This column tried to get the AMI honchos to open up about all this, with no success. Pecker did not return an e-mail seeking comment. David Perel, a former Enquirer editor who now heads up the news gathering at RadarOnline, was said by his office to be traveling and did not return an e-mail and phone call.
Tips will cost you
If RadarOnline is in fact paying for stories, such reticence might only make sense. Magazines and networks pay for celebrity cooperation all the time, although they usually do it in the guise of buying photos or some other dodge. But there's not much percentage in talking openly about it. Ethics aside, why drive up prices for everyone by advertising that you'll pay for gossip? But given that the online thirst for celebrity news seems unquenchable, the era of checkbook journalism is likely entering a wild, unpredictable new phase.
As that plays out, meanwhile, we can all feast on new Octo-Mom tidbits. Did you hear about the company that offered her a million bucks to do a porn flick?
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scott.collins@latimes.com
