The Gossip Files

The Village Voice has a well-written piece on the state of gossip in New York City HERE. I don't necessarily agree with all of its conclusions -- or weren't there any? -- it's fun to hear what most of the leading players in the field have to say about where things stand, and whether or not Page Six is still the gold standard of Gotham gossip.

"The thing about gossip is, if you know it, you're in the know, and most people want to sit next to you," says Paula Froelich, the fiery, 10-year veteran of Page Six and deputy to Richard Johnson who left last summer. "For the people who stick their nose up at it, I laugh my ass off. Complete governments have changed because of gossip. Everyone wants to sit next to someone who knows something."

"Old-school New York gossip is basically bleeding to death at the same rate as the newspaper industry. That's why something like TMZ in L.A. is so exciting. It's a new model, and it's working," says Ben Widdicombe (who has done work for TMZ). "There's no reason why New York couldn't innovate something like that, but so far the East Coast mindset has not been in that place. Too often, getting your gossip in New York is like reading a bad blog on a dead tree."