from nypost.com
More allegations of impropriety at Page Six, except this time they are being alleged by Jared Paul Stern instead of against him. Read all about it...in Page Six, which decided that the best defense was a good offense and printed all the allegations. According to the Post, they come via an unsworn statement from Ian Spiegelman, who was himself fired from the Post after he lost his temper and sent out "a threatening, profanity-filled, homophobic e-mail one night." Via Stern, Spiegelman makes allegations of freebies accepted, stories killed, and general unethical palliness between Page Six principals and those they cover (read them all here).
But, they buried the lede, in the thirteenth paragraph of an eighteen-paragraph story, concerning an allegation that Spiegelman made that Richard Johnson and Page Six staffers accepted $3,000 in cash from restarateur Nello Balan. The Post's response:
On this point, Spiegelman is one-third correct. The Christmas gift was $1,000. "Richard Johnson made a grave mistake in accepting cash from Nello Balan," Allan said yesterday. "After he informed me of his error in judgment, he was reprimanded, and policies were adopted that render such ethical lapses completely unacceptable."
That kind of admission about Johnson, in Page Six? Wow. Big. Given that, it seems rather churlish to refer to Stern as a "rogue former freelancer" and "disgraced journalist" since no charges were ever made against him (Page Six may know things they are not disclosing, but they do not back up this statement: "As outlandish as most of these smears and lies are, the biggest surprise in the affidavit is this statement: 'Jared Paul Stern was known to be the least corruptible, most responsible and valued member of the staff'"; at this point, it's sort of required to back up such claims) (though they do call him "litigious" and you certainly can't find fault with that). Either way, this plot is thickening yet again on this issue which refuses to lay down and die. Interesting PR strategy on the part of Rubenstein père and fils, but if anyone would know how to best squelch a scandal, it's them. So we shall see how events unfold.
LIES AND SMEARS AIMED AT POST [NYP]
Jared Paul Stern Lawyer: "They've Libeled Him Again" [Gawker]
Howard Rubenstein: "The Allegations Are A Disgrace" [Gawker]
