Cotton said. "So we just want to capture some of the natural entertainment."
In one recent segment, the duo argued that stuffy straight guys were ruining the D.C. dating scene. Cotton said they got an enormous response from Hill staffers — and even some lawmakers too.
"Of all the clips we've shot, and we've shot, like, some important people, we've never received a response like we did for that," he said.
Not everyone is keen to talk. That includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who declined to answer a question from Wasserman last month about a mysterious sound heard on the Senate floor as Schumer was delivering remarks.
"Senator, Jacob with TMZ. Did you fart yesterday on the Senate floor?" he asked as Schumer was climbing into a vehicle set to leave the Capitol.
Ultimately, TMZ conceded the sound might have been something else. But the TMZ duo argues that Schumer could have played along with the lowbrow humor.
"What a great opportunity it is to maybe play it off and show your personality," Wasserman said.
"He would be, like, celebrated," Cotton added.
They had more luck on the other side of the Capitol with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who opened up on everything from Botox to behind-the-scenes talks on the National Defense Authorization Act.
"It's a big issue on the left and the right, and many of my constituents have reached out," she said about the debate over a provision in the military spending bill. But "now I am forced to talk to TMZ. … I am talking out of the side of my mouth … because my Botox hasn't caught up."
Traditional news vs. the TMZ way
Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor of television and pop culture, said the duo is especially notable at a moment when trust in the media is on the decline.
"It is extraordinary, the disproportionate amount of attention these two guys are getting," he said.
While TMZ has operated under different rules from other more traditional news organizations — paying for exclusive photos, for example — Thompson said its new D.C. operation should be taken seriously.
It's a point Wasserman emphasizes. He said they're after the big scoops — TMZ's bread and butter.
"We want to be players, and we want to compete and break news that is going to move the needle," he said.
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