Gawker: ask+lloyd+grove

Lloyd Grove, Blogger

abalk2 — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:40:49 EDT

A hearty thank you to Gawker guest editor Lloyd Grove, who has somehow managed to keep from being incapacitated by envy during his brief tenure. Lloyd, who today filled a position once held by such luminaries as Greg Lindsay and Andrew Krucoff, has succeeded by any measure, and we'll happily welcome him back if his new gig at James Truman's media company doesn't work out.

Earlier: Ask Lloyd Grove

Ask Lloyd Grove: From 'A Chorus Line' to 'Sunset Boulevard'

Chris Mohney — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:40:54 EDT

Submit your questions to asklloyd@gawker.com.

What's the biggest mistake you made in an article during your tenure at the NYDN?

I've blocked most of them out of my memory. I do remember printing once that Stephen Sondheim wrote "A Chorus Line."

Why were you such a dick about the New York Press when they did that stupid Pope issue?

I was feeling the need to be outraged about something, and the "humor piece" concerning the funniest things about John Paul II's impending death was a perfect target. I didn't for a minute believe that the editor would be fired. Oh well.

I was wondering about the glamour factor. How much tail does the job description "gossip columnist" net these days, especially when some young starlet wannabe recognizes you at, say, Plumm?

I have never been to Plumm, and I can only stay for a few minutes at most of the other clubs before the primal scream inside my skull becomes louder than I can bear. As for the question of "how much tail," I like to think I'm too much of a gentleman to answer that. Why don't you pose it to A.J. Benza?

Let's do gossip word association. What's the first thing that comes to mind when I ask you about the following colleagues?

You are trying to get me into trouble, aren't you? Okay, I'll bite.

Rush & Molloy.

Good people.

Cindy Adams.

Only in New York, kids, only in New York.

Liz Smith.

Total sweetheart. But tough.

Paula Froelich.

Having fun as a blonde.

Roger Friedman.

Virtuosic celebrity shmoozer.

Ben Widdicombe.

New York's hottest young gossip columnist.

Richard Johnson.

Man of few words and many suits.

Michael Musto.

Smart, funny survivor.

You deal with a lot of publicists in the gossip game. Which publicist(s) was notorious for lying?

They all lie from time to time, though the smart ones manage to buffer themselves from the gossip columnist's wrath with a layer of plausible ignorance. One who didn't, the legendary Rob Shuter, was so inventive with his representation of Jessica Simpson that it inevitably caught up with him. He was sacked after he caused a dual-cover Us Weekly/People Magazine train wreck concerning his client's cheesy alleged romance with John Mayer.

What are your top five favorite movies and what do you think they say about you?

Sunset Boulevard, Barry Lyndon, Goodfellas, The Godfather Parts I & II, The Passion of The Christ.

Just kidding on that last one. I suppose these movies say nothing about me. They're not ABOUT me. But I do like big Hollywood epics, so I guess it means that, aside from my weird liking for the odd Kubrick film, my tastes are solidly mainstream and that I am a proud American.

— Lloyd Grove

Earlier: Ask Lloyd Grove: Media Analysis from Amsterdam Edition

Ask Lloyd Grove: Media Analysis from Amsterdam Edition

skidder — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:40:57 EDT

Submit your questions to asklloyd@gawker.com.

What's your next step? And why didn't Mort re-up with you — what's the backstory?

I'll be in a position to tell you very soon about the next gig. As for Mr. Zuckerman, I knew when I took the job that not being re-upped was not only a possible but a likely outcome. Mort is obviously a brilliant businessman, and God bless him for keeping the New York Daily News afloat, but he is not a "media baron" in the sense that Rupert Murdoch is. I was an impulse buy. Mort, whom I've known for years, spotted me at a party and decided he wanted me. He was a very persuasive suitor. But, if I can take the analogy to its gag-inducing conclusion, he's not a constant spouse. In my relatively short time at the NYDN, I served under three editors in chief, three features managing editors, three different deputy publishers, etc. That's very high turnover at the top, in case my point isn't clear, and makes for a lot of abrupt strategic and tactical switches. In the end, with declining circulation and ad revenue — the bane of the newspaper business — Mort was looking to save money and I was a big-ticket item that could easily be dropped from the budget without too much disruption.

Why did you leave DC? When I was a lowly summer intern in the nation's capitol, I remember that you were quite "da bomb". You even dating one of the 50 Most Beautiful People. What happened?!

Yes, my life has taken a shocking turn since those halcyon days, is that your point? But so has yours! Change is good! Change is your friend — even if I'm not. Just kidding.

I am a (gossip)blogaddict from Amsterdam, English is not my native language, so please don't be too turned down by any grammar/spelling and other "awkward formulating of words" — mistakes.

I will try not to be too turned down.

I've been spending quite some time in NYC from 2002-2004 and i have good memories of buying the Daily News en the Post on the newsstands and read the gossipcolumns on my way home in the subway. So back in Amsterdam i kind of filled up this emptiness by reading the American Gossipblogs. Coming from the old media, you've witnessed the internetrevolution and the way new gossipcolumnists jump on the wagon. Do you think the influence of the old, printed media is losing it from the gossipblogs? Gossipblogging is fast, every second you get new "news" (traditional media you have to wait a week, a day, a month) and most of all: it is CHEAP (costs nothing reloading you page every 10 seconds), so that will probably attract MORE readers, not? So won't the old People Mag, Page 6, The Daily News Columns just lose their power to the Perez Hilton's, The Lainey Gossip, The Trents of Pink is the New Blog, Gawker, Defamer, the whole Nick Denton Empire?

Yes.

Using very blind items, what things did you want to print but were told not to, or used personal judgment against doing so?

I never did blind items. I just thought you either have the goods or you don't, and if you do, you might as well name your quarry. One of the great things about my job at the NYDN was that I was never ever stopped from writing what I wanted to. Of course, I sometimes, in fact rarely, heard after the fact that the owner wasn't happy with something I'd put in the column — or sometimes one of the editors would fuss at me — but nobody told me: Don't do this!

What was the worst thing, the absolutely worst worst thing, about working at the Daily News?

The dearth of places to have lunch in our charmless little neighborhood next to the train yard. I know, it sounds like a horrific situation.

— Lloyd Grove

Earlier: Ask Lloyd Grove: Scary Mofos, Schwag, and Sex with Jessica Cutler

Ask Lloyd Grove: Scary Mofos, Schwag, and Sex with Jessica Cutler

skidder — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:50:09 EDT

Submit your questions to asklloyd@gawker.com. Continuing:

Who's the scariest motherfucker you've ever dealt with?

Well, it's not the unnamed studio head I mentioned in the Los Angeles Times piece, telling me: "I'm the scariest motherfucker you'll ever have as an enemy in this town." And it's not Marty Singer, the celebrity lawyer who's always writing demand letters on behalf of Lindsay Lohan and the Olsen twins when not calling up and threatening to sue. I must say, if you scare easy, you should be writing obits, not doing a gossip column.

But thinking back, one of the more bracing, stomach-churning encounters I ever had was with Carl Bernstein when I was doing the column at the Washington Post. Carl wasn't happy that I was writing about him bouncing a paycheck to an assistant, and he must have phoned me and several of the editors once every ten minutes at deadline to get the item either killed or revised to his liking. Being at the business end of Carl's relentlessness gave me a new understanding of how he helped break the Watergate story.

Are you gonna request grovel@latimes.com?

I guess a lot of folks read the LAT thing as a job application. Alas, they're not doing a lot of hiring these days — from what I've been reading, quite the opposite. And I really like living in New York and intend to stick around.

The folks at Page Six were making out like Conde Nast assistants let into the Teen Vogue fashion closet, grabbing all kinds of goodies that other newspaper reporters would get fired for taking (much less demanding). What was the most amazing freebie you were offered but rejected? What's the best that you didn't reject? And how does NYC gossip swag compare to DC gossip swag?

There's just no comparison between DC and New York when it comes to swag. Number one, The WP had a very strict ethics policy — and it was basically, you can't take nothin' from no one. The New York Daily News was a lot looser, leaving it up to "good taste." I've been offered all sorts of lovely gifts — exotic travel, hand-tailored suits, etc. — nothing especially eyepopping, but certainly things I didn't accept. Various PR companies were always sending bottles of this and that, which I would either pass out to colleagues or, depending on whether I was in the mood to lug heavy stuff on the subway, take home. But when I attended fancy events, my assistant was always berating me for forgetting to bring back the gift bags.

In your time in DC, who was the hottest politician's wife? Did you ever get lucky in a federal office building? Ever get drunk enough to skinny dip in the Potomac? If you were forced to make a choice, would you rather have sex with Jessica Cutler or let a dude jerk you off? Essay question: What do you REALLY think of Ana Marie Cox?

Well, it wasn't Elizabeth Dole — or for that matter, Bob. I always liked Sonny Bono's wife Mary — who later took his congressional seat after that spot of bother on the ski slope — especially when she wore that leopard print getup. I undoubtedly did get drunk enough, but I at the time was nowhere near the Potomac — which is teeming with all sorts of lethal microbes and pollutants — so I remain alive and healthy enough to be with you today. As for your either/or question, that is such a false choice. I like Ana Marie and think she's really done well for herself.

—Lloyd Grove

Earlier: Ask Lloyd Grove: On Paris Hilton and Head

Ask Lloyd Grove: On Paris Hilton and Head

skidder — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:50:54 EDT

Let us begin.

Joining the ranks of the ghastly blogosphere, if even for a short time? I never thought I'd see the day.

Is this the equivalent of when high-powered attorneys take on pro-bono cases for powerless masses?

What's the new gig?

Yes, anyone who knows me knows I am a committed populist who spends every waking hour — and much of my REM sleep — caring deeply about the powerless masses. As for the new gig, all in good time.

Principal Denton sez we should be nice to you — at least for awhile. And, if I may say so, I am in favor of the ban on all Hiltons because really its a lot like the tree in the forest, ya know, and maybe if nobody hears them the entire family will go away So, here is my question: Over the years have you met any really nice socialite(s)?

As a matter of fact, I have. It is, after all, a socialite's job to be nice — at least to your face.

KarmaBites1 writes on her blog that you are a "gentleman and a true journalist" for not publishing the Olbermann e-mails she provided you with. Question: Will you continue to bash Keith every chance you get? And what are the odds you will publish those e-mails one of these days? And by the way, are you dating anyone?

I blush. I have no wish to bash Keith Olbermann. I did once, some months ago, when he decided my twentysomething assistant was fair game, told a bunch of fibs about her on the air, and named her, on his precious show and on his odd little blog, "The Worst Person in The World." As for the emails, I think I will leave them locked in my bottom drawer for now. But I know where to find them if I need them. Dating? I'm always the last person to know.

Did any guys ever offer you head to be mentioned in your column?

I assume you're speaking metaphorically. But the answer is still no.

Do you regret the whole "Ignore Paris Hilton" thing? Did she really piss you off that much that you were willing to risk losing gossip's biggest boldface name?

The Paris ban served its purpose — which was to get attention for my then-new gossip column. The prohibition received lots of cable TV play and got me my one and only guest-shot on the Today show. Since then, not writing about Paris has been a very hard discipline, and one or twice I did backslide — though I never used her name. In my next gig, I will probably lift the fatwa if the occasion of Paris-mentioning ever arises.

— Lloyd Grove

Earlier: Ask Lloyd Grove: Priming the Pump

Ask Lloyd Grove: Priming the Pump

Chris Mohney — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:10:29 EDT

Before we get started, I ran across this amazing article about the gossip game in the Los Angeles Times — blinding in its brilliance, profound in its insights, and yet richly textured and quite moving in its way. Let me know what you think.

My Life as a Gossip Columnist [LAT]

— Lloyd Grove

Gawker Monday: Ask Lloyd Grove

Chris Mohney — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:11:51 EDT

This past Monday saw the final departure of Lloyd Grove from his "Lowdown" gossip column at the New York Daily news. But don't fret — the man's not dead, he's merely resting. And where better to rest than by way of a guest column on Gawker? One could certainly allow that we are "multimedia, with components of Internet and television and print media," which is how Grove described his next secret gig. We got all kinds of components. One of those components will be next week's very special episode, where Grove will answer questions regarding everything you ever wanted to know about the gossip business. How does one trudge through all this filth, day after day? When is it permissible to sleep with a source? What color is Mort Zuckerman's rainbow? Send your own queries to asklloyd@gawker.com. He'll pick his favorites and respond on Monday. So be nice, and try not to stare.