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A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business (motion picture movie stars, theater, and television actors), politicians, professional sports stars, and other wealthy people or public figures. Some gossip columnists broadcast segments on radio and television.
The columns mix factual material on arrests, divorces, marriages and pregnancies, which are obtained from official records, with more speculative gossip stories, rumors, and innuendo about romantic relationships, affairs, and purported personal problems.
Gossip columnists have a reciprocal relationship with the celebrities whose private lives are splashed about in the gossip column's pages. While gossip columnists sometimes engage in (borderline) defamatory conduct, spreading innuendo about alleged immoral or illegal conduct that can injure celebrities' reputations, they also serve as an important part of the publicity machine that turns actors and musicians into celebrities and superstars that are the objects of the public's obsessive attention and interest. The publicity agents of celebrities often provide or "leak" information or rumors to gossip columnists to publicize the celebrity or their projects, or to counteract "bad press" that has recently surfaced about their conduct.
While gossip columnists' "bread and butter" is rumor, innuendo, and allegations of scandalous behavior, there is a fine line between the legally-acceptable spreading of rumors and the making of defamatory statements, the latter of which can provoke a lawsuit. Newspaper and magazine editorial policies normally require gossip columnists to have a source for all of their allegations to protect the publisher from lawsuits for defamation (libel).
In the United States, celebrities or public figures can sue for libel if their private lives are revealed in a gossip column and they believe that their reputation has been defamed – that is, exposed to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or pecuniary loss. Gossip columnists cannot defend against libel claims by arguing that they merely repeated but did not originate the defaming rumor or claim. Instead, a columnist must prove that the allegedly defaming statement was truthful or that it was based on a reasonably reliable source.
In the mid-1960s, rulings by the United States Supreme Court made it harder for the media to be sued for libel in the US. The Court ruled that libel occurs only if a publication prints falsehoods about a celebrity with "reckless disregard" for the truth. A celebrity suing a newspaper for libel must prove that the paper published the falsehood with actual malice or with deliberate knowledge that the statement was both incorrect and defamatory.
Moreover, the Court ruled that only factual misrepresentation, not expression of opinion, is libel. Thus, if gossip columnists write that they "think that Celebrity X is an idiot", the columnist does not face a risk of being sued for libel. On the other hand, if columnists invent an allegation that "Celebrity X is a wife beater" with no supporting source or evidence, the celebrity can sue for libel on the grounds that their reputation was defamed.
In some circumstances, however, gossip columnists do not fact-check the information that they receive from their sources before they publish their stories. Also, some gossip columnists who are not themselves reputable post articles about celebrities. As a result, there is a chance of published stories leading to the defamation of celebrities.
Walter Winchell, a gossip columnist famous in the 1930s and 1940s, was the first writer to have a syndicated gossip column. Winchell used his political, entertainment, and social connections to mine information and rumors, which he either published in his column On Broadway or traded to accumulate more power. He has been referred to as "the most feared journalist" of his era.[2] From the 1930s to the 1950s, the two best-known Hollywood gossip columnists were the competing Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons.[3]
In Hollywood's "Golden Age" in the 1930s and 1940s, gossip columnists were courted by the movie studios so that the studios could use gossip columns as a powerful publicity tool. During that period, the major film studios had "stables" of contractually-obligated actors, and controlled nearly all aspects of the lives of their movie stars. Well-timed leaks about a star's purported romantic adventures helped movie studios to create and sustain public interest in their star actors. The studios' publicity agents also acted as unnamed "well-informed inside sources." In this capacity, agents could counteract whispers about celebrity secrets, such as homosexuality or an out-of-wedlock child, which could severely damage both the individual reputation of a movie star and their greater box office viability.
Having fallen into ill-repute after the heyday of Hopper and Parsons, gossip columnists saw a comeback in the 1980s. Many mainstream magazines such as Time, which once considered the hiring of gossip columnists as beneath their stature, now have sections titled "People" or "Entertainment". Such mainstream gossip columns provide a light, chatty glimpse into the private lives and misadventures of the rich and famous.
At the other end of the journalism spectrum, there are entire publications that deal primarily in gossip, rumor, and innuendo about celebrities, such as the British 'red-top' tabloids and the celebrity 'tell-all' magazines.
^Ross, Ishbel (1936). Ladies of the Press: The Story of Women in Journalism By an Inside. Harper. p. 441.
^Gabler, Neal (1994). Winchell: gossip, power, and the culture of celebrity. New York: Knopf. ISBN0-679-41751-6. OCLC 29637810.
^Longworth, Karina (3 May 2021). ""Gossip Girls"".
Mulcahy, Susan (1988). My Lips Are Sealed: Confessions of a Gossip Columnist. New York: Doubleday. ISBN9780385243599.
October 21, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Gossip columnist news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2016 The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine especially in a gossip magazine Gossip columns are written in a light informal style and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business motion picture movie stars theater and television actors politicians professional sports stars and other wealthy people or public figures Some gossip columnists broadcast segments on radio and television The columns mix factual material on arrests divorces marriages and pregnancies which are obtained from official records with more speculative gossip stories rumors and innuendo about romantic relationships affairs and purported personal problems Gossip columnists have a reciprocal relationship with the celebrities whose private lives are splashed about in the gossip column s pages While gossip columnists sometimes engage in borderline defamatory conduct spreading innuendo about alleged immoral or illegal conduct that can injure celebrities reputations they also serve as an important part of the publicity machine that turns actors and musicians into celebrities and superstars that are the objects of the public s obsessive attention and interest The publicity agents of celebrities often provide or leak information or rumors to gossip columnists to publicize the celebrity or their projects or to counteract bad press that has recently surfaced about their conduct Contents 1 Libel and defamation 2 History 3 Notable gossip columnists 4 Columns not named for a columnist 5 See also 6 ReferencesLibel and defamation EditWhile gossip columnists bread and butter is rumor innuendo and allegations of scandalous behavior there is a fine line between the legally acceptable spreading of rumors and the making of defamatory statements the latter of which can provoke a lawsuit Newspaper and magazine editorial policies normally require gossip columnists to have a source for all of their allegations to protect the publisher from lawsuits for defamation libel In the United States celebrities or public figures can sue for libel if their private lives are revealed in a gossip column and they believe that their reputation has been defamed that is exposed to hatred contempt ridicule or pecuniary loss Gossip columnists cannot defend against libel claims by arguing that they merely repeated but did not originate the defaming rumor or claim Instead a columnist must prove that the allegedly defaming statement was truthful or that it was based on a reasonably reliable source In the mid 1960s rulings by the United States Supreme Court made it harder for the media to be sued for libel in the US The Court ruled that libel occurs only if a publication prints falsehoods about a celebrity with reckless disregard for the truth A celebrity suing a newspaper for libel must prove that the paper published the falsehood with actual malice or with deliberate knowledge that the statement was both incorrect and defamatory Moreover the Court ruled that only factual misrepresentation not expression of opinion is libel Thus if gossip columnists write that they think that Celebrity X is an idiot the columnist does not face a risk of being sued for libel On the other hand if columnists invent an allegation that Celebrity X is a wife beater with no supporting source or evidence the celebrity can sue for libel on the grounds that their reputation was defamed In some circumstances however gossip columnists do not fact check the information that they receive from their sources before they publish their stories Also some gossip columnists who are not themselves reputable post articles about celebrities As a result there is a chance of published stories leading to the defamation of celebrities History Edit nbsp Louella Parsons 1937 The precursors to gossip columns were the society columns of the 19th and early 20th centuries James Gordon Bennett Sr is credited with first creating this position at the New York Herald in 1840 1 Walter Winchell a gossip columnist famous in the 1930s and 1940s was the first writer to have a syndicated gossip column Winchell used his political entertainment and social connections to mine information and rumors which he either published in his column On Broadway or traded to accumulate more power He has been referred to as the most feared journalist of his era 2 From the 1930s to the 1950s the two best known Hollywood gossip columnists were the competing Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons 3 In Hollywood s Golden Age in the 1930s and 1940s gossip columnists were courted by the movie studios so that the studios could use gossip columns as a powerful publicity tool During that period the major film studios had stables of contractually obligated actors and controlled nearly all aspects of the lives of their movie stars Well timed leaks about a star s purported romantic adventures helped movie studios to create and sustain public interest in their star actors The studios publicity agents also acted as unnamed well informed inside sources In this capacity agents could counteract whispers about celebrity secrets such as homosexuality or an out of wedlock child which could severely damage both the individual reputation of a movie star and their greater box office viability Having fallen into ill repute after the heyday of Hopper and Parsons gossip columnists saw a comeback in the 1980s Many mainstream magazines such as Time which once considered the hiring of gossip columnists as beneath their stature now have sections titled People or Entertainment Such mainstream gossip columns provide a light chatty glimpse into the private lives and misadventures of the rich and famous At the other end of the journalism spectrum there are entire publications that deal primarily in gossip rumor and innuendo about celebrities such as the British red top tabloids and the celebrity tell all magazines Notable gossip columnists Edit nbsp Cindy Adams April 2007 nbsp Michael Musto March 2007 Notable gossip columnists include Cindy Adams Jani Allan Flo Anthony Army Archerd Rona Barrett Marilyn Beck A J Benza Jamie Foster Brown Ted Casablanca Claudia Cohen Mike Connolly Giles Coren Ana Marie Cox Nigel Dempster Matt Drudge Jinx Falkenburg Jimmy Fidler Luke Ford Sheilah Graham Charles Graves Lloyd Grove Ian Halperin Tanya Hart David Hartnell Courtney Hazlett Perez Hilton Hedda Hopper Arianna Huffington Micah Jesse Dorothy Kilgallen Irv Kupcinet Frances Lynn Isabel Mallon as Bab 1880s 90s Elsa Maxwell Florabel Muir Michael Musto Louella Parsons Drew Pearson Rex Reed Sidney Skolsky Liz Smith Adela Rogers St Johns Jimmy Starr Ed Sullivan Mike Walker Jeannette Walls Earl Wilson Walter Winchell Mila XimenezColumns not named for a columnist EditGossip columns that are not named after a specific columnist along with the media source include 3am Daily Mirror a British newspaper Access Hollywood a syndicated television program clarification needed Bizarre The Sun a London newspaper Page Six New York Post a New York City newspaper Inside New York in New York Post New York City newspaper Inside the Beltway The Washington Times a Washington D C newspaper Off the Record The New York Observer a New York newspaper Vegas Confidential Las Vegas Review Journal a Las Vegas newspaperSee also EditBlind item Defamation Gossip Innuendo Roman a clefReferences Edit Ross Ishbel 1936 Ladies of the Press The Story of Women in Journalism By an Inside Harper p 441 Gabler Neal 1994 Winchell gossip power and the culture of celebrity New York Knopf ISBN 0 679 41751 6 OCLC 29637810 Longworth Karina 3 May 2021 Gossip Girls Mulcahy Susan 1988 My Lips Are Sealed Confessions of a Gossip Columnist New York Doubleday ISBN 9780385243599 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gossip columnist amp oldid 1169488850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
