^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

26 MAY 04: THE SCOOP AND THE HARM

"Gossip" said the title of an e-mail to your blog -- and I can't tell you how much I agonized over what I read. I'd rather not have this blog become a gossip column. But then again, Webster's New World Dictionary defines gossip as "idle talk and rumors about others" -- and this wasn't rumor, it was fact.

If the "gossip" I read had been put in the hands of Paula Froelich at the "New York Post," it probably would have become public knowledge days ago. It probably would have come out at the "Washington Post" as well. But this is Columbus - where there's an unwritten rule about never hurting other people's feelings.

The church I attend does NOT think well of gossiping. In fact, it's so much opposed that a big congregation split in the home office city hasn't even been mentioned on its web site - and it happened almost a month ago.

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We're going to talk religious talk for the next few jokes. If you're offended by this, scroll down about three paragraphs and see if you can catch up.)

Given what this church teaches, I went to the Bible Tuesday for guidance about gossip. Several verses in Proverbs warn about a gossip who "betrays a confidence." But if the item in question is on file at a courthouse, it's only confidential if you don't go there and look.

There's also a section in the New Testament which links gossips with "slanderers, God-haters.... arrogant and boastful." Yeow! This standard could disqualify almost every elected official in the country.

I also recalled some of Paul's New Testament writings where he talked of church members having each other's wives, and even named people who did him harm. The Bible didn't allow any of these people "equal time" to tell their side....

Then I decided to apply the three traditional rules of "gossip." First: was it true? After a couple of attempts to verify it, I found it was -- but I should have left the court clerk a tip for all the checking she did for me.

Step two: is it fair? A lawyer used the phrase "public document" about it, so it seemed to be -- but in this day and age, one cable network seems to define "fair" as anything slanted toward Republicans.

. Step three: is the "gossip" necessary? Now this was the sticky one. Some people I know think ANY gossip is necessary, as long as it doesn't mention them....

I decided Tuesday to give the subject of the gossip a chance to comment about it. I also went to that person's attorney -- so you can see how serious I am about avoiding a libel suit.

After taking all these steps, I took a break in the late afternoon -- and there was Halle Berry on "Oprah," admitting all the tabloid stories about ex-husband Eric Benet's affairs were true! So if they can get it right sometimes, maybe I can too....

So I've taken all this introductory space to explain why I'm posting what I'm posting. Now I'll post it, and take whatever lumps may come. And for those of you who think you've guessed it already - no, this has nothing to do with Diana DeGarmo winning "American Idol."

Let's ask some pointed questions, beginning with the "gossip" item the source sent via e-mail:

1. Which well-known local personality quietly has filed for divorce during May? I reviewed the papers at a court office Tuesday afternoon, and the split should become final this week. Surprisingly, the divorce was filed by a big-name attorney/politician -- someone I thought would be on the side of preserving marriages, given his party.

This mystery personality separated from a spouse in March, and the spouse does not appear to be contesting the divorce. So why call on a big-name attorney/politician to handle this? To scare the spouse away from going to "Celebrity Justice" or something?

2. Which local corporate executive called a media outlet recently about doing an "informational" appearance - only one day after he appeared at that very outlet? No, it was NOT a case of Lonnie Jackson developing amnesia.

3. Which political candidate is putting campaign signs up all over Columbus - and every one of them appears to be ILLEGAL? None of them has the required wording for the candidate's campaign committee! It's called "fine" print for a reason -- leave it out and you may get fined.

BLOG-BLAH-BLAH: Do you think you know the answers to our questions? We'll take your guesses PRIVATELY ONLY. E-mail us if you'd like to try....

© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.