The problems aboard Good Morning America's Whistle-Stop Tour are not over. Yesterday we told you about growing concerns inside ABC about Diane, Robin, Sam, and Chris touring the country in a train just after the same mode of transportation killed 25 people, as well as the scandals plaguing the producers responsible for keeping the show running. Now, we're told, more drama: CONTINUED »
JOSSIP REPORTS — Good Morning America is embarking on something called the Whistle-Stop Tour, which, like every other news entity seems to be doing, wants to visit all 50 states before Nov. 4. Timeline: 50 days. As we understand it, it's basically a glorified witch hunt for swing voters.
And like John McCain's Straight Talk Express, Diane, Robin, Chris, and Sam have The GMA Express, their very own customized choo-choo train to take them all over this great nation, from which they'll also broadcast live. (Except: Hasn't rail service to America's small towns been slashed dramatically over the past decade?) There's a video explaining the whole concept here.
Indeed, it's a pure ratings stunt.
Too bad the whole thing is coming off the rails (groan!) thanks to a mountain of in-fighting, old scandals again rearing their heads, and the most recent association Americans have with trains: how they just killed 25 people. CONTINUED »
Semi-retired gossip queen Bonnie Fuller often takes to the Huffington Post to critique famous women and lady politicos abusing their power. It's often her thesis that famous women bring negativity upon themselves, and it is not the fault of our gossip-y culture nor our incessant need to know every bit of personal minutiae that is the downfall of American culture.
Fuller, you'll recall, was until recently the editorial director of American Media, which published not only Star, but John Edwards' favorite publication The National Enquirer. And its editor, David Perel, now finds himself pulling a Fuller — taking not to HuffPo, but to the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page, where he, too, defends his profession.
It's been a long time coming. His paper has been attacked by the left (for reporting John Edwards' affair) and the right (for pushing Sarah Palin scandals) and the fourth estate (for not having journalistic standards … and beating them to the Edwards story, which they opted to ignore). But Perel takes it in stride, pointing out the obvious hypocrisy of it all: The private lives of political types should be off-limits, the argument goes, until it's the opponent's personal matters that become scandalous. CONTINUED »
(Click to enlarge image of Sarah Palin during happier, poorer times)
Weren't you just thinking the other day how this Sarah Palin's teenage daughter Bristol's pregnancy scandal was totally to September what John Edwards and Rielle Hunter's love-baby was to August?
Too bad, it's not. There is a so, so much salaciously better rumor about the former beauty queen and her sexcapades that is going down.
The National Enquirer wants any fans of the Edwards/Hunter and Palin scandals to please step forward, because do they have a scoop for you: CONTINUED »
Seeing what the National Enquirer did with John Edwards — endless press (eventually) and a slight, but noticeable, newsstand bump — Us Weekly is definitely not getting left behind with, or letting the Enquirer own, the latest political scandal. Or, you know, the scandal that might not really be a scandal, just a little matter of unwed teen pregnancy.
Enter Sarah Palin. Hitting this morning, this cover — which first broke on our own Queerty — "Babies, Lies & Scandal" slaps readers with the three things that are guaranteed to move a celebrity weekly from newsstand to readers' hands. (All that's missing? "Sex." But it's implied.)
Yes, Us is back on the political beat. But while it entered the fray with its well-sold Barack and Michelle Obama cover, that issue treated the wannabe future First Couple as genuine celebrities who should be celebrated.
This Palin cover, however, is "true" politics: sex! scandal! investigations! babies! cover ups! And it marks editor Janice Min's first real foray into the skankier side of politics.
But while Us is a magazine dedicated to pointing out Mary-Kate's fashion foibles and chronicling the girlfriends of Michael Phelps, Us is no stranger to touting scandal on its cover.
It's just that usually the type of sordid tale Us traffics in involves women named Lindsay Lohan or Jennifer Aniston, not the possible second-in-command of the nation. Nor is the word "abortion" ever mentioned. Nor do the first photos of a celebrity's baby — ahem, Halle Berry — get pushed to the sidebar.
Sure, American Media Inc. may be carrying more than a half bil in debt, but at like we said, the National Enquirer is one bright spot. Though having seemingly abandoned the John Edwards love child scandal for now, the Enquirer did pick up an 11 percent bump in newsstand sales. Though, framed another way: Only an 11 percent hike?
'John Edwards’ ex-lover, Rielle Hunter, may have been sold out again — by one of her sisters! Somehow, the National Enquirer has managed to produce a new, very clear picture of Hunter with baby daughter Frances Quinn. The picture could not be better. So the question is, how did the supermarket tabloid get it? The answer is, it was taken by one of Hunter’s two sisters, either Roxanne or Melissa. Roxanne, who lives in North Carolina, already has been identified as a source for previous Enquirer stories. She and Rielle had not spoken for 15 years prior to the Edwards scandal. Melissa, on the other hand, has so far been regarded as the loyal sister, who would never sell out Rielle for money. Nevertheless, one of them took the picture and e-mailed it to the other. It’s now on the cover of the Enquirer, presumably without Rielle’s blessing.' [Fox 411]
'KTNV-TV, Channel 13, reporter, Jeff Gradney has been fired after he and his girlfriend were accused of soliciting male partners on the Internet. Gradney, who joined the ABC affiliate three years ago, was dismissed Monday, after a disgruntled employee sent management and staffers a Craigslist ad, a source said, that appeared to show the reporter having sex with his girlfriend. The ad read: "hot, intensely passionate couple looking for a cool guy to play with."' [LVRJ, via]
A funny thing happened on the way to ruining John Edwards reputation: The National Enquirer graduated from slippery checkout aisle gossip trash into a bonafide news source. Sure, the rag has broken legitimate news before — O.J. Simpson, and just recently, Patrick Swayze — but only since its John Edwards coup, where it forced the ex-senator and VP possibility into admitting an affair, has it attracted the respect of the mainstream media. Okay, maybe not respect, but at least the attention. CONTINUED »
Sharon Waxman, who is about to start her own Hollywood gossip enterprise, on why the John Edwards scandal still has any secrets left to be told: "My guess is that there is a simple reason why the mainstream media is unable to confirm the Edwards-Hunter affair during these past weeks. Because very few people knew what had been going on. Edwards’ staff didn’t know. Elizabeth Edwards didn’t know. The group may have been as small as three: Edwards, Hunter and her pal Bob McGovern." There's that, and also: "These past weeks,' nobody but the National Enquirer has been asking these questions. And you know what happens when some other folks do start asking questions? This little thing called answers. Strike two, Waxman.
With 32 reporters in Beijing covering the Olympics, it's nice to see the New York Times could afford two to the John Edwards scandal. And look what they turned up: a front page-worthy story that shows Edwards' camp might have been involved in lying to the press about Rielle Hunter! Though everybody but the National Enquirer was ignoring them at the time, two lawyers issued separate statements denying the scenario: Hunter's attorney said his client wasn't carrying Edwards' child, and former campaign aide Andrew Young's attorney said he was the father of the child. Now, it seems these two attorneys might have a connection that all ties back to Edwards, with money strewn along the way. Hey, this is what happens when you decide to investigate, isn't it? CONTINUED »
CBS News SVP Paul Friedman says he didn't report on the John Edwards scandal because the network "saw no reason to make his life or the life of his family any worse, until it became well-documented or he admitted it, which is what happened today." Uh huh. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz says he " came to believe that we should publish a story. But I don't get paid to make those decisions." Riiight. And Politico's Michael Calderone insisted there was no coverage in his space because "it was decided that writing on the rumors — without confirming them — simply validates the Enquirer," which, it's been shown, got much (if not all) of the story right.
But you know who also claims to have had the story about Edwards' affair but opted out of reporting on it? A one Bill O'Reilly, who, like Friedman, was doing the kind thing and not making Elizabeth Edwards' life miserable! Instead, O'Reilly just smeared Edwards as a shitty senator. "And that is the true story," he said last night. "The Factor painted an accurate picture of John Edwards without harming his family." Now, is that "accurate" with one "in-" or two?
"John Edwards, a former United States Senator from North Carolina and Democratic Party presidential candidate, admitted to an extramarital affair, which was initially alleged and published by The National Enquirer, an American supermarket tabloid newspaper. The story had been neglected by some members of the American mainstream media. The Enquirer cited claims by an anonymous source that Edwards had engaged in the affair with Rielle Hunter, a filmmaker hired to work for his presidential campaign, and that the relationship had produced a child." [Wikipedia]
And speaking of McInerey: Another 2,500 copies of his book Story of My Life, whose party girl character is based on Edwards' future mistress Rielle Hunter, are being printed to meet demand. It went out of stock on Amazon.
'Friday night's exclusive "Nightline" interview with former presidential candidate John Edwards, which rocked the media landscape earlier in the day, did little to boost the news program's ratings, although it was able to hold its audience against the Olympics opening ceremony on NBC. Friday's "Nightline" averaged a 2.6 household rating in the preliminary local people meter markets measured by Nielsen Media Research. That was on par with the previous week's household ratings. Also on par was the show's 1.2 rating in adults 25-54. But that in itself isn't a loss as "Nightline" managed to hold its own against the NBC Olympics juggernaut, not losing much in the way of audience as other shows did.' [THR]
The New York Times finds itself embroiled in some gay drama.
Longtime copy editor Charles Cretella has been suspended for two weeks after allegedly sexually harassing a newer hire. But Cretella claims he's getting the shaft - and now he's suing:
Editorial Director
