Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 302.23
EAN num: 9780380978212
ISBN number: 0380978210
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: March 01, 2000
Publishing house: William Morrow
Release Date: March 07, 2000
Sale Popularity Level: 616320
Studio: William Morrow
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Product Description:
Love it or hate it, create it or repeat it, America is obsessed with gossip. Here is a fascinating look at five decades of dish: a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the personalities that control what we read and see; the unholy and unchanging trinity of celebrity, publicist and reporter that has stoked the American appetite for gossip from the salad days of silver-screen magazines to the instantaneous communication of the scoop-filled Internet.
Insider Jeannette Walls delivers a tantalizing tell-all that features not only gossip itself, but its history, its movers and shakers (including quite a few tony Ivy Leaguers), high and low points, and the watershed events and personalities--like Elvis, Diana, Michael Jackson and O. J.--that altered it forever. Here is the famous formula for People, the astonishing magazine that began amid sneers and snipes but went on to become one of the publishing industry's greatest sucess stories. Here too is the incredible truth behind explosive material that didn't see the light of day.
From the humble beginnings of the National Enquirer, aided by the avuncular beneficence of crime kingpin Joe Costello, to the lurid Hollywood trial of Confidential magazine, where the 'libeled' stars were proved more guilty than not of the salacious episodes the publication revealed, Jeannette Walls expertly traces the formation and development of the hush-hush industry. She shows us that tabloid TV shows are nothing new: they were preceded in the Fifties by the wildly successful Night Beat, hosted by none other than Mike Wallace, who turned the show into a forum for sex and scandal with his relentless prying and probing into the lives of celebrated figures.
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Rated by buyers 
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This book completely EXCEEDED my expectations! As a former journalist (who is now a ventriloquist believe it or not) I've always been interested in how and why gossip has grown in our news media.
I got THAT answer in this wonderful book written in a breezy, solid style that made it hard for me to put -- plus a LOT MORE.
Starting with Matt Drudge's meteoric rise, DISH backtracks to trace the growth in gossip over the years. You'll also find new revelations in here. In the end our news media (what it printed and NEGLECTED to print over the years) will make sense to you. And it reads like a novel. Some tidbits:
1. The overnight rise of Matt Drudge, using a computer his dad gifted him. Everything you wanted to know and what you didn't want or need to know (i.e. his alleged sexual preferences; media suspicions that he got some scoops through hacking) about him and how his lively internet column took over, confounded mainstream media and made him a huge multi-media star.
2. How the Hollywood studios along with fawning California politicos crushed Confidential magazine, the 1950s gossip sheet which dared to undermine the carefully-constructed phoney public relations images of many stars (some stars are named in the book).
3. Mike Wallace's pioneering role in bringing show biz to news, his fall from grace and professional rebirth on 60 Minutes.
4. The birth of the National Inquirer and why it's located in Florida (fears of problems from the Mob).
5. Why there wasn't more MAJOR NEGATIVE published gossip on the Kennedy administration (they virtually destroyed one person dabbling in info about them and many journalists were intimidated.) JFK's other marriage.
6. The OJ case, Elvis Princess Diana case, the gossip columnists of the 40s and 50s and their replacements, the explanation of why Rona Barrett had such a sudden rise and fall. The birth of People Magazine and it's influence on pushing tabloids to another level...which pushed the national media to a new level (or low?).
7. Hardball-playing p.r. and private detectives who contolled their clients images and staved off major scandals -- and how they do it (bullying, getting the dirt on and confronting critics and making sought after clients inaccessible to offending journalists).
This is a highly ENTERTAINING book, with lots of facts, quotes and info that you haven't read elsewhere. It's solidly written but an EASY read and you'll REGRET it when you come to the last page. It answered a LOT of questions for me about what "really" went on and why our news media is the way it is today. SUPERB!!!
Rated by buyers 
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I found "Dish" very entertaining as well as educational. I think the historical aspect is very good. However, after reading another reader review that criticized sloppiness with names (spelled wrong, very first and last names transposed), which now does make me wonder just how truly careful and thorough the research was. The way I feel right now is that fumbling the names was not due to the author not knowing what she was writing about, but just that her writing (editing, proofreading) wasn't great. I did get the feeling that this book was rushed to print, which might have led to the name fumbling. The different chapters read like separate articles, without much of a transition from chapter to chapter so there wasn't a real cohesive feel to the book as a whole. I wish I could rate this book higher, because I think there is good content but it's not presented as well as it could be.
Rated by buyers -
If you read The National Enquirer, The Globe or Star weekly or enjoy gossip columns or shows like Entertainment Tonight, this book is for you. Full of history and detail, you get the inside scoop on how gossip is made and reported, and how it's changed the face of "legitimate" news organizations. It's a great read and very informative. I couldn't put this book down. Sure, stars complain about the tabloids, but wait to you hear celebrities' true role in it all.
Rated by buyers -
I picked this book up on a whim and what a treat. Gossip, whether you like it or not, has definately altered the course of history. Dish definately introduced some concepts I would have brushed off as trivial in the past.
I couldn't put it down.
Rated by buyers -
Not as lightweight as the title would have you believe, this overview of the growth of celebrity gossip is fascinating. The author chronicles the events which took gossip from a limited group of tabloids to the pages of some of the world's most prestigious newspapers as well as the surprising successful efforts of celebrities to control their public image.
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