PW: In The Untold Story [click here to read the review], you write about how you held the National Enquirer's senior editorial post for 23 years. What qualities did you look for in your reporters?

Honesty, intelligence and determination. You have to be driven by a desire to get the story, and the story has to reach the emotions, make you laugh or cry. Reporters also must have guts. If you face a snarling 90-pound German shepherd straining at the leash, you can't run away. As a young kamikaze from Scotland, I had the drive, and I was fortunate to work with Gene Pope, an amazing editor and visionary.

Many people who worked for Pope feared him. Did you?

No. If you showed a sign of fear, he was annoyed. He respected me and treated me well from the start. His genius was in feeling that anything was possible, and this attitude made people under him strive that much harder. He paid 50 to 100% more than anyone else, and then he expected you to do 200% more than you were capable of.

You became, in your own words, a "hard ass boss."

Before Gene promoted me, I was one of the guys. I was friendly with everybody, but I saw that most of them just wanted to survive. After I became executive editor, I started to develop a hard edge when it came to work. I asked myself, did I want to take this in a direction where it could be brilliant? So I changed my personality during working hours. I didn't think I had it in me. I thought I was a fairly soft guy till I was boosted to that position.

Did exposure to so many hidden skeletons make you cynical? For instance, receiving secret information from Tom Arnold about Roseanne while he was seeing her?

I never had time to become cynical. Even when we had a wonderful five and a half million sale, that only lasted for a minute and a half. Then there were a dozen more problems.

You started as a professional at 16. What are your thoughts on journalism school?

I'm not saying people shouldn't go to school. We had superb reporters who went to Harvard. But people can't teach you how to get things done when you're faced with incredible difficulty. Students come out with stars in their eyes, and they're a little soft. I would say I was lucky I plunged right in. I became a bureau chief at 25, because I was in the trenches, covering murders and train wrecks, and that helped me up.

What advice would you give to new reporters?

Listen carefully to what people have to say; don't worry about what you want to say. Remember to stand out from the crowd. Make yourself unique. Wearing a yellow tie won't hack it. Put yourself in the boss's shoes. Find out the names of his kids. Next, you've got to outwork the next guy. Come in earlier, stay 10 minutes later, work more. If you really want to succeed, think to yourself: what does the boss want? You've got to make him look good. And, finally, don't try to fight every single battle. If you do that, you lose. Pick your spots carefully.

Who do you think is the prime audience for this book?

People interested in journalism, certainly. And those fascinated by celebrities. I talk about Elvis, Liberace, Liz Taylor. Enquirer fans. It should appeal to those who don't necessarily buy books. I feel I have a tremendous potential readership that doesn't exist for any other book. And those that like exciting stories. The saga of the Enquirer reads like a movie.

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