Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter...My Twenty Years on the National Enquirer's Hollywood Beat [Paperback]

Barbara Sternig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2002

The hilarious adventures of a real-live National Enquirer Senior Reporter as she met the huge challenges of covering the world's biggest stories, about the world's most famous celebrities, for the world's mightiest tabloid newspaper.

Here are one girl reporter's bold antics and escapades in glamorous locations around the world, with fabulous stars like Frank Sinatra, Richard Burton, Burt Reynolds and a galaxy more. Sternig answers for the first time, the two questions most-asked of her during her two decades as an Enquirer staffer in Hollywood: Is any of that stuff true? (and) How do you get that stuff? What results is a fascinating, engrossing, and very entertaining first-ever peek into how those tabloids really work and what the stars are really like.

Actress Liz Sheridan, who played Jerry Seinfeld's mom on "Seinfeld" (and herself the author of "Dizzy & Jimmy") said..."I tried to put this damn book down and couldn't."

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fast-moving page-turner and a really great read...especially the Sinatra chapters... -- Stan Rosenfield, President, Rosenfield & Assoc, Public Relations, L.A., California

Anyone who has ever sneaked a surreptitious peek at the Enquirer will want to read this entire zany book! -- Robert Easton, Actor and Dialect Coach, aka The Henry Higgins of Hollywood

Left me panting for more...the author's intimate writing style instantly makes you feel part of her Hollywood adventures... -- Kathy Garver, Actress, (A Family Affair)

About the Author

Barbara Sternig did her first celebrity interview at age 14, grilling her favorite Chicago rock and roll DJ for her high school newspaper. But she'd already known the media were for her since age 10, when she began writing for her 5th grade class magazine. After gaining her journalism degree, Sternig embarked on her career at WCFL Radio in Chicago, where she wrote & produced commercials, mingled with the music greats of her youth, and got thoroughly hooked on the fun of celebrities. When her disk jockey boyfriend broke her heart, she headed as far away as she could get, which just happened to be Hollywood. Here Sternig landed up as writer/producer and legwoman for TV Gossip Queen Rona Barrett, also ghosting Barrett's byline fan magazine column, and along the way, developing a precious bookful of Tinseltown connections. These she brought to the Enquirer's Hollywood bureau, and took like a duck to water to the paper's seat-of-the-pants, no-expense-spared, very iconoclastic style of reporting. She circled the globe several times in pursuit of front page celebrity news, and was eventually dubbed "Champagne Babs" by her colleagues, because of her penchant for drinking champagne in Hollywood night spots whilst prying information from her confidential sources.

Since leaving the Enquirer, Sternig has been a regular free-lance contributor to a range of celebrity-oriented publications, has co-hosted a travel and dining radio show, and appears occasionally as a correspondent on E! True Hollywood Story. She is divorced and lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Front Row Pub (August 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972220801
• ISBN-13: 978-0972220804
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great gift for friends who read the tabloids, October 2, 2003

By 

Maryanne Raphael (Carlsbad, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter...My Twenty Years on the National Enquirer's Hollywood Beat (Paperback)

SECRETS OF A TABLOID REPORTER is a reader's first look at the secret world of the National Enquirer and the famous people
it exposes. Author Barbara Sternig was a Senior Reporter for 20 years covering Hollywood for this tabloid. Before that, she was writer/producer/assistant to Gossip Columnist Rona Barrett and had Hollywood welcoming her most of the time.
In this fast-moving nonfiction book, Sternig tells how she got her startling stories with their intimate details. No matter what obstacles she faced, Barbara always seemed to come up with the story (although at times the crazy antics in pursuit of stories almost got her into thick trouble.
She shows her ability to capture our attention, awaken our curiosity, and keep us interested, but she refused to give us the name of the man she loved and lost, showing us something is sacred to her.
But there didn't seem to be much held back when she described her adventures writing about Frank Sinatra and his gang, Angie Dickinson, Richard Burton, Tammy Wynette, Burt Reynolds or Pat Sajak's wedding with Vanna White as guest. This book keeps you turning pages. It would make a great gift for a friend who reads the National Enquirer.
Maryanne Raphael, Writers World

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of A Kind, October 22, 2002

By 

DeRonda Elliott (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter...My Twenty Years on the National Enquirer's Hollywood Beat (Paperback)

I have never been a star-struck person, nor particularly interested in the lives of the rich, famous and/or notorious. The only place I've ever read the Enquirer (seriously!) is in the check-out line, but I just finished Ms. Sternig's book, and I tell you, it was a no-put-downer! A master of the written word and of the English language, this author pens stories so cleverly and compellingly that I hated to come to the last page. She does tell all-- including how this publication happened to GET into the check-out-lines in the first place. Her stories are varied--from the exciting and at times dangerous, to the comic and even tender. This is a book for everyone. Hollywood aficionado and occasional fan alike will find it delightful.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Read, February 16, 2003

By 

Patricia Pearson (Chicago, Il.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter...My Twenty Years on the National Enquirer's Hollywood Beat (Paperback)

I just finished reading "Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter" and I loved it. It made me laugh out loud! Especially the Richard Burton escapade! I have never laughed so much with a book. I should live such a fun life. Thanks Ms. Sternig for a fun time. Patricia Pearson- Chicago, Il.