The celebrity news website TMZ, perhaps wanting to gain an edge in capturing footage of the movie stars, is said to have applied for a drone permit from the Federal Aviation Administration. TMZ had come out though denying that it ever submitted such an application.

Over the weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle in an article about domestic drone use and its privacy concerns reported:

TMZ’s application for a permit is an illustration [of how drones could be used outside of law enforcement]. Paparazzi are already using small drones on the Riviera to shoot photos of celebrities in otherwise hard-to-access areas. TMZ “does not have a permit” yet, FAA officials said last week.

It didn’t take long for TMZ to come out with its own statement on the subject: “We’re NOT Keeping Up with the DRONESES.”

(Image: TMZ screenshot)

Here’s the website’s official statement:

TMZ is NOT getting in the DRONE business … we don’t have a drone … we don’t want a drone … we never applied for a drone … despite a bogus report to the contrary.

There are several major websites citing a story first published in the San Francisco Chronicle … which says TMZ filed an application with the Federal Aviation Administration seeking to use a drone device.

Truth is … while drones are, in fact, awesome … it just ain’t true.

We could drone on and on … but you get the point.

As drone use has expanded from the battlefield to local law enforcement offices and even hobbyists, some in the media might be seeing advantages to flying a camera above certain events to capture footage. TheBlaze recently reported about the University of Nebraska Drone Journalism Lab, so use of such devices by the media is clearly seen as a future tool.

It is unclear how the Chronicle thought TMZ had applied for a drone at this point.

(H/T: Drudge Report)