Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip dir. by Ben Loeterman (review)

• Published in: American Jewish History Vol. 105; no. 1; pp. 317 - 319
• Main Author: Meyers, Cynthia B
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 2021
• Subjects: Audiences; Documentary films; Gossip; Mass media; Motion pictures; Nazi era; Radio; Television; Television programs; Vaudeville; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 0164-0178; 1086-3141; 1086-3141
• DOI: 10.1353/ajh.2021.0031

The documentary Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip identifies the 1930s and 1940s gossip columnist and radio star as the "architect" of today's media environment: of the blurring of information and entertainment, of the outsized power of key media providers, of the exploitation of audience attention by bad actors. Though Tucci's voice is substituted for recordings of the radio program (perhaps the audio quality of the few remaining recordings was too poor), a few clips from Winchell's early 1950s television programs provide direct aural and visual evidence of Winchell's performance style. Winchell had developed a successful strategy for his era and applied it as long as he could, until he was replaced by outlets such as People magazine and the syndicated television program Entertainment Tonight, gossip purveyors better attuned to new platforms and shifting audience interests.