Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip

by Jeannette Walls

Gossip. It's more than just hearsay. society columns, and supermarket tabloids. It has, like it or not, become a mainstay of American pop culture. In Dish, industry insider Jeannette Walls gives this provocative subject its due, offering a comprehensive, serious exploration of gossip and its social, historical, and political significance. Examining the topic from the inside out, Walls looks at the players; the origins of gossip, from birth of People magazine to the death of Lady Di; and how technology including the Internet will continue to change the face gossip. As compelling and seductive as its subject matter, Dish brilliantly reveals the fascinating inner workings of a phenomenon that is definitely here to stay.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, Sociology, Psychology, Biography, Cultural

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Jeannette Walls is a writer and journalist.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she graduated with honors from Barnard College, the women's college affiliated with Columbia University. She published a bestselling memoir, The Glass Castle, in 2005. The book was adapted into a film and released to theaters in August, 2017.

Reviews

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would read Jeannette Walls grocery lists, I adore her so. The history of tabloids - what's not to love? The thoroughness of this book is shocking, and in parts it was almost too thorough for me. With the early history, most of the people were unfamiliar, and I found myself flipping around to remind myself of who they were when the tabloid world began to overlap and become quite incestuous. When the people involved were familiar to me, I could not put this down. WOW. I will say I will rarely (I can't really say 'never' now can I) buy a tabloid, and will never ever trust anything they write. I rest assured that Tom Cruise is as weird as I previously thought, and I wish Julia Roberts would get over herself.
With everything going on in the UK press, very very relevant.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book Jeannette Walls chronicles tabloid journalism from the 1930's to the present. The rose colored glasses were torn from my eyes and any illusions regarding serious journalism vs tabloid shattered. The biggest shock to my nervous system was learning that my beloved "60 Minutes" is/was primarily based on smarmy standards akin to The Enquirer. Celebrity sleeze and scandal. Shock and awe. Eeeek. I used to watch it faithfully every Sunday and my world view was based on the trust that 60 Minutes was journalism at it's finest. Had I known its true nature at the time I would have choked on my Harvey Wallbanger. Dish is enlightening,disheartening and well written. Highly recommended!

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I cannot avoid the temptation of wondering whether there is any other industry in this country which seeks to presume so completely to give the customer what he does not want" - Rupert Murdoch on the media and the desire to tell the end user what the media wanted them to know

This is a book which was published in 2000 and does an excellent job of showing how gossip based media was created, evolved and became mainstream. The first time that gossip took over the Networks and traditional Newspapers was the death of Elvis Presley. How Michael Jackson, OJ and Princess Diana were the forces that took gossip out of the gutter and into the major network newsrooms. It studies not just the news, reporters and media, but also the PR teams that make the celebrities available or unavailable to outlets. Since it was written in 2000 there is some comment on Matt Drudge and the blue dress but the internet simply wasn't that important. Another interesting thing was how it inadvertently debunks the myth that the internet killed Newspapers. Newspapers have been slowly killing themselves since the early 60s when there was a 100+ day strike.

In all honesty this was a 5 star book except for one incredible much repeated mistake that made my head explode. There is an entire chapter about the Donald Trump 1991 divorce. The first time she is mentioned they say "Maria" Maples. So I was unperturbed thinking it was the way the story started but it is repeated several dozen times. I cannot fathom how this book was edited and proofed in the late nineties or 00 and NO ONE caught this. The other woman was Marla NOT Maria. The mistake even appears in a separate chapter about PR. Later in a chapter about Anthony Pellicano his car is described as a "black Nexus" (Hair care or legal search ?) And in a chapter about Princes Diana; which excellently points out the hypocrisy of mainstream media which we all know made its bones on Di stories calling out the paparazzi on causing her death while purposefully ignoring the 4 x's the legal limit driver speeding through a tunnel. However I was surprised to learn that "Diana spent 0,000 a week on grooming and personal care"

I still recommend the book for students of the media malfeasance that is modern reporting.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Jeannette Walls and I thought I'd love this book, too. I thought it would be really intriguing. But I just couldn't get into it. There weren't any "characters " I cared about. Guess that's why I don't like to watch the news. I think the subject is fascinating, because the news really is just another gossip show. Just watching all those up-and-coming reporters as they fake their emotions makes me sick. I wanted the book to be a more scathing rant against what current news programming has become. Maybe it's that way towards the end, but I didn't even finish because I just didn't care.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early nonfiction from the author of The Glass Castle. Very interesting to read about how 60 Minutes staffers were once associated with sleazy, checkbook journalism. Also a surprise to find out why People magazine is called that: Its creator wanted it to focus on people only--not on places (like National Geographic) or issues (like Time or Newsweek) or ideas.

I would have liked to read more about celebrities who refuse to work with the media most or all of the time (there are a few).

Minus one star for getting the Van Halen brown M&M's story wrong. Here's the real deal: http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/v...

[April Hochstrasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don't think the world of gossip is bought and paid for by the people who are portrayed, think again. This was an eye opening book about the back story of publications such as People and the Enquirer and TV shows such as Entertainment Tonight. I was very much surprised at the deals that are struck by the stars and the rags, (If you'll give us a scoop about your alcoholic son we won't publish a story about your infidelities). All the popular names in recent history, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Bette, Whoopi, Trump, Ivana, etc. have really false public personas that have been well crafted by the media for the entertainment of the public. There is some truth but more of it is lies. For example, Donald Trump, through the media claimed to be worth $50 billion, then he was getting loans and doing business based on that amount. The real amount was closer to $50 million....but he didn't want anyone to know that. Not worth the read unless you are really into gossip about the stars.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

very helpful read, especially after the Britney doc

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read "Glass Castle" by this author, you know she is some kind of writer. That book states that she is a columnist for MSNBC, I think. I was surprised to find out that she's a gossip columnist, which seems too frivolous for her. She has a new book out that I was trying to get at my library and I think it's too new, so I'll have to wait. In the meantime I found this book, and it's fascinating. It's not about personalities so much as it is about the history of gossip, from "Hollywood Confidential" to the "National Enquirer". Along the way, however there are many, many tidbits about the rich and powerful.

[Carolyn Di Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I was a bit surprised by the complicitness of the stars in dishing their own dirt. Call me naive, but I really believed that celebrities were angry by the tales told by the tabloids. Not so, not so, at least in many cases. I was also amazed at how much information was kept back from the public regarding our political leaders. That was a bit disturbing. My naivite again, I guess.
DISH is an entertaining read and the other flavors it with tidbits of juicy gossip along the way.

[Nightengail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book based on my good opinions of the author's other books, "The Glass Castle" and "Half Broke Horses". I found the history of tabloid journalism and the evolution of such publications as "The National Enquirer" and "People" fascinating. I may never look at "60 Minutes" the same again. There were several revelations made and those I took as entertainment, like I take current celebrity gossip. I have no way of knowing if any of it is true but it is fun to read. I wish there were photographs of the people discussed, especially those from early Hollywood. I found myself searching for their images on the Internet. I am surprised that Jeannette Walls made her living as a gossip columnist as she is such a good writer. I supposed it paid her bills and allowed her to write her other books.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the library because I loved Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle. Walls is a gossip writer in New York (the opposite of her difficult childhood?), and this book is about the history of gossip/tabloid media (newspaper, TV, internet). It is really fascinating, very dense (slow going sometimes)--not a quick read but very interesting and well-written.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gives the back story of the gossip industry, which is practically all journalism nowadays! I had read Jeannette Walls' two memoirs and this was completely different. This book was very well researched and she names all the names. Fascinating!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

The history of celebrity gossip. Sounds great, right? Not so much.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say I was impressed with this one. It was somewhat interesting, but it wasn't what I expected. I stopped half way through, as it appeared to be just a history of the National Inquirer. I expected this to be an analysis and the trends of the general news industry. Perhaps it moves this direction in the second half, but I wasn't willing to continue to find out.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. You'd think a book about gossip would be interesting. Spoiler alert: it's not. At least not in the hands of this author. Snooze fest. Unforgivable typos/editing misses. Blech.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a history of recent popular journalism since the 50s--pretty much the span of my life--describing how it has morphed from reporting to an odd blend of scandal-mongering and press-release reprinting. Walls pins each development to a specific event or person and that did a lot to clarify what I have read as "news" all my life. To tell the story, she had to "dish" on a lot of situations and celebrities, and in thinking about that, it seems that it was necessary to making her points, but at the same time, I kind of wish it hadn't been necessary.

The book was a nice break from my 4-month Civil War History binge--I still have to finish one book I have started, but as that is a re-read, I might give it a rest. The Civil War readings have been about saving a union; Dish shows the dissolution in focusing on the failings of others--how the popular focus on these things destroys the lives of the celebrity no more than it destroys the character of the people. I'm glad I read it, but I'm also glad it wasn't a longer book.

What changed because I read this book? I have a better focus now on what I want to spend my time reading, in part, because this book showed the constant manipulation by powerful--and not very savory--people in creating the popular narrative.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book because I adored her novels (Half broke horses/glass castle). At first it was very interesting, but then it began to feel extremely gossipy instead of factual. Then I arrived at a part in the book where she was trying to illustrate how extreme celebrity had become in the late 70's/early 80's. Saying how demanding celebrities had become, she cited a legendary story involving Van Halen and brown M&M's and I knew she had the facts wrong because I'd seen a documentary some years back. Here is another video I found on the subject. http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/20...

From then on, I just didn't enjoy the book as much.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite quote: “ ‘I’m Donald Trump and I am not here to be laughed at.’ But he should be laughed at, really.”

It chronicles how gossip became the news from the early 30’s through newspapers, tabloids, magazines, and television. Very well researched and including most of the BIG STORIES of my lifetime (such as the Kennedy assassination, the O.J. Simpson trial, the death of Elvis, Michael Jackson’s famous Neverland, and of course, the life and death of Princess Diana, to name a few) I think this would make an excellent textbook for a journalism, political science, or sociology class.

Note: the last 30% of the book is footnotes and bibliography

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book title intrigued me...because I wondered how the nightly news and/or newspapers had become so "gossipy". The author has done her research and has documented the trend of straight newsreporting into the current news shows which prevail either on network TV, cable or printed matter. I chose 3 stars because, although the Cliff note version of the book would have suited me as well or better, this is a well written, very well documented book of the history of written and spoken journalism.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is still a journalist writing about journalism and so is biased, but it does show how news reporting has changed since WWII. News reporting is no longer news, but is often opinion pieces about events. Often the subjects are covered in a gossip fashion. I did learn some things and had many things confirmed. It has not changed my negative view of journalists, and their bottom line being "what will sell."

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Walls has researched thoroughly for this unusual book.
I have noticed that even the 'mainstream' press has become enamored of tabloid type 'reporting' the past 10 years or so, and the past few years there is a dearth of HARD news, but the gossipy tabloid crap is overwhelming.

This book tracks the development of the trend to replace hard news with tabloid crap. It is a very good read.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Addicted to celebrity gossip and have no idea why? This book is a fun way to learn about the history and politics of the entire industry. I'll open next month's People magazine with a different perspective.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, I am a big Jeanette Walls fan, but frnkly this book could have been written by anyone. The topic was entertaining, but it was very redundant. The book was wrought with combersome detail, that almost seemed repetitive at times.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I flew through this book...it is a fascinating, well-written look at the origins of gossip media and what a cut-throat industry it has become.

[Ainsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and a quick read. I'd love to read an updated version for the internet age. I bet Jeannette Walls would have some things to say about TMZ and Perez Hilton.

[Tori]

2008- Kinda dry.

[Andrea]

Gives the scoop on gossip columnists, broadcasters, and scandal sheets like the National Enquirer.

[mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

sounds like what it is... a history of how gossip columns & tabloids came to be

[Josh Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Dish but thought that it had the potential to be more than it was if Walls had taken things in a slightly different direction.

At the center of this story are supermarket tabloids, most famously the National Enquirer. These publications were hugely popular from the 60-80s, then steadily lost readers over the ensuing decades. Wells argues that much of this was due to more mainstream publications getting in on the game. She claims that public obsession with a couple of major stories in the 90s accelerated this trend.

The O.J. Simpson murder trial was a turning point, she thinks. A mini-city of reporters emerged outside the L.A. county courthouse to dissect everything even remotely related to the trial. As the editor of the National Enquirer put it, "fifteen years ago we would have been alone out there[...] now we're elbowing The New York Times and The Washington Post out of the way."

Walls also makes the interesting, and plausible claim that there's a strong tension in journalism between accuracy and access. When it started People magazine was known largely for its sympathetic coverage of celebrities. That is, People covered them in the way they wanted to be covered. E.g. "Truman Capote, fresh out of an alcohol rehab center, invited People to accompany him to a gym to do an article on his new healthy lifestyle. During the interview, Capote downed two glasses of vodka and kept falling over, but the People reporter helped prop the writer up on a Nautilus machine long enough to get pictures."

The reason for this was simple: If people had published a story about Capote falling down drunk right after exiting rehab then they'd be no different from the supermarket tabloids. Celebrities would stop talking to them, or at least be far more guarded. In other words, People prioritized access.

But, as Walls points out, the "respectable" press also often prioritized access. One particularly disturbing example: A Times contributor was staying in the same hotel as J.F.K. at a conference in 1961. Kennedy came into his room after a meeting with Nikita Khrushchev and how Nikitta Kruscheve didn’t respect him because of the Bay of Pigs fiasco. “I have to show him we’re not gutless [...] the only way to do it is to send troops into Vietnam…. I’ve got to do it”

The contributor told this story later at a dinner party attended by several other Times writers. The other Times reporters generally agreed that he shouldn't publish it. In other words, the President of the U.S. said he was going to start a war because he was having some kind of weird masculinity showdown with the Soviet Premier. But journalists at the most respectable newspaper in the country didn't think that was among the news that was fit to print.

The reason they didn't publish it was almost certain that they feared losing access. The Times contributor was friends with J.F.K. and he didn't want to betray him by publishing something so embarrassing.

The biggest thing that distinguished the Enquirer in its heyday was that it focused on publishing stuff that would sell papers. They didn't worry about whether the stuff would be considered news or gossip, or whether it would upset the people it was published about. They also didn't worry that much about accuracy.

I think where the book falls short is that the later chapters are focused purely on celebrity gossip, setting aside other areas of questionable newsworthiness that were once the (primarily) domain of tabloids, things like true crime and uplifting "human interest stories." Of course, the entire ecosystem that Walls was writing about has been upended again in the last 20 years by the growth of online media but that's a separate book.

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how juicy! And oh, how very informative!

This extraordinarily well-researched and imminently readable book by Jeannette Walls is essentially the history of celebrity journalism, beginning with the first newspaper gossip columns of the 1950s that were largely controlled by the movie studios, the explosion of tabloid newspapers and TV shows, the premiere of "People" magazine and finally the reluctant acquiescence of hard-news outlets to include celebrity news, lest they perish in the ratings game.

This is a truly fascinating look at how celebrity news and gossip are reported with captivating details on what happened behind-the-scenes with some of the biggest celebrity stories of the '70s, '80s and '90s—Elvis Presley's death, Donald Trump's divorce from Ivana (which actually stole headline space from the fall of the Berlin Wall), Michael Jackson's scandals, the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ron Goldman murders and Princess Diana's life and death, among others.

Find out the nefarious tricks some less-than-scrupulous reporters will play in order to get a photo or tip, as well as the shocking things some of the celebrities will do to get the coverage they want and squelch the coverage they don't want.

Even if you scoff at the "National Enquirer," only read "People" in your doctor's waiting room and wouldn't think of wasting your time watching a tabloid TV show, you will still enjoy and learn a lot from this book. Like it or not, celebrity gossip is an integral part of American culture, and Jeannette Walls shows us how this sausage is made.