Sink to gossip, or turn the page

THE only thing surprising about the ongoing controversy over a New York gossip writer's alleged attempt to shake down Los Angeles investor and businessman Ron Burkle is that it took so long for something like this to come to light.

In this case, the accused perp is a preening and rather preposterous character called Jared Paul Stern, a sometime journalist and wannabe garment maker, who performs a variety of odd jobs around Rupert Murdoch's New York Post. (At some point, there's probably a useful psychological study to be done on the unwholesome predilections of people who affect three names.) Before the tabloid suspended Stern, his tasks included contributing items to Page Six, a celebrity gossip compendium that is the paper's most popular feature.

Burkle gave his version of their encounter -- one widely disseminated by the Post's New York competitors -- in an op-ed piece published this week by the Wall Street Journal. "Two weeks ago, a New York Post writer made me an astonishing offer," the billionaire wrote. "If I forked over $200,000 or so, he promised, the Post's Page Six gossip pages would stop publishing false items about my personal life. The video recording of that conversation and others that occurred during my three hours of meetings with [Stern] are now in the hands of law enforcement authorities, as are the volley of e-mails between him and a member of my staff."

That's law enforcement, as in the feds, though no charges have yet been filed against Stern, who already is on his second lawyer and third story about what happened. Initially, he spoke of regretting a "mistake" and having caused the Post embarrassment -- as if that were possible. Still, there's nothing like a good heart-to-heart with the right attorney to help one recall what really happened.

Now, Stern is the target of Burkle's "diabolical plot" to entrap him and to discredit him, as he told the popular Gawker website this week, with an edited videotape that combined "discussions about an investment in my clothing company with one about advising him on media coverage."

Right -- naked extortion, bad; seeking investments and employment from somebody you write about, OK.

It's nice to know that there are standards at Page Six, even though it requires a pretty subtle eye to discern exactly where the line is drawn.

Stern, by the way, now is threatening to sue the "responsible parties