Gossip columnists
A scandal of their own
It was only a matter of time, said Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times. In recent years, American newspapers have been utterly seduced by the popularity of celebrity journalism, giving their gossip columnists prime space and tacit leeway to break all the usual rules of journalism. That policy has finally produced a bona fide scandal, with accusations that Jared Paul Stern, a gossip columnist for the New York Post
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Alchemised: how Harry Potter fanfic went mainstream
In The Spotlight Traditional publishers are signing up fan fiction authors to rewrite their ‘explosively popular’ romances for the mass market
-
Crossword: October 6, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Codeword: October 6, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle