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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
488:, 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.
446:, 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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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or traded to accumulate more power. He has been referred to as "the most feared journalist" of his era. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the two best-known
Hollywood gossip columnists were the competing
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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)
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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
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The columns mix factual material on arrests, divorces, marriages and pregnancies, which are obtained from official records, with more speculative gossip stories, rumors, and
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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
405:"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.
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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
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normally require gossip columnists to have a source for all of their allegations to protect the publisher from lawsuits for
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child, which could severely damage both the individual reputation of a movie star and their greater box office viability.
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that are the objects of the public's obsessive attention and interest. The
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about romantic relationships, affairs, and purported personal problems.
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Ladies of the Press: The Story of Women in
Journalism By an Inside
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Someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine
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Sr. is credited with first creating this position at the
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My Lips Are Sealed: Confessions of a Gossip
Columnist
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Winchell: gossip, power, and the culture of celebrity
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409:stories leading to the defamation of celebrities.
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100:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
251:The examples and perspective in this article
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327:in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a
175:introducing citations to additional sources
66:Learn how and when to remove these messages
428:The precursors to gossip columns were the
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307:Learn how and when to remove this message
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165:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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529:Notable gossip columnists include:
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392:In the mid-1960s, rulings by the
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1008:. New York: Doubleday.
1000:Mulcahy, Susan (1988).
890:, a Las Vegas newspaper
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1038:Journalism occupations
943:. Harper. p. 441.
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475:homosexuality or an
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371:Libel and defamation
271:create a new article
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253:may not represent a
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958:. New York: Knopf.
1043:Tabloid journalism
881:Vegas Confidential
853:Inside the Beltway
670:Arianna Huffington
570:Jamie Foster Brown
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493:'red-top' tabloids
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186:"Gossip columnist"
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776:Mila Ximénez
721:Drew Pearson
701:Elsa Maxwell
690:Frances Lynn
685:Irv Kupcinet
665:Hedda Hopper
660:Perez Hilton
640:Ian Halperin
615:Jimmy Fidler
560:Marilyn Beck
555:Rona Barrett
550:Army Archerd
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525:(March 2007)
514:(April 2007)
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751:Ed Sullivan
746:Jimmy Starr
675:Micah Jesse
635:Lloyd Grove
605:Matt Drudge
590:Giles Coren
545:Flo Anthony
535:Cindy Adams
512:Cindy Adams
448:On Broadway
333:celebrities
113:introducing
1027:Categories
927:References
906:Defamation
901:Blind item
645:Tanya Hart
565:A.J. Benza
540:Jani Allan
463:Golden Age
378:defamation
360:superstars
352:defamatory
197:newspapers
52:improve it
736:Liz Smith
620:Luke Ford
440:in 1840.
386:pecuniary
380:(libel).
267:talk page
227:June 2016
167:talk page
121:June 2016
58:talk page
974:29637810
916:Innuendo
895:See also
829:Page Six
726:Rex Reed
495:and the
345:innuendo
261:You may
821:The Sun
815:Bizarre
413:History
356:immoral
211:scholar
109:improve
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911:Gossip
424:(1937)
399:malice
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472:leaks
338:radio
269:, or
218:JSTOR
204:books
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960:ISBN
846:Post
485:Time
454:and
190:news
793:3am
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