PressEthic

Jared Paul Stern is the latest media personality to try to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame with a book deal. Stern, a contributing columnist to the New York Post’s famous Page Six, was fired last spring for allegedly trying to extort $220,000 from a California billionaire who was a regular target of the gossip column.

In a New York Times article on Thursday, October 19, writer Julie Bosman asked a legitimate question, why is Simon & Schuster publishing the book?

Publishing houses gave other journalists involved in scandals the same opportunity. Jayson Blair wrote a memoir titled, “Burning Down my Master’s House,” in 2004. The book sold 4,000 copies. Stephen Glass wrote a novel based on his experience that also sold 4,000 copies. These were not lucrative projects for the authors or the publishers.

Stern, whose book is tentatively titled “Stern Measures,” is not the first Page Six columnist to write a book based on their experience at the gossip column. Two others tried with little success. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Simon & Schuster gave Stern a $100,000 advance in the book deal, although the publisher did not comment.

Apparently, if a journalist breaks the rules, they can always fall back on a book deal to pay the bills.

In Bosman’s article, Mark Gompertz, the executive vice president and publisher of Touchstone Fireside, also involved in the Stern project, said the book would be “serious,” a “kitchen confidential” of the gossip industry.

If the past performance sales for Blair and Glass mean anything, Stern’s book will likely fizzle with consumers. Yet, Stern still has a lucrative deal to tell his scandalous story.