Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

"Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter" is an interesting and rather quick read that seems to be self-published almost ten years after the author was fired by the National Enquirer. Great vacation read.

However, the book "Poison Pen" by a formerly married couple who worked for competing tabloids is a much more substantial, "meaty", thought-provoking and deeper book.

The book did need more encounters of more stars included and some celebrities in the book had to be explained because they were no longer famous (such as Robert Culp).

Fess Parker is the star the author had an intense and rather long romance with, he was not named in the book however enough clues were given to determine that. Parker's career pretty much consisted of being TV's Davy Crockett in the 50s and Daniel Boone in the 60s.

I recently met Barbara Sternig on a cruise and in the course of our conversation she mentioned her previous occupation and that she had written a book about it. Naturally my curiosity was aroused so I purchased the book.

I found it to be very humourous, informative and it let me have an 'inside' peek at what tabloid writers really have to contend with to 'get their story'. It was written in a very easy style and kept your interest from page to page.
The people she talks about in the book are easily recognizable and this makes the book even more exciting to read.

Anyone who has ever seen or read these tabloid papers will find this book very interesting and I recommend it to anyone who has an 'inquiring mind and wants to know'......

Great read!! I read a lot of books, but this one has it all - it's extremely readable, it's fast-paced, it's full of inside stuff you never knew, and it is just one helluva lot of fun to read. The girl reporter is so gutsy and so funny. I can just see her in the middle of the Sinatra gang! I had a ball, read it from cover to cover, and want the first copy of her next one! Would make a hilarious TV series.

I absolutely LOVED this book and I couldn't put it down once I stated reading it. "Secrets..." is a great read. I loved getting the "inside scoop" on the life of a tabloid reporter! I hope book number two is soon to follow. I gaurantee that whoever reads this book, will come out of reading it with a newly found appreciation for what a reporter must go through to get the "scoop".

I have never read the Nat'l Enquirer, nor been tempted to. I purchased Barbara Sternig's "Secrets of a Tabloid Reporter" on a joking impulse at the L.A. County Fair. Ms. Sternig, who was there, asked that I send my reaction after I'd read it: I found it fun romping through her adventures, related in a lively, personal style. I already have a list of friends who want to borrow her book to enjoy for themselves!

This is a page turning book that takes the reader deep into the life of celebs and the writers that get the stories for the fans. I had no idea what National Enquirer writers had to do for "the scoop."

A very enjoyable read that keeps you wanting more and more!

Sternig spends much time gushing over herself and her exciting life. She's disingenuous, dishing dirt on celebs, then claiming she admires them. And she pulls punches. She worked for the Enquirer from 1975-95, yet concentrates on 1970s celebs now safely dead: Frank Sinatra, Richard Burton, Tammy Wynette. Blurbs from B-list celebs and players further indicate that she pulls punches.

But she does provide useful info on tabloid undercover reporting techniques. And it's a breezy, entertaining, easy read, as one would expect from someone with longtime tabloid writing experience.

However, the best and most comprehensive tabloid HISTORY remains I WATCHED A WILD HOG EAT MY BABY, by Bill Sloan, which was released in 2001.

Also, reviewers are wrong when they say that Sternig's is the first inside report from a former tabloid reporter. In 1996, a darker inside look from two former tabloid reporters was provided in POISON PEN, by Lysa Moskowitz-Mateu & David LaFontaine.