Dishing The Dirt On Gossip Columns

It sounds like a dream job: Hobnob with beautiful people; show up at movie premieres and hot new restaurants; get paid to chase stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna.

But here's the inside scoop: It isn't pretty.

That was among the revelations that emerged Tuesday from a "gossip summit" held by online radio network eYada.com and attended by more than 20 gossip columnists and a smattering of B-list celebrities.

The panelists -- including Richard Johnson of the New York Post, George Rush and Joanna Molloy of the Daily News and syndicated columnist Liz Smith -- talked about the lies publicity agents tell to keep clients' names out of the papers and whether they, as columnists, are friendly with the stars they cover.

"Absolutely not," said Michael Musto of The Village Voice. "Meryl Streep does not call me and say, 'Let's go bowling tonight.'...I don't have to reach that ethical point where I say, 'Should I go out with Julia Roberts tonight?"'

The three-hour gathering took place in a noisy Manhattan restaurant and was Webcast live on eYada.

Smith, participating by phone from her book tour, recalled Donald and Ivana Trump's divorce fondly.

"It didn't do me any harm, but I often say that it was the most important story I ever covered that didn't amount to a hill of beans," she said. "I mean, in the end it was just about some rich people arguing over money. It was a lot of fun and it made newsstand sales go up about 50 percent."

Dissecting the more recent breakup of Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres, Rush observed: "Of course everybody's wondering whether Anne is pregnant." Jeannette Walls of MSNBC.com said the couple, who had considered having children together, broke up partly because DeGeneres wanted Heche to stay home and raise them.

Dr. Sean Keniff, better known as Sean from the CBS Survivor show, discussed the nature of fame as part of a panel of celebrities and near-celebrities.

Keniff said he applied for Survivor thinking it would be cool to be famous.

"I've been anonymous for the first 30 years of my life. You know, I've been there, done that...And you know what? It is cool. I used to go away for a weekend and nobody would call me. A three-day weekend, I'd get zero phone calls. And now I get like 30, 40 calls a day."

Written By KAREN MATTHEWS
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