Exclusive
It wouldn’t be proper to begin the week without more news on the Us Weekly-Ken Baker scandal front. After last week’s merry-go-round with news of the magazine’s west coast exec editor refusing to pay a measily three-figure bill from publicist Jessica Meisels for help with his June charity poker event – and gossip columns from Page Six to Lowdown trying to get their newspaper inches involved – the tabloid went after Meisels where it counts: their editorial. At the end of last week, Us‘ New York office was last seen making ominous phone calls to Meisels, threatening to end its support for any of her clients. They also told her if she had a problem with anyone at Us, she should’ve gone to the magazine first, not the media blog you’re reading right now.
Which would make sense, if only Meisels was our source. But, hey, 1290 Sixth? She’s not — and we only tell you that in hopes you two can become friends again. But that doesn’t mean Meisels hasn’t been talking to us. Under pressure from Us‘ editors, she’s gone and denied our report.
Fingerprint Communications maintains a positive relationship with US Weekly and the magazine’s staffers. … Fingerprint Communications has worked on two events for Head To Hollywood including the poker event in vegas. Our fee for the event was paid.
But Jessica is just about the only one willing to speak on the record. Us‘ editor Janice Min, meanwhile, refuses to speak to us for publication. We’ve asked her – over the course of regular email chats discussing these matters – to confirm or deny the allegations we’ve exclusively reported (from Kitson’s legal claims to Baker’s unethical payola scandals), and not once has she provided an on the record response.
She did, however, tell the name-misspelling New York Times the magazine “absolutely [does] not” blacklist merchants or demand free merch in exchange for editorial. Cue laughter from one block south at People.
(Photos, L to R: Ken Baker and Carmen Electra at the June 3 poker event; Jessica Meisels at her birthday party with Nicky and Paris Hilton)
Earlier: Breaking: Us Weekly Threatening Jessica Meisels Over Ken Baker’s Unpaid Bills
Related: All Ken Baker, Us Weekly, and Jessica Meisels coverage
Editorial Director
Yeah, I’ll bet Fingerprint was paid after the Jossip item came out!
jossip is like the Ralph Nadar of blogs!!!!
who paid the bill, Baker or daddy Jann? or did it really get paid at all?
HA! Perfect use of the word ‘payola’ :
a bribe offered to one who promotes a commercial product by dishonestly making use of his position or influnce.
[...] at the Wenner tabloid, which in recent years included endless gossip about ethical lapses and payola, demotions, Ryan Seacrest loving (and favoring), scandal, and yes, his [...]