Today I speak with the man behind The Lowdown, a gossip column in the New York Daily News. Prior to that gig, he worked for a long time at The Washington Post, where, amongst other gigs, he wrote the widely read 'Reliable Source' column.

How hard is it to deal with publicists? On the one hand, you want them to give you information, but on the other hand, you don't want them to dictate what you're writing.
It's not difficult all. Those who have no idea what they're doing--and, sadly, there are many--I rush off the phone. Those who get the game I shmooze and cultivate with lunches and dinners. Unless they are conveying facts and not just tips, I check everything publicists give me--often by calling other publicists.

How does DC compare as a gossip town to New York?
It's the difference between a small community devoted obsessively to government and politics and a large and unwieldy collection of communities, each devoted as obsessively to government and politics, the media, the movies, the arts, money, sports and a dozen other pursuits.

So, regarding the Scalia "off-the-record" story, why do you consider saying something is "off-the-record" to a large group of people doesn't fly? Are there other times when you can bend the rules when something is "off-the-record" in your opinion?
Obviously "off the record" doesn't fly, doesn't even get onto the taxiway, before a large group. Those are the rules, so it wasn't me who was trying to bend them. I take journalistic groundrules very seriously--I'd be out of business right quick if I didn't--but they have to be agreed to by all parties in order to be effective.

What's the biggest misconception about being a gossip columnist?
Well, in my case, that I published raw gossip. Everything I print is checked according to the conventions of mainstream journalism and, often, thoroughly lawyered.

How was the transition from reporter at the Washington Post to your spot at the Daily News? I'm sure there are things you probably can't report when dealing with famous people that you would have no qualms about publishing if you didn't have to worry about maintaining good relations with your contacts.
After more than two decades at The Washington Post, it obviously took some adjustments on my part to operate successfully at a New York tabloid. My canvas is a lot bigger and my paint is, on occasion, a lot more colorful--every so often it's purple. But I seldom if ever fail to print something just because it will anger a famous person and potentially harm my relationship with that person. The standard, always, is: Is it accurate and fair?