August 22, 2010

"I hate where we are today. I hate the Internet. I hate the instant-news cycle," says National Enquirer editor Barry Levine.

"I yearn for the days when we could pass off a reporter as a waiter at Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky’s wedding and get the inside scoop. They were the best days, no question about it. These days, the Lindsay Lohans and the reality stars? They’re flies on the wall, specks, not real celebrities."

You've got to have the glamour and grandeur before it's any fun snooping and toppling.

8 comments:

Ralph L said...

Rather sad that he needs to feel validated by the NYT.

Would they have sent reporters in a sheep costume to a wedding? Now that's journalism!

tim maguire said...

Well, it is the National Enquirer. But if he wants to call his people "reporters" then he should have them do some reporting. And there should be another word for glamor crap.

Oh yeah, there is--tabloid gossip.

He's not in the news business so he shouldn't worry about the internet's effect on the news cycle.

sakredkow said...

And I yearn for the days when the National Enquirer published important stuff, like "I Cut Out Her Heart and Ate It"

ricpic said...

Andrew Breitbart is still getting scoops, creating them actually. You've just gotta be more creative, Levine.

Unknown said...

I understand his point. Some whiny little druggie doesn't have the star power of the people who cavorted in places like Monte Carlo back when.

If you're in the tabloid business, the glamor is what sells the papers.

The sad part is the Enquirer is still more trustworthy than the Gray Lady.

Phil 314 said...

Layers of irony in this story. Foremost that its reporte in New York magazine the wannabee New Yorker

But this line is the best:

Levine, 51, takes his work seriously. He was on Colbert last week and appears on The View and on Huckabee,


Whoa, he's been on THE VIEW

Joe said...

...not real celebrities.

Always humorous when people don't remember just how shallow those past celebrities were. The difference is back then there were much tighter controls and the Barry Levine's of the world were more interested in shoomzing with the stars than really reporting on them.

Anonymous said...

Agree with Joe. How is Judy Garland not Lindsay Lohan?

This is just basic nostalgic bullshit.

I bet the purveyors or pornography yearn for some lost era of porn. These porn stars today -- they're just halfway decent-looking women and dudes with giant cocks. Back in the old days...