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Photo: Columnist
Jared Paul Stern, shown at a fashion show in 2003, is accused of trying
to extort money from a billionaire. "We know how to destroy people,"
Stern said.
Big scandal rocked
New York media world and the gossip cosmos, this week. Yes sir, media
can make you or break you. And many journalists and media personalities
make their living from gossiping about you or even badmouthing you. The
biggest story of the week, is what the New York imes reported about
Jared Paul Stern, a powerful gossips columnist working for the The New
York Post. And here is the full story according to the Times: The New
York Post is cooperating with a federal investigation into whether a
longtime contributor for the Page Six gossip column — the avidly read
daily log of wrongdoing, double-dealing and sexual indiscretions by
celebrities both minor and major — tried to extort money from a
California billionaire, according to a spokesman for the newspaper.
Several people involved in the investigation said the reporter, Jared
Paul Stern, had been captured on a video recording demanding a $100,000
payment and a monthly stipend of $10,000 from Ronald W. Burkle in return
for keeping negative information about him out of the paper. Mr. Stern
was suspended Thursday pending the outcome of the investigation, and
could be dismissed, according to Howard Rubenstein, the spokesman. But
while the accusations against Mr. Stern are serious, it is the specter —
raised by at least three people who say they know what is on the tapes —
that Mr. Stern implicated several celebrities and New York power figures
in an undisclosed, symbiotic relationship with Page Six that prompted an
extraordinary day of full-throated and at times gleeful gossip among
those who love, hate and avidly read the column. Those who say they know
what is on the tape said Mr. Stern named Harvey Weinstein, the
co-founder of Miramax films, and Ronald O. Perelman, the chairman of
Revlon, as being among those who have had their coverage on the page
finessed. Through a spokesman, Mr. Weinstein flatly denied any improper
relationship with the column and its main editor, Richard Johnson. Mr.
Perelman's company once hired the fiancée of Mr. Johnson, Sessa von
Richthofen, whom he is marrying today, as an administrative assistant.
The executive who hired her said yesterday she had not been pressured
into hiring her. In the recordings, Mr. Stern never asserted that money
had been used for preferential coverage. Mr. Rubenstein, who said that
lawyers for the newspaper were reviewing Mr. Stern's work, added that
the authorities had not asked for information concerning any other
reporters for the gossip column. He said the paper was preserving Mr.
Stern's computer records and other material for the authorities to
review. One federal law enforcement official said the investigation was
in its early stages and that it was unclear if any charges would be
brought against Mr. Stern. Mr. Stern's lawyer, Edward Hayes, defended
the writer, who has also edited a Page Six magazine for The Post. "Jared
did not and could not guarantee him good coverage or protect him from
bad coverage," he said of Mr. Stern's dealings with Mr. Burkle. "Jared
made a mistake.
He's sorry if it
embarrassed The Post and nothing actually happened, and hopefully it
will be over and done with." Mr. Stern said last night, "I apologize for
causing The New York Post any embarrassment after almost 11 years of
loyal and dedicated service, and hope they would not rush to judgment."
Gary Ginsberg, an executive vice president with the News Corporation,
Rupert Murdoch's international media company that owns The Post, said of
the investigation, "We're taking it very seriously." But he added that
the allegations had no broader implications for The Post, and noted that
Mr. Stern was a part-time contributor. He said that the Page Six
magazine had appeared only once. "No one's trying to make any excuses
for his alleged behavior, but in terms of what it means for the
franchise, I think the franchise is as strong as any in journalism. This
is highly aberrational," he said. The investigation was front-page news
for The Post's top rival, The Daily News, which first reported many of
the details of the accusations against Mr. Stern.
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Photo: Stern is suspected of demanding
$100,000 from Ronald W. Burkle, pictured in 1997, in exchanged for not
writing negative stories about him.
The scandal that is rattling Page Six
began about a year ago, when items about Mr. Burkle, a supermarket magnate
and Democratic fund-raiser, began appearing in the column more often. The
accounts of Mr. Burkle's dealings with Mr. Stern and The Post are based on
interviews with several associates of Mr. Burkle, as well as two other
people who said they knew what is on the tapes. They all refused to be
named because of the federal investigation. Associates of Mr. Burkle said
that Page Six items about the billionaire began appearing last year that
were wildly inaccurate, without Mr. Burkle's even being called for
comment. Last summer, one associate said, Mr. Burkle arranged to meet Mr.
Stern at the Palace Hotel in Manhattan after a friend suggested Mr. Stern
could give him some insight into Page Six. There, Mr. Stern asked Mr.
Burkle to become a source, dishing on his famous acquaintances. Mr. Burkle
declined but as a favor agreed to buy 60 shirts from Skull and Bones, Mr.
Stern's clothing line. The associate said Mr. Burkle protested to editors,
including Mr. Johnson and even wrote a personal letter of complaint to Mr.
Murdoch, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.
Photo: Ronald O. Perelman, the chairman
of Revlon, is named among those who have had their coverage finessed.
"Every time I am mentioned in your
newspaper," the letter read, "the facts are just plain wrong." The letter
concluded: "I hate to bother you with this; but at the end of the day, it
is your newspaper." Colin Myler, the paper's executive editor, wrote back
and promised to correct any errors, the associate said. Mr. Burkle also
had his lawyer, Martin D. Singer, send several letters threatening
litigation, according to several people with knowledge of the
correspondence. On March 14, the associate said, an employee of Mr.
Burkle's received an e-mail message from Mr. Stern, a contributor who
worked two days a week for Page Six, suggesting that Mr. Burkle had "the
means" to change the column's treatment of him. "I understand Ron is upset
about the press he's been getting," the e-mail message read. "If he's
really concerned, he needs a strategy for dealing with it and regulating
it rather than merely reacting. It's not easy to accomplish, but he
certainly has the means to do so." At that point, Mr. Burkle suspected he
was being extorted, the associate said. Then, "he reached out to his
attorney, who then reached out to law enforcement," the associate said.
According to many people involved in the episode, Mr. Stern agreed to meet
Mr. Burkle face to face at least two times at Mr. Burkle's loft in TriBeCa,
the first of which was on March 22. Mr. Burkle's security team, aided by a
New York City-based private investigations firm, recorded the meetings in
the loft over the last few weeks, according a person who was briefed on
the sessions and was granted anonymity because the investigation is
continuing. At the final meeting, on March 31, a federal agent and an
assistant United States attorney were with Mr. Burkle's security detail to
monitor the recording. The recordings were turned over to the federal
authorities. In their meetings, Mr. Stern described three levels of
"protection" he could offer Mr. Burkle, according to those with knowledge
of what is captured on the tapes. |
Photo: Rupert
Murdoch, pictured in March, owns the New York Post. A spokesman says the
company is taking the investigation "very seriously."
captured on the
tapes. When Mr. Burkle pressed Mr. Stern to explain how this would work,
Mr. Stern at first cited a few examples involving Mr. Johnson, saying that
his boss had a "script deal" with Mr. Weinstein — something the movie
executive denied yesterday. "The New York Post and Page Six have always
been above board with our company," said a Weinstein company spokesman.
Mr. Stern also said that Mr. Johnson's fiancée, Ms. von Richthofen, had
been employed by Mr. Perelman, the financier. Last year, Ms. Richthofen
was hired as an administrative assistant to Christine Taylor, the senior
vice president of corporate communications of McAndrews and Forbes, Mr.
Perelman's Manhattan-based holding company. Ms. Taylor said she knew Ms.
Richthofen and had not been pressured to hire her. Ms. Richthofen, who
resigned from the company a month ago, was paid no differently than anyone
else would be in the position, she said. Mr. Perelman could not be reached
for comment yesterday.
When Mr. Burkle
asked Mr. Stern in the tapes if he should hire Ms. Richthofen, Mr. Stern
steered the discussion of payments back to himself, according to one
person involved in the investigation. Mr. Johnson referred calls to Mr.
Rubenstein. The accusations against Mr. Stern were striking for the
boldness of his alleged behavior and the amount of money he is accused of
requesting. But gossip columns have always occupied a murky corner in the
realm of journalistic standards, which traditionally preclude writers and
editors from accepting gifts from those they cover. Mr. Stern also cited
the example of Joe Francis, the creator of the "Girls Gone Wild" video
series, who Mr. Stern said had offered to fly much of the staff of Page
Six to a place Mr. Francis owns in Mexico on his private jet for Mr.
Johnson's bachelor party. According to Mr. Rubenstein, Mr. Francis was a
friend of Mr. Johnson's. In March, an item appeared in The Post saying
that Mr. Francis could be the next Hugh Hefner. Mr. Francis could not be
reached yesterday. Mr. Johnson also accepted a free trip to the Academy
Awards last month, courtesy of ABC and Mercedes-Benz, including
first-class airfare and a three-night stay at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Mercedes-Benz also provided a car and driver for Mr. Johnson throughout
the weekend, a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz, Geoff Day, confirmed.
Mr. Stern, 35, began
working full time for The Post in 1997. In 2003, Bonnie Fuller hired him
to be the executive editor of Star, a position he left within a year. He
returned to The Post as a contributor. In addition he wrote for other
publications, including two articles for The Times. In the March 31
meeting, Mr. Burkle mainly haggled with Mr. Stern over how his payments
should be made: in cash, as Mr. Stern wanted, or by wire transfer, as the
authorities had pressed Mr. Burkle to insist, according to a person
involved in the investigation. In that meeting, the person involved in the
investigation said, Mr. Stern spoke of Page Six's power.
"We know how to destroy people," Mr.
Stern said, according to a person reading a transcript of the meeting.
"It's what we do. We do it without creating liability. That's our
specialty."
|
Photo:
Her new project WigWam sees her collaborate with Alex James.
Photo:
Former
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is to be charged with genocide over a 1980s
campaign against the Kurds, an Iraqi tribunal has announced. Saddam
Hussein and six others face new charges over a campaign of killings,
arrests, deportation and property destruction known as the Anfal...
"Hands
off Iran", read several placards carried by protesters 
MADONNA'S
NEW TOUR
Nude
Sculpture of Britney Spears causes scandal
Charges
against Yanni dropped. Musician arrested in March for domestic battery.
Prosecutors in Palm Beach, Florida, will not file
domestic battery charges against new age musician Yanni.
Petula
Clark, at 73, And She Is Still One Of The Best!
Legendary performer talks about today's pop stars and the last days of
Elvis. Britain’s best-selling female singer reveals she feels badly for
young pop stars like Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson. Petula Clark, who
has sold more than 70 million albums, compares today’s chart-toppers to
tissues. “You know, you use one and throw it away and get another one,” says
the legendary singer
HOW
TO PUT EXCITEMENT IN YOUR BEDROOM.
HOW TO SPICE UP YOUR LOVE LIFE ACCORDING TO
MEN. HOW TO SPICE UP YOUR LOVE LIFE ACCORDING TO WOMEN.
FASHION
2007. ACCESSORIES, BRIC BRAC
AND GLAMOUR NEW TRENDS
London
'call girl' gives up blog
Filmmaker
Michael Moore: A Biography
Daniel
Iliescu in Noir et Blanc.
Elegant in its lyrical simplicity and stormy in its eloquent silence.
Does
praying for a sick person's recovery do any good?
No, prayer doesn't help heart patients to recover, study
says. In the largest scientific test of its kind, heart surgery patients
showed no benefit when strangers prayed for their recovery. And patients
who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of
complications. Doctors could only guess why. Several scientists questioned
the concept of the study.
Talent
is the greatest asset of a star. No question about it. But what makes a
star last IS character. The public is noisy.
But
the public is sensitive and observant too. Many divas of Hollywood's
yesteryears shined brighter than the sun, and also vanished as soon as the
sun faded away behind the horizon. 
