On last night's Countdown, Keith Olbermann preemptively named Page Six's Paula Froelich his "Worst Person in the World" after finding out she was working on an item, for today's column (here's the item), that accused colleague Chris Matthews of gunning for the Meet The Press gig at Tim Russert's funeral. Matthews denied the charge on the record, and said the "agent type" he was speaking to was real-estate developer Bob Monahan, and that their conversation wasn't about his plot to secure the gig, but about an upcoming speech Matthews was going to give to a group of mayors. As for Olbermann, P6 quotes a source saying he's threatened to quit if he isn't named to the MTP gig; Olbermann also denies the claim. And it better be true, because everybody we've spoke with says Olbermann and Matthews are about the last people NBC News president Steve Capus plans to install on the Sunday morning talker. Russert himself took a liking to political director Chuck Todd, though it's also unusual that Russert is said to have bandied about Todd's name as his pick of successor, since Russert, while still alive, had no plans of giving up the show anytime soon.
ETHICS Page Six's Paula Froelich could not attend the party where a drink named after her would be poured because the event was an open bar, not cash. [Gawker]
We've always wondered what Page Six would be like without Richard Johnson. And today we got a sneak preview! Gone are the tawdry tales of Jeffrey Epstein and his boatloads of nubile island nymphs and transgendered prostitutes! Today's top story: Sometimes Bill O'Reilly's an ass. (Remember folks: You read it here, first.)
Thus, with Richard mysteriously "traveling" (to the AMC in Boca Raton? Or possibly paying his own way to attend crazy stripper parties…again?) we're regarding today's column as a glimpse of what Page Six would be like with Paula Froelich in the driver's seat. And since you have zero attention span, we've summed up this extra-special Paula only edition for you in convenient bullet-point format.
What we learned from Paula…after the jump.
Sure, maybe we scored a mention in Playboy, but not everything can be about us — especially when we're merely a footnote. The real meat in "L.A. Confidential 2007" about the new gossip industry (ooh, Web 2.0!) in this month's issue is between the article's scribe, omnipresent byline Deborah Schoeneman, and former friend and current foe, Paula Froelich of Page Six. Or, as ShowNoMan refers to her, "Jane."
That whole friendship-gone-awry really went down the gutter when Deb used Jared Paul Stern's caper with Ron Burkle as means to score soundbites attributing her authority to her new book, 4% Famous. Cue Paula's anger, a flurry of scathing emails, and the resulting pseudonym in Playboy.
Which all could have been avoided …if only Page Six had a blog. Then the column could have had a soundbite in the article. From Jane.
• Luke Wilson clings to his last shred of dignity, telling the whole world "I will never make a movie with Jessica Simpson." Good boy, Luke. Very good. [Scoop]
• Candace Bushnell's new radio show launches tonight, and will guest star Cynthia Rowley and Paula Froelich. As long as Jessica Joffe never makes an appearance, we'll tune in. [Page Six]
• Jon Stewart tells Ann Coulter she should write a book about "Mother Teresa shoving a dick in her eye." Lovely. Oh, and Stewart's 2-year-old was in the audience shouting "dada." More lovely. [R&M]
• Despite their recent publisher drop-out, Maer Roshan says Radar is going "full steam ahead." We didn't know people still talked like that. [WWD]
• Scarlett Johansson insists on telling everyone she's not a slut. Even though nobody asked or called her a whore or cares if she's getting laid. Really, Lindsay Lohan has the only cunt we care about. [AP]
Shmuel "Shmuly" Tennenhaus – known affectionately around Jossip Worldwide as "Crazy Eyes – isn't just Bonnie Fuller's stalker. He's also quite the amateur book reviewer. A quick glance at his Amazon.com review page shows he's only got two books under his belt, but it's his discretion in chosen manuscripts that's the real personality indicator. His most recent review (June 7, 2005) was for Malcom Gladwell's Blink – "[Gladwell] also informs the reader that snap judgments are not merely relegated to NFL quarterbacks" – but it's his debut crit that really drew us in. That review was for Page Sixer Paula Froelich's it!: 9 Secrets of the Rich and Famous That'll Take You to the Top, which is currently ranked #153,434 on Amazon's best-seller list. Writes Tennenhaus:
I recommend this book to anyone who can read. If you can't read, then buy the audiocassette.
This book is more than just a beach companion because you can also read it in your house like I did. I plowed through the book like a farmer on speed. The contents were so engrossingly informative that I failed to notice that my building was on fire. Luckily I survived.
If you devour Page Six for breakfast, then you will absolutely love the book. If you don't voraciously read Page Six on a daily basis, it's about time you relocate to planet Earth.
Buy it so you can own a copy! Don't be cheap and wait for it to premiere on Cinemax.
Such elocution — it's a shame he's wasting it on domain names.
Being a gossip columnist is not easy, y'all. It takes a lot of endurance, time, talking to people you rather see floating in the Hudson and getting hooked up by your connected friends. Lucky for your, the Los Angeles Times has taken upon itself to compose a six-step guide to becoming the next Paula Froelich or Lloyd Grove. (Though they're pretty old school. If you want to be in the game these days, you need a blog.)
But the part that really sucks, is that you may have to attend some parties you are probably way too good for.
Step 5: Go to the right party even if it seems wrong. "I went to this awful party, just to keep myself out there and busy, and then standing next to me was this girl from Star. She said I should come and do a few writing samples for them. So that's how it worked out."
Oh, dear it's true. You can always find a girl from Star even at the most awful, dreadful parties. And it's pretty much guaranteed that she's just waiting for some really die-hard wanna be gossip to fill the role of "crappy party attender."
How to Become a Gossip Reporter [Meaghan Murphy, LA Times]
We are always amazed at how Page Six is able to dig up their breaking, juicy gossip. They really do have all the feelers out there, tapping into even the most underground events. Especially the very whisper-y "we hear" section. That's where you always find the real gems. Take today's for example.
…THAT Sandra Bernhard is hosting a luncheon at Michael's today for MAC cosmetics where she, Amy Sacco, Robert Verdi and Page Six's Paula Froelich will "mouth off" in four "Controversial Dialogues"
How ever did they hear that? Good scoop, guys! And we're sure using this disgusto photo of Sandra Bernhard will get the star mouthing off at Paula in no time.
We Hear … [Page Six]
The Page Six scandal continues to chug along, and this time, the feds are getting involved. Richard Johnson, Chris Wilson, and Paula Froelich (which the Daily News spells "Frohelich") will face questions relating to their former fellow gossip Jared Paul Stern.
Post spokesman Howard Rubenstein confirmed that the Page Six staffers would cooperate with the investigation, while one of Johnson's 10 lawyers, Ed Hayes, thinks it's a bit unnecessary — considering JPS hasn't actually been charged with a crime.
Johnson can't be repped by Hayes, though, because Hayes once repped Stern, and while he says it is Murray Richman who will get Johnson's back, Richman denies having any involvement. So, basically, we don't know who amongst the Sixers has a lawyer or who they are.
What we do know is that the word "kerfuffle" is slowly being reintroduced to the vernacular of media gossips.
Next Post scoop: Grilled gossips [William Sherman, Daily News]
We Hear . . . Stern Questions [Geoffry Gray, New York]
Honestly, we would like to give a witty rounded out summary of this posting from Galleycat on the status of tonight's "gossip lit" reading hosted by Deborah Schoeneman which Ian Spiegelman begged everyone to come to … but we fear our shortening won't do it nearly the justice it deserves. From the literary gossip blog:
I was getting all set to write some snappy patter about the reading event at the Bubble Lounge tonight, where Deborah Schoeneman was supposed to host a "Gossip Lit" lineup of fellow ex-Post reporters Bridget Harrison and Ian Spiegelman, as well as Dana Vachon and (our ex-boss) Elizabeth Spiers. But when I went to confirm the lineup on Schoeneman's website, I found that everyone but Spiegelman had bailed, and that the event now featured race car driver Alex Roy, who also chairs The Moth, a literary spoken word series, and Pamela Wasserstein, heretofore best known as the subject of her aunt Wendy's children's book Pamela's First Musical, who will be reading from Elements of Style, the late playwright's recently published novel. This doesn't even sound like a "Gossip Lit" night anymore, even if PW did call Elements "dishy."
Poor Spiegel. Turns out Vachon and Spiers felt it was "too early to be out promoting" the not-yet-published book, while Harrison is avoiding the psychoticness which results from Ian's emailing habits as well as keeping on good terms with Schoeneman's arch nemesis Paula Froelich who hosted Harrison's book party last month. (We doubt Paula gives a shit what anyone past or present Page Six does with their book readings, but the gossip that goes on between gossips is positively devine.)
So, what's a night of gossip books with no gossips? A random sampling filed under the slot "Summer Reading." We really hope y'all had fall-back plans for tonight.
Update 6/21: Contrary to what some media blogs are reporting, Schoeneman never bailed on her own reading series. Her guests did. If writing is re-writing, then reading is re-reading.
Ex-Gossipers Provide Gossip Column Fodder [Galleycat, Mediabistro]
Earlier: Ian Spiegelman Has A Few More People He Can Piss Off
You know that old scenario where one guy ruins it for everyone? Well, this just in, courtesy (like you had to guess) of the Daily News: Jared Paul Stern ruined it for everyone.
Along with JPS, all of Page Six's freelancers have been let go. The News is calling it a "housecleaning" and despite lack of comment from the competition, it's needless to say this all goes back to the "scandal."
Hints of a cleanup came last week when Post Editor in Chief Col Allan said in a published report: "We are going to tighten ship."
Freelance reporters Fernando Gil, Lisa Marsh, Christopher Tennant and Jared Paul Stern are the byline staffers who are being sacked.
While these four contribs shared the "fourth chair" spot over at P6, behind Richard Johnson, Paula Froelich, and Chris Wilson, they also worked with Page Six The Magazine … which is still moving forth full speed ahead without its editor.
The fate of the crew is yet to be determined, but as for for Stern, we're sure he can fall back on his fab clothing line, commission from Zink magazine, and contributors check from Nick Denton. Not to mention any other extraneous cash that may have exchanged hands.
Post cans four gossip scribes [William Sherman, New York Daily News]
Gossiping about a fired gossip columnist's book about the gossips he worked with? So meta, they should just call it jossiping.
Ripped from the Gatecrashing pages of the New York Daily News, Ben Widdicombe brings us preview of Ian Spiegelman's about-to-premiere book, "Welcome to Yesterday."
Set in the two days preceding his Page Six axing, Spieglman takes stabs at everyone in the office, from Paula Froelich ("I could've shaved her blonde head right there in the office") and Richard Johnson (with "a mischievous penchant for investigating the conspiracies of any syphilitic who managed to dial his number in the middle of the night") to Col Allen ("Like so many editors, he clearly hadn't worked a reporter's phone since college, if ever.") and Lloyd Grove, (understandably).
Joked one Miramax insider of the Robert Harris character: "I don't know why he didn't just call him Jichard Rohnson."
How easily the folks in this industry will turn around and try to slash each others eyes out! In a fight between Froelich and Spieglman, however, you know Paula would so kick ass. Lloyd Grove, on the other hand, might want to stick with his pen for a sword.
Canned Postie fires back [Ben Widdicombe, Gatecrasher]
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