Richard Johnson: Many Journalists View Gossip Columnists as 'the Dirty, Seamy Side' of the News Business
Despite the controversial blind item about Sandy Koufax (and getting a drink tossed in his face after the Oscars), the editor of the New York Post's infamous Page Six insists his column practices solid journalism.

By Patrick Phillips
I Want Media, 04/09/03

Richard Johnson is the editor of Page Six, the notorious, no-holds-barred daily gossip column in the New York Post. The powerful Page Six, as Arena magazine once observed, "can launch a bestseller, break a contract, fill a restaurant -- even end a marriage." That's a lot of clout and responsibility for any editor, but Johnson, who has overseen the column for some 18 years, handles the job with much assuredness and wit.

Johnson, a native New Yorker, joined the Post in 1978 in general assignment and re-write. Five years later, then-Page Six editor Susan Mulcahy hired him as a gossip reporter. Johnson took over as editor of the column when Mulcahy left in 1985.

The New York Post's king of gossip spoke with I Want Media about what makes a good gossip item, how his column got a plug in the movie "Phone Booth," and why Rupert Murdoch's name seldom shows up in his own paper.

I Want Media: Page Six is arguably the premier newspaper gossip column. What's the secret of its success?

Richard Johnson: Our approach toward gossip is more reporting, instead of just repeating gossip. We actually try to find out if it an item is true.

IWM: Who created Page Six?

Johnson: Rupert Murdoch started Page Six when he bought the Post in '76. And there was some dispute between [former Page Six editors] James Brady and Neal Travis over whose idea it was. James Brady was part of the original conception. But Neal Travis was the first editor. You know, a success has many parents.

IWM: Has Page Six changed much since you became editor?

Johnson: No, I think I've just been able to maintain its high standards, its tone and its mix. I think probably because it's been around for so long that people are noticing it more. And also the fact that we're on the Internet, and the Post is now printing in California and Florida.

IWM: How would you describe the tone and mix of Page Six?

Johnson: We've always tried to be more about movers and shakers, and people who are very accomplished, not only about show-biz. We've always tried to have a mix of people involved in business and not limit ourselves to pop stars. We have a mix of supermodels, criminals and titans of industry.

IWM: How many people work on Page Six?

Johnson: It's me and two full timers, Paula Froelich and Chris Wilson, plus two part timers, Jared Paul Stern and Ian Spiegelman.

IWM: What makes a good Page Six item?

Johnson: It's pretty much the same as with any great news story: you need sex, money or violence -- or all three.

IWM: Of all of your scoops, which one is your favorite?

Johnson: I don't know. We broke the story that George Schultz had a tiger tattoo on his ass back when he was secretary of state. It got a huge amount of attention. That's the sort of story we like to do -- a secret about a powerful person in the news. And it's harmless.

IWM: Why did ICM agent Ed Limato throw a drink in your face at the Vanity Fair Oscar party a few weeks ago?

Johnson: You know, the guy was probably drunk. And he didn't like something I had written, so he pulled a sort of cowardly chick move and threw a drink in my face.

IWM: Did he say anything to you?

Johnson: Yeah, he cursed me out.

IWM: What had you written?

Johnson: He represents Mel Gibson, and we had done a pick-up from the [New York] Times about this controversial new movie that Gibson's doing. And then we had a follow-up item about how Ed Limato's pre-Oscar party this year might be under-attended because of the controversy over this movie. I guess he felt that that was a cheap shot.

IWM: Does this kind of thing happen frequently?

Johnson: It happened once before. Some girlfriend of Al Pacino threw a drink in my face. We had been chronicling her desperate attempt to get Pacino to marry her.

IWM: Did they ever marry?

Johnson: No.

IWM: Has anyone ever threatened you with bodily harm?

Johnson: Yeah. Mickey Rourke, according to [former columnist] A.J. Benza's book. [Rourke] was trying to get my address one night. I don't think he would have done it himself, though. He probably would have just sent some goons. It started because we ran a photograph of him with some attractive young lady. He was married at the time.

IWM: I heard some gossip that you once tried to get a job with the CIA. Is that true?

Johnson: That's true.

IWM: Isn't that a big leap, from gossip columnist to CIA agent?

Johnson: I was just going to do that on the side. I wasn't going to leave my journalism gig. I wanted to have a dual career. I thought that the journalism gig would provide a good cover. I thought also I could probably get some good stories. Might be a two-way street.

IWM: This sounds like that Chuck Barris book, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."

Johnson: [Laughing] Yeah, well, I think that [Chuck Barris] was under the delusion that he actually was in the CIA! All I got was a form letter.

IWM: What did it say?

Johnson: Oh, it was stupid. It said there are basically four areas of espionage work, and one was like where you just sit in an office and read foreign newspapers.

IWM: You should have reprinted it on Page Six.

Johnson: I think I did. I didn't say that I had applied, I just said that people who are interested in the CIA get a stupid form letter.

IWM: Did you come up with the "Portly Pepperpot" nickname for Monica Lewinsky that's mentioned frequently on Page Six?

Johnson: I did not come up with that. The Post sports columnist who calls himself Hondo came up with the "Portly Pepperpot" and her "crusty love dress." He was using it in his column in sports. And I liked it so much I started using it. I guess I kind of stole it from him.

IWM: Page Six recently published an apology for a blind item suggesting that baseball legend Sandy Koufax was gay. Page Six has published corrections before, but is this the first-ever apology?

Johnson: I think we've used the words "apologize" and "sorry" in corrections or retractions before. I really don't want to get into it. I think the apology stands for itself.

IWM: You have received a lot of criticism for this item. What is the role of gossip in a newspaper?

Johnson: I mean, this [situation] is more specifically about blind items. And I think I'm responsible for bringing back blind items. They were very popular in Walter Winchell's day, and for a number of years nobody was doing them. Then I started doing them, and now a lot of people are doing them. And they can be problematical. I always felt that someday there was going to be a problem with a blind item. And, lo and behold, it happened.

IWM: But you're still doing them. This incident didn't stop you?

Johnson: No, no. We're just being more careful.

IWM: Do you think that a lot of journalists look down at gossip columnists?

Johnson: Yes, of course they do. They feel that they're doing some sort of a higher calling, and that we represent the dirty, seamy side of the business. Just like somebody who works for the New York Times looks down at the National Enquirer, somebody who writes the news looks down at somebody who writes gossip. They don't give any prizes for gossip, you know.

IWM: But you insist that you're practicing solid journalism.

Johnson: That's correct.

IWM: So, what's the difference?

Johnson: There really isn't any. Except that I can do blind items and they can't.

IWM: How did the Sandy Koufax apology come about? Did [Post editor] Col Allen or [Post publisher] Lachlan Murdoch push for it?

Johnson: Like I said, I think the apology has to stand for itself. I think that it's safe to assume there was some discussion of it before the apology went in [the paper].

IWM: Does Col Allen give you any input or direction with Page Six?

Johnson: Absolutely. Sometimes the leads I get could be developed into news stories, and sometimes the news section gets stories that belong on Page Six. He's sort of a traffic cop who makes decisions about the best place for certain stories. A few days ago, we had a tip that the April In Paris ball had been canceled. They decided it would be better as a Page Six story.

IWM: Has Rupert Murdoch ever communicated his feelings to you about Page Six?

Johnson: No, I don't think we've ever had that conversation.

IWM: Have you ever mentioned Rupert Murdoch on Page Six?

Johnson: If I have, it's very rare. I don't think he likes seeing his name in his own newspaper. If his name appears [in the Post], it looks like he approved it. And somebody could accuse him of being a publicity hound. It's sort of a no-win situation.

IWM: Has the PageSix.com Web site had an impact on the column?

Johnson: There's a new movie out, "Phone Booth," that references Page Six. That wouldn't have happened a few years ago. I think that the Page Six brand has become big because of the Internet.

IWM: Do you get e-mail tips through the Web site that you've used in the column?

Johnson: I do get a lot of tips via e-mail.

IWM: How would you recommend people pitch an item to Page Six? What advice would you give on how to pique your interest?

Johnson: I would appreciate it if people who pitched items actually read Page Six. The main thing they need to have is a good story. I mean, even our small items generally have some sort of plot.

IWM: What type of items do you definitely not want to be pitched?

Johnson: A list of names. "Oh, we're going to have some great people there." And then they list names of people going to a charity event. That's incredibly boring.

IWM: Do you prefer phone calls, faxes or e-mails?

Johnson: I think e-mails are the easiest now. You can respond immediately instead of playing phone tag with people. You can just say, thanks, I got it, or no thanks.

IWM: How many e-mails do you get a day?

Johnson: I think about 200 now. I kill most of them outright without even opening them. I look at the subject line. But sometimes they're very tricky, especially the porn operators.

IWM: You're no longer pursuing a part-time job with the CIA?

Johnson: I'm still waiting for their call. You know, if I were in the CIA, I'd have to pretend I wasn't, anyway.



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