Gossip

Gossip is about a lot more than just juicy tidbits and the columnists that peddle them, presenting a multifaceted look at gossip's role in the newspaper/media ecosystem and at Rupert Murdoch's enterprises in particular. It also reminds us that what happened in those columns didn't stay there, with examples ranging from Kim Kardashian to Harvey Weinstein to Donald Trump.

The documentary, by filmmaker Jenny Carchman, is compelling history not only of the tabloid and gossip column world, but also about Rupert Murdoch’s career in America. ... The series, in short, could have used an editor down around part four. That, however, should deter no one from the scholarly pleasures of the rest of this work.

With crisp editing and talking-head interviews interspersed with archival footage, “Gossip” moves at a brisk pace.

“Gossip’s” shortcomings seem to suit its subject. It is, in the main, a vehicle for delivering incident, personality, and verve: it will leave you with the understanding that the New York City tabloid press was among the authors of Trump’s success. It imparts little sense of what anything it has to tell us means — or, indeed, how that press exists today beyond Adams.

Breezy but too narrowly focused survey of sensationalism. [16-29 Aug 2021, p.5]