Ya know who's going to benefit the least from today's Times TMZ.com item? Public relations firm Fifteen Minutes owner Howard Bragman, who just violated the celebrity industry's Don't Ask, Don't Tell rule.

Reporst the Times:

Howard Bragman, a publicist who owns the firm Fifteen Minutes, which represents Ricki Lake, Leeza Gibbons and Isaiah Washington, has also found some benefits to dealing with TMZ.

“Compared to many of the other outlets, they’re 1,000 percent better. If you have a good relationship with them, they’ll change an occasional word or swap an occasional picture, but that’s just for friends of the family,” he said. “And since it goes around the world in seconds, you can leak something to them without fingerprints and it looks like somebody else did it. I’ve certainly done that.”

Rule No. 1 in playing nice with the business' top gossip player? Don't make 'em look like softies. It's been a nice ride, Howie.