Century 16 movie theater Aurora The Century16 movie theater in
Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012, where a gunman opened fire
during the showing of the new Batman movie. (Jonathan Castner,
AFP/Getty Images)   While the mainstream networks and news
organizations have rules that prohibit paying for interviews — a
practice known as "checkbook journalism" — there are ways around
that rule.  And whereas the practitioners of checkbook
journalism used to be restricted to supermarket tabloids, the
race to score big "gets" has extended to the TV networks and
online media outlets.   Such arrangements are standard practice
for many new media outfits. TMZ founder Harvey Levin has
acknowledged paying "tip fees" to sources. Gawker.com founder
Nick Denton has also acknowledged participating in so-called
"checkbook journalism." The payments are considered consulting
fees.  Generally, consultants' payments range from $5,000 to
$10,000 and cover a period of days or weeks, according to a
longtime TV business reporter. Fees to cele