Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
S34 Ep5

Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip

Premiere: 10/20/2020 | 00:02:00 |

Meet Walter Winchell, the newspaper columnist, radio commentator and television personality who pioneered the fast-paced, gossip-driven, politically charged journalism that dominates today. At his peak, his audience was 50 million. Stanley Tucci portrays Winchell in a new American Masters documentary.

Before you watch videos on this webpage, please take a moment to review and respond below:

By clicking “Accept,” you agree that WNET and its affiliates (“The WNET Group”) can share your video viewing activity with third parties as set out in our Privacy Policy in order to facilitate use of our sites and enrich your online experience. Your consent to such sharing is valid for two years or until you withdraw your consent by removing the associated browser cookie. To learn more about how we use cookies on our sites and how to revise your cookie settings, please visit the “Cookies” section of our Privacy Policy. If you click “Decline,” we will not share your individual viewing activity, but may still share aggregated and/or anonymized viewing activity in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

About the Episode

Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip Tells the Story of the Media Personality Who Pioneered Fast-Paced, Celebrity-Focused and Politically Charged Journalism

Featuring Stanley Tucci as Winchell and narrated by Whoopi Goldberg

Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip traces the life and career of the syndicated columnist, radio news commentator and television host who pioneered the fast-paced, gossip driven, politically charged media culture that dominates today. At the height of his career, Winchell had a combined print and radio audience of 50 million and the power to make or break careers. He became the most feared and admired man in America, a man who transformed entertainment journalism and championed “Mr. and Mrs. America” in his daily columns and Sunday night radio program. Decades later, an alliance with Senator Joseph McCarthy and feuds with Josephine Baker and Ed Sullivan turned his audience against him and forced him into obscurity.

Featuring Stanley Tucci as Winchell and narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this American Masters documentary breathes new life into Winchell’s original newspaper columns and broadcast scripts, drawing on rare recordings and a recently digitized collection of his work in the Billy Rose Theatre Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Winchell’s own words comprise nearly a quarter of the script as the film tracks the rise and fall of his career, and his continued influence on today’s media. “He was not only present at the creation of modern journalism,” concludes biographer and film interviewee Neal Gabler, “in many respects he was the creation.”

SHARE
QUOTE
"Gossip is the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves practically nothing unsaid."
PRODUCTION CREDITS

Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip is a production of Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc., in association with THIRTEEN’s American Masters for WNET. Written, produced and directed by Ben Loeterman.

© 2025 WNET. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.