Gossip columnist 1930s through the 1950s, the two best-known - and competing - Hollywood gossip columnists were Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons. Well-timed leaks about a star's purported romantic adventures helped the studios to create and sustain the public's interest in the studios' star actors. As well, the movie studios' publicity agents acted as unnamed "well-informed inside sources" who provided misinformation and rumors to counteract whispers about celebrity secrets — such as homosexuality or an out-of-wedlock child — that could have severely damaged not only the reputation of the movie star in question, but the movie star's box office viability. Having fallen
Gossip (The Office) "Thankfully, if Thursday's premiere was any indication, it appears that the Dunder Mifflin crew still has a lot to offer." "Entertainment Weekly" writer Margaret Lyons said, "'Gossip' had some terrific moments, but I don't know that I'd put it on my all-time great episodes list." She specifically praised the performances of Brian Baumgartner and Jenna Fischer. "Chicago Tribune" television columnist Maureen Ryan called "Gossip" a "solidly entertaining premiere", specifically complimenting the Ed Helms subplot and the various office rumors. Hopper of "Best Week Ever" praised the episode's final scene, in which Michael unsuccessfully tries to lie his way through a