Danny Gans coverage tale of the tape: Tabloid Baby vs. Las Vegas Review-Journal

Earlier we listed the stories the Las Vegas-Review Journal has published about the mysterious death of Strip superstar Danny Gans. We reprint the list, followed by a listing of the stories Tabloid Baby has posted since receiving word that Danny Gans had died suddenly and mysteriously at age 52.

If you lived in Las Vegas and were looking for information on the top story in town, which source would you seek out?

Las Vegas Review-Journal:
May 01: Las Vegas entertainer, 52, dies at home;
foul play not suspected
May 01: Entertainers, celebrities offer memories of Gans
May 02: 'HE CAN'T BE REPLACED'
May 02: DANNY GANS: CELEBRITY MEMORIES
May 02: NORM: Gans' final act leaves mystery
May 03: NORM: Gans has final word in life story
May 04: NORM: Gans friends share feelings, memories
May 06: NORM: Mourners gather for Gans' funeral
May 08: NORM: Gans service to be invitation only
(contains retraction of May 02 story)
May 08: EDITORIAL: Danny Gans
May 10: NORM: Heart problems in Gans' family
May 14: NORM: Insurance issue
May 14: MIKE WEATHERFORD: Gans was 'down in the dumps'
before death
May 14: Coroner awaits facts to reveal cause of Gans' death

TabloidBaby.com:
May 1: Danny Gans
May 1: Remembering Danny Gans
May 1: What killed Danny Gans?
May 1: Danny: What happened?
May 1: Danny, we hardly knew ye
May 1: Curse of The Mirage?
May 2: Photos: The house where Danny Gans died
May 3: Encore website presents touching tribute
to Danny Gans-- but where are the investigative reporters
looking into the facts of his early demise?
May 3: Robin Leach on Danny Gans: "Rumors are rampant"
May 3: "Four a.m. phone call": The woman who was
first to be notified of Danny Gans' death
May 4: Danny Gans texted special friend before death
May 4: Saint Danny Gans? Las Vegas newscaster
refers to late entertainer as "religious leader,"
perhaps explaining lack of investigation by local news media
May 6: Who killed Danny Gans? Who cares?
May 6: Danny Gans sidebar: Sig Gissler can kiss our ass!
May 7: Las Vegas newspaper makes book deal
with Danny Gans' manager and family
May 7: Las Vegas journo: Tabloid Baby coverage
of Danny Gans mystery is "beneath contempt"
May 7: What are they hiding? Las Vegas journo Steve Friess
calls us "a**holes" for asking questions about
the mysterious death of Danny Gans
May 7: Danny Gans' manager Chip Lightman and Steve Wynn
book big stars into his theatre
May 8: The curtain falls on an instant myth:
Danny Gans didn't really close his last show
with eerie, prescient Bobby Darin number
May 8: Libel suit? Las Vegas writer Steve Friess
continues attacks on TabloidBaby.com
for pursuing leads in death of Danny Gans
May 8: Exclusive: Alicia Jacobs speaks to Tabloid Baby
about the life and death of her close friend Danny Gans
May 9: All of a sudden, friends say Danny Gans
had high blood pressure and a history
of heart problems in his family
May 9: The Danny Gans daisy chain:
Steve and Chip and Alicia and Norm and Miles and--
May 10: Please send us a nice photo of Steve Friess
May 10: Danny Gans item: Las Vegas journo's cry for help?
May 10: "Something clearly doesn't smell right":
Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter
writes about "Danny Gans death mystery"
May 11: "Health rumors swirl": Las Vegas media
play catch-up in Danny Gans death mystery
May 11: Finally, the Danny Gans mystery is on the national Radar
May 12: Why was Danny Gans planning his obituary?
May 13: John Birch Society honors Danny Gans
May 13: EXCLUSIVE: Las Vegas Review-Journal won't publish
what it knows about the death of Danny Gans
May 14: Did we force their hand? Las Vegas Review-Journal
goes with two Danny Gans items
May 14: Under scrutiny, Las Vegas Review-Journal
publishes a third story on the Danny Gans case
May 15: Two weeks after the death of Danny Gans,
Las Vegas writer Steven Friess admits he knew
of steroid rumors, confesses to covering up death theories
May 15: Las Vegas writer Steve Friess comes clean,
tries to explain his involvement in sick spreading
of “false rumors” about the death of Danny Gans
May 16: The Las Vegas columnist who suggested
Danny Gans used "supplements" continues to avoid
the subject but returns to the story to crown Gans' successor
May 16: Why no follow-up on the "insurance issue involving
Danny Gans and his deal with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas"?
May 17: The invitation to Danny Gans' memorial
May 17: Danny Gans' final golfing partner was one
of many evangelist pastors surrounding
the Born Again Christian whose father was a Jew
May 18: Coroner says Danny Gans death verdict "still pending”
May 18: Alicia Jacobs' poignant farewell to her friend Danny Gans
May 19: Coroner's office reports great interest
in Danny Gans death mystery--
but not from the local Las Vegas news media
May 19: Major tour group is still selling Danny Gans
May 19: Danny Gans coverage tale of the tape:
Tabloid Baby vs. Las Vegas Review-Journal
May 20: ????

The Danny Gans daisy chain: Steve and Chip and Alicia and Norm and Miles and--

To quote Aretha: Who's zoomin' who? With those closest to the late Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans amending their stories of what they knew about the state of his health when he died in bed on May 1st at the age of 52, and with the relationships among the major media players-- the ones who are parceling out the "official" information, reporting it, and protecting it -- coming into a more clear focus, we're not sure what to to believe.

We've been called conspiracy theorists, and much worse, as we look for answers to what killed this supposedly healthy entertainer, but now, who knows? As the Las Vegas media waits patiently for the "official" report from the Clark County Coroner, did Gans manager Chip Lightman and Gans friend Alicia Jacobs toss up the "high blood pressure" story as a way to explain away drugs they know the toxicology report will list in Gans' system? Why is Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review-Journal transcribing whatever they say, only to retract it days later when they tell him something else? Are they and supposed freelancer Steve Friess hiding something more sinister? Are they hiding anything? Was Danny Gans just a good guy with a bad ticker?

We're not saying. We're still trying to keep track of the players, and their connections:


Steve Friess is the Las Vegas freelance reporter and writer (for publications including The New York Times and USA) who went ballistic and began posting obscene insults about us after we asked him why local reporters weren't investigating the events leading to, and speculation regarding the possible cause of Gans' death.


Chip Lightman was Danny Gans' manager for most all of 18 years. He phoned a local TV reporter with news of Gans' death in the early morning hours of May 1st. He's been working the media, while working with hotel-casino magnate Steve Wynn to book acts into Gans' showroom, ever since.


Alicia Jacobs is the woman who got the 4 a.m. phone call from Lightman. She's a beauty queen-turned-television entertainment reporter who boasted a close, 13-year friendship with Danny Gans. She broke the Gans death story on KVBC-TV News.


Norm Clarke is the Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist who often quotes Steve Friess and has run several stories about Alicia Jacobs and Chip Lightman since Gans' death, including their claims that they had no idea what caused the former athlete and "health nut" to pass away prematurely.

On Thursday, Norm Clarke wrote that his paper had entered into a deal with Chip Lightman to publish Gans' autobiography. Today, one day after we interviewed Alicia Jacobs about Danny Gans (and the day after Steve Friess increased his attacks on this news organization), Norm Clarke went online with the exclusive story that Chip Lightman and Alicia Jacobs both knew all along that Danny Gans was a ticking time bomb, with high blood pressure and a family history of "heart problems."

Miles Smith is the executive producer of KVBC-TV News. He is Alicia Jacobs' boss. And he brings us full circle to Steve Friess.

How?


Miles Smith, Alicia Jacobs' boss, is Steve Friess' "husband" (in quotes because Smith and Friess were wed by a rabbi at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas-- same sex marriage is not legal in Nevada).

(UPDATE: We originally ran a great punchline photo of Steve Friess and Miles Smith in bed together. But Steve Friess has claimed ownership of many photos we've run and demanded we remove them. Mr. Friess, a journalist, has also taken action to have TabloidBaby.com shut down... )

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO OF STEVE FRIESS LITERALLY IN BED-- UNDER THE COVERS-- WITH KVBC TV NEWS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MILES SMITH.

Developing...

Two weeks after the death of Danny Gans, Las Vegas writer Steven Friess admits he knew of steroid rumors, confesses to covering up death theories

It's been two weeks since Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans was pronounced dead in his home of still undetermined causes.

From the first we heard the news of the passing of this great, historically significant and unique entertainer, the Tabloid Baby team has pursued the story day after day, while being struck by the fact that Las Vegas journos didn't find the story worth pursuing beyond adulatory quotes from the likes of Carrot Top (Nothing against Carrot Top. We think he's cool and he makes us laugh). The official excuse was that there was no news to report until the officials released the official cause of death with the official toxicology report, since the official autopsy could not determine what caused this ox of a man's heart to stop at the age of 52.

The first solid clue there was something amiss came when we were attacked, threatened and insulted online by a character named Steve Friess (above & left), a local booster and comp queen who authored a book called Gay Vegas and writes for a number of national publications.

Friess' online hissyfit when he learned of our dogged pursuit of the Gans story was puzzling, until it was revealed that his conflicts of interest only began in his bed, which he shares with Alicia Jacobs' executive producer, and that this self-promoting freelancer exists at the pleasure of the casino kings to whom the words "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" are more than a catchphrase.

Well what a difference two weeks, or as he writes on his blog, a "fortnight," makes.

Today, Friess continues his name-calling:

"Some gay-obsessed lunatics -- well, he refers to himself in the plural, anyhow -- believes anything said about the matter at this stage is thanks to his 'vigilance.' I've since realized that Internet nutjobs will say and do what they wish regardless of accuracy, propriety or basic common sense and never back down even in the face of contrary evidence or reasoning..."

Friess goes through his usual motions: attacking RadarOnline, The National Enquirer and Perez Hilton for covering a story that he could have made a bundle on had not his freelance status been so compromised; denying there's "public appetite" for the story; insisting that "short of those tests being completed, there's not a lot for legit reporters to do."

But then Steve Friess (above left) does something more. While apologizing on behalf of the ones who tried to obfuscate the facts, he admits that he realizes a coverup took place. And while making excuses all along the way, he even slips up and admits he was part of it.

Most spectacularly, Steve Friess admits he has been covering up the story of the real Danny Gans for at least, well, at least... a "fortnight":

"...Gans' suspected steroid use has been out there for years."

He also prints the alternative theories that are out there, though carefully labeling them "bizarro":

"Danny Gans was (a) actually killed in a DUI hit-and-run; (b) was having an affair with a local news personality who has tried to get Mayor Oscar Goodman and Wayne Newton* and Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce (!?!) to help cover up Gans' actual cause of death or (c) committed suicide because Steve Wynn booked Whoopi and Beyonce..."

Read Friess' entire column here.  It is an incredible document of self-righteousness, delusion and ass-covering.  Bottom line: Everything Steve Friess denied, he now says he knew all along.

Real Journos

Meanwhile, real journalists, like the ones at The Las Vegas Review-Journal, responded professionally to our prodding. Insiders tell us they feel bound by "rules," and are hamstrung to do much before an official report is released.

But they admit our prodding has had an effect.  Mike Weatherford's chilling account of Danny Gans' depression on his final day was published after sitting around for more than a week. And Norm Clarke's hastily-added one-liner begs a followup:

"No one's willing to discuss it, but there's an insurance issue involving Danny Gans and his deal with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas that suggests Gans had concerns about his health."

Sure, they say we at TabloidBaby.com seem to be "obsessed" or even "insane." And there are those who'd try to lump Tabloid Baby with the new generation of bloggers who conjure fantasy and post whatever comes into their heads.

They're wrong.

Danny Gans was an Old School entertainer.  We're Old School journos.

This is the Old School talking.

Decades of newspaper and broadcast journalism experience. Contributors on four continents. Experienced two-finger typists who've taught a generation of journos to follow a good story where it leads.

Murder?

The case of Danny Gans should have been, and should be covered from all its angles. That's how important it is, and as uncomfortable and ad-revenue endangering some of those angles may be, those are the angles that manage to be covered up as time passes.

Was Danny Gans murdered in his bed? We'd not pose that question, but thanks to the wait-and-see attitude of the Las Vegas media, that story is floating around the Internet as we type.

Will the toxicological report close the book on the Danny Gans case?

Probably not, no matter what is revealed, because the ones who should be on the front line of finding  the truth are content to wait for an official report from a controversial coroner's office.  It's these paid professionals, sitting around their news meetings debating whether a story's worthy of coverage, who've allowed the story to spin out of control.

A Review-Journal reporter said it himself when he wrote the lede to yesterday's coroner story that was copied somewhat inaccurately by every news station in town:

"The mystery of Danny Gans' death remains almost two weeks after he died in his home, leaving rumors to fill the information void."

Steve Friess confessed to it in his column today.


* The "Wayne Newton" reference, never made public, was part of a tip emailed to TabloidBaby.com offices. Friess' inclusion of it indicates that he was part of a deliberate effort to mislead journalists investigating the Gans story.
(Comp queen Steve Friess threatens us every time we post his picture, so we're forced to used fascimiles. Help us get it right by sending us a nice photo of Steve Friess today!)

Steve Friess sends us a photo of himself. We think he's in love with us in a gay way. Meanwhile, the Danny Gans mystery is entering its FIFTH week.

Someone sent us a nice photo of Steve Friess (left) and you won't believe who!

The Las Vegas civics-boosting, casino-beholden comp queen, Gay Vegas ("Vegas as a queer fantasyland? You bet!") author and freelance writer attacked us in public a few weeks ago when we emailed him privately to ask why no local journalists were investigating the mysterious death of Strip superstar Danny Gans... he tried to have our site shut down when we ran his photo... he actively attempted to stop us from covering the Danny Gans story in collusion with his "husband" the executive producer of Gans' close friend and legend spinner, beauty queen-turned-TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs... and he admitted being involved in a conspiracy to spread false rumours about Danny Gans' death simply to throw us off the scent.

He threatened and harassed us every time we ran a picture of him or his "husband," so for weeks, we've been using facsimiles whenever we run a story on Steve Friess, while asking you to please send us in a nice Steve Friess photo so we don't have to keep using shots of Paul Lynde, Liberace, Peter Allen, Charles Nelson Reilly or Richard Deacon.

And now someone has sent us a photo and giving us her blessing to use it:

Steve Friess.

We're not making this up. We got an email at the Tabloid Baby office this afternoon from stevefriess@aol.com, titled "a gift from me to you."

We were hoping it was the Danny Gans toxicology report, but it was this note:

"I know you've been wanting an authorized photo. And I happened to see a cool little show last night at the Liberace Museum and they happened to have a Tussaud's wax figure on loan there. So here you are. Use it to your nasty conspiratorial irrelevant gay-baiting/hating heart's desire. Sorry it's a little blurry, my camera's not behaving right these days."

...and this photo:


We thought, hey, Steve Friess has a sense of humour! Until we saw that he'd x-rayed our heart and concluded that we are gay-baiting and hating! Then our note of appreciation was returned because Steve's blocked our email access and ability to reply! It seems that Steve Friess gives, but he won't receive (and to think we took him for a power bottom!)

What is it with this guy?

We think we've figured it out. Either Steve was on an amyl nitrate poppers bender, deep in a K-hole or had too many Cosmos when he sent the giddy email-- or he's flirting with us because he loves us. And in a gay way. Sorry, Miles, but the evidence is there. The teasing comments... the insults... the photos!

We only wish the little minx would spend more time looking into the Danny Gans case and less time bothering us.

Tomorrow begins Week 5 of the Danny Gans mystery and no one, in the Las Vegas news media from the rootin' tootin' Review-Journal editor in the cowboy drag to Richard Abowitz, Steve's competitor at the Las Vegas Weekly, gives a hoot. We'd figure today's issue of the "alternative" weekly might at least mention the fact that the promised two-to-four week wait for toxicology tests on Gans is now four to twelve weeks, but instead we get more Gans tribute-- and this time it's a week old.

Abowitz, the hipster Penn Jillette fan who publicly called us insane for asking questions about the Gans case before the officials hand over the answers, has taken an elite public stand against deigning to touch the Gans story, so it was surprising to see him in the Weekly this morning with a piece on the Gans memorial that took place a week ago, and not only buying but promulgating the evangelist Christian idea that the angels simply carried away a great man:

"Gans... believed in immortality and eternity. He just never thought they came from a performance on a Vegas stage. But according to his preacher, Gans felt eternity came from his religion and how he lived his life up until the last of it no matter how long or brief."

Four weeks of hosannas. What would Penn Jillette think? When's someone in Vegas going to pick up one of the threads in the story of the year? With every passing week, it's more evident that the Vegas media is not only lying down on this story, they're bending over. Sorry, Steve. There we go again.

Danny Gans photo: Las Vegas Sun

Fit to print? New York Times report on Danny Gans' death by Dilaudid is penned by compromised comp queen and cover-up conspirator Steve Friess

Eerie: Danny Gans with Elvis on his shoulder (and a monkey on his back?)

Despite the current taste for full disclosure of journalistic conflicts of interest, readers of the New York Times received no such disclaimer on page A22 of yesterday's paper when the report on the Clark County Nevada Coroner's controversial findings in the death of Las Vegas superstar Danny Gans came with the byline of Steve Friess.

Friess (right) is the Las Vegas freelance writer, author of the Gay Vegas guide and comp queen whose sexual relationship with a local television news producer led him to dangerous conflict of interest and clear ethical lapses in his attempts to derail the investigative reporting into Gans' unexplained death on May 1st, an untimely passing at age 52 that was revealed this week to be the result of an overdose of Dilaudid, also known as "drug store heroin."

Friess' cover-up attempt began after we wrote him a private email on May 6, asking why Las Vegas journalists were not covering the Gans story, and he responded with a public Internet posting, calling us "a**hole," "Perez Hilton wanna be" and "vermin," and accusing us of "Danny Gans hate," among other things.

Within days, in a post titled "The Danny Gans Daisy Chain: Steve and Chip and Alicia and Norm and Miles and--," we reported on a tangled web of interpersonal dealings among Las Vegas media figures, including the revelation that Friess shares a bed with Miles Smith, executive producer of KVBC TV news, colleague of beauty queen-turned-local TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs. Jacobs had gained notoriety as Danny Gans' close and personal friend for more than a dozen years.

She not only broke the story of Gans' death, but worked with Gans' manager to spin and obfsucate the facts in such an obvious manner that the Las Vegas Review-Journal TV columnist lambasted her for her "reverse bias." Steve Bornfeld wrote "there's a difference between professional relationships and personal friendships, especially one as strongly and publicly evident as Jacobs and Gans... it creates an appearance of potential bias -- viewers/readers wondering if a reporter-friend would conceal unflattering or damaging information."

"A.J.'s boundary-breaching closeness"


Today, in his Medialogy column titled "Except for Jacobs, TV stations play Gans news straight," Bornfeld again singles out Jacobs' career-damaging conflict of interest in reporting the coroner's slippery Dilaudid announcement:

"Efficient, yet elusive.

"Such was the level of coverage and nature of the story as the cause of Danny Gans' death was disclosed Tuesday, leaving local media to present question-riddled reports of a 'drug toxicity' reaction from the painkiller Dilaudid, the coroner refraining from terming it 'drug abuse.'

"And -- except for an Alicia Jacobs commentary with an Alice-through-the-looking-glass effect of seeming completely right while being thoroughly wrong -- coverage was responsible...

"Then there was A.J.

"Her statement on the 4 p.m. news, in part: 'I'm sure there will be much focus on the drugs in Danny's system, but it's important to remember that since his baseball days, Danny dealt with endless injuries. ... On a personal note, I hope we can go back to remembering the great man and the amazing entertainer and the wonderful friend that was Danny Gans.'

"That's the response of a personal confidant who should have been a detached observer, the modest leeway of familiarity she's granted as an entertainment reporter abused long ago.

"In case news reporters, unsatisfied with ending the story with this toxicology finding, investigate further, Jacobs nudges us toward Gans' injuries as justification for his use of Dilaudid. While that's a legit element of the story as stated by neutral reporters, from Jacobs it's clearly a request for compassion from a protective pal.

"Then she plants a big wet smooch on his memory that out-Mary Harts Mary Hart. Her 11 p.m. 'Stage 3' was essentially an encore...

"Jacobs' boundary-breaching closeness to Gans oddly inoculates her -- she's so known as his buddy that withholding a heartfelt tribute would flummox fans conditioned to consider the relationship acceptable, seeming like a friend's betrayal when it's actually a professional requirement.

"...Yes, she's on the showbiz beat where sympathy might seem harmless. But when soft features turn into hard news, credibility counts in every corner of this craft."

Jacobs' conflict of interest is taken into account by local viewers.

Tried to shut us down

Friess (left), who writes for a national audience who may not be up on the local towel-snapping scandals of which he's part, should have recused himself from the story as soon as he admitted on May 15th that he was involved in sending us false information about Gans' death in effort to discredit our news team and throw us off the scent. (He also took action to shut down TabloidBaby.com after we posted his photo. We have since been forced to rely on reasonable facsimiles.)

Instead, it's the Steve Friess byline that appears on a story that is given the full authority of the New York Times. The story, of course, does not mention that the coroner refused to address what other drugs Danny Gans may have had in his system, pointedly refused to answer our question of possible steroid abuse, and arranges the words in a way that, like Alicia Jacobs, excuses the use of the powerful opiate in the name of sports injury:

The New York Times
Nevada: Entertainer's Death Is Ruled Accidental

"The Clark County coroner, Mike Murphy, ruled that the death of the popular impressionist Danny Gans, left, on May 1 was an accident brought on by a toxic level of the pain killer hydromorphone, which led to heart failure. Mr. Murphy refused to characterize the death as a drug overdose or disclose the level of hydromorphone, marketed as Dilaudid, in Mr. Gans’s system. Mr. Gans’s manager, Chip Lightman, said that he was unaware Mr. Gans, 52, was taking Dilaudid, but that Mr. Gans had shoulder surgery early this year before opening at the Encore Las Vegas resort and had follow-up surgery in March to remove scar tissue. Mr. Lightman previously told reporters that Mr. Gans had a family history of heart disease and for many years had been on medication for high blood pressure. Mr. Gans became a widely celebrated mimic known for his George Burns impression after his minor-league baseball career was cut short by a foot injury. He was prone to other injuries as well, canceling hundreds of performances over the course of his 13-year headlining career on the Strip because of shoulder, back and knee surgeries."

There have been many reasons suggested for Friess' involvement in the Danny Gans death, from the mundane-- Alicia Jacobs is supporter of same sex marriage and was the "celebrity" guest at his unofficial second marriage to Miles Smith at the Palms Hotel-- to his allegiance to Gans' employer, casino magnate Steve Wynn.

Friess picked up the Gans story on his own Vegas-boosting website on Tuesday and spoke as an authority on at least one radio station without mentioning his embarrassing missteps.

He did not post again until late this afternoon when he wrote about Englebert Humperdinck.

That Darn Norm

Then there's Norm Clarke, the colorful, nationally-known Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist who has printed much of Jacobs' and Friess' planted stories that led the public farther from the truth about the life and death of Danny Gans.


In the days leading up to the coroner's hastily-called and carefully-worded news conference, Norm had been in Washington D.C, merrily Twittering his every move, from meals to exhibits at the Smithsonian.

His pure joy at reporting gossip and his evident innocence in the cover-up planning was exhibited in his Wednesday column about Danny Gans, when, hours after we drew the comparison, he guilelessly put a most sunny, even excited spin on the news that Gans had overdosed on drug store heroin:

NORM: Presley and gans linked by Dilaudid

"Danny Gans and Elvis Presley had something else in common, besides dying young.

"Both entertainers were linked after their deaths with Dilaudid, a highly addictive opiate nicknamed 'drug store heroin.'

"...According to numerous published reports, Dilaudid, said to be two to eight times more potent than morphine, was Elvis' favorite drug.

"Gans, a vocal impressionist, included a karate-kicking overweight Elvis among his spoofs of musical greats.

"Gans, a Las Vegas headliner since 1996, was 52.

"Elvis was 42 when he died Aug. 16, 1977, in Memphis, Tenn."

Viva Las Vegas...

Danny Gans photo: Ralph Fountain/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Tabloid Baby's 2009 Journalist of The Year

Steve Friess

We had our first encounter with Steve Friess a week after the death of Danny Gans. He'd written a column in the Las Vegas Weekly explaining why the sudden, mysterious passing of the Strip superstar was not a story worth covering. We emailed him to ask why he and his fellow Vegas journos were not doing the basic legwork on what, to all appearances, was a major cultural, economic and news story.

Within minutes, he emailed back:

""Uh, because until the toxicology reports come back it would be irresponsible and inappropriate for legitimate reporters to write baseless speculation? Because a man is dead and a family is in mourning and the state of the nation is not dependent upon exacerbating their grief? Because Pulitzer Prize winning newspapers have better uses of their resources than to 'investigate' something that public documents will reveal soon enough anyway?

"I looked over what you've been 'reporting.' It's all beneath contempt. Ginning up Robin Leach's 'rumors' when the rumors he's referring to have nothing to do with Gans' death, implying an inappropriate relationship with Alicia Jacobs, attacking the local press for having a modicum of dignity and restraint on a story that will come out anyway ... I need to go take a shower now. Blech.""

Then he whipped off a blog post that referred to our editor as an "asshole" and "vermin."

And so began our relationship with the Vegas blogger, New York Times stringer, hearing-impaired music reviewer, Gay Vegas author, comp queen and concert producer that culminates in our naming Steve Friess Tabloid Baby's 2009 Journalist of The Year.

In the weeks and months to follow our first correspondence, Steve Friess made an attempt to close down our site because we ran his photo (forcing to use fascimiles), began a disinformation campaign to lead us and other journos off the track, and was revealed to have close ties to many figures in the Gans story, including Gans' boss Steve Wynn and Alicia Jacobs, the beauty queen-turned-local entertainment reporter who was Gans' close friend and the first person informed by Gans' manager of his death.

Then there was the Michael Jackson story. After writing that "Michael Jackson’s untimely death was the best thing that could ever have happened to Michael Jackson’s music," and while covering the Vegas angle of the criminal investigation into Jacko's death for The New York Times, Friess inexplicably announced that he was producing and promoting a Jacko birthday "tribute" concert at the Palms Hotel, where he and his local NBC producer husband had honeymooned.

“In Las Vegas, when left to our own devices,
we do things a little differently.”
--Steve Friess, Las Vegas Weekly

In both the Gans and Jackson cases, Friess attempted to cover his tracks with unintentionally hilarious apologias in the Las Vegas Weekly.

So why does it matter?

Steve Friess, with his tendency to hurl insults, hold grudges and get himself into local gossip columns, is not merely a Vegas combination of Perez Hilton and Louella Parsons.

He is perhaps the most powerful journalist in Las Vegas.

As a freelance correspondent for major news organizations including The New York Times and USA Today, he is the filter through which distant editors can determine whether a story in Las Vegas is worth covering. In the case of Danny Gans, Friess made it clear that the story was not worth covering. And if his relationship with Danny Gans' boss Steve Wynn, or his even closer relationship with staffers on the local NBC affiliate (including his second "husband" and their BFF Alicia Jacobs) created a conflict of interest, so be it.

Steve Friess has no qualms about swinging his conflicts of interest in public, whether it's his political activism, favoritism, foul insults or kneejerk shouts of homophobia against anyone who questions his intentions or positions.

When local Greenspun Media laid off many reporters, editors and columnist earlier this month, Steve Friess, who attends fancy openings of hotels, gets himself and his family members free admission into any show on the Strip whenever he wants, squirrels away opening night mementos and souvenirs that one day will be worth thousands on eBay, kept his job. But then again, Steve Friess, who poses as a brave, independent journalist, is the ultimate courtier to the powerful whose blogsite always displays a link to his interviews with Steve Wynn.

Read our coverage of Steve Friess here.

Story of The Year:The Death of Danny Gans
Mystery of The Year:What ever happened to Down Charleston Blvd?
Top Trend: Dying

Las Vegas writer Steve Friess comes clean, tries to explain his involvement in sick spreading of "false rumors" about the death of Danny Gans

"The Wayne Newton thing came from an email I wrote
to her last weekend when I wrote,
'Look, next he'll say Wayne Newton's involved!'
She fed that to you and you bought it!"
--Steve Friess

We will hand it to most of the journalists who ply their trade in Las Vegas, Nevada. They may not agree with us at TabloidBaby.com about the aggressive coverage that has been lacking in the case of the mysterious death of Strip headliner and legend Danny Gans-- they may even think we're over-the-top-- but they know we are doing our jobs and have not insulted, threatened or harassed us.

And why would they, when a journalist as well-respected and accomplished as Ray Richmond has saluted our coverage?

Would that we could say the same for freelance writer and Gay Vegas author Steve Friess (above), who as a Las Vegas stringer for national and international publications and media outlets has exercised some control over what image gets out-- and what image stays in--the town. He attacked us. He tried to shut us down. He called us all sorts of names in trying to stop the story.


As it would turn out, Steve Friess had good reason to want to cover up the truths and muddy the trail in the story-- from his reliance on "comps" to the man with whom he shares a bed (above).

And then, suddenly, today, he wrote the story on his blogsite. Steve Friess admitted that he knew all along about whispers that Danny Gans was a steroid juicer. And while trying in vain to convince his readers that the Danny Gans story is not a story ("...not... Anna Nicole Smith or Elvis Presley or Heath Ledger... Danny Gans did not self-destruct in public and use that self-destruction as a form of self-promotion..."), Steve Friess published every rumor about Danny Gans' death-- including at least one that he himself had made up.

We caught him on it. In a day of backtracking and tapdancing, Steve Friess sent us an email this afternoon, trying to explain himself once again:

"From: Stevefriess@aol.com
To: Tabloid Baby
Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 20:29:10

I received a forward from one of my more zealous fans, whom I ordered earlier this week to stop toying with you. She explained that she had been feeding you false rumors, first baiting you by revealing my relationship with Miles to gain your trust. She says she figured you knew because I never have hidden the information and your lack of awareness only served to prove just how far outside the loop in Vegas you actually are.

Anyhow, she then proceeded to pass along a series of ridiculous ideas only to watch you swallow each one whole. She figured you'd figured out by now that you were being scammed -- I pretty much told you so myself upon learning of it the other day -- but emails exchanged today seem to indicate you're not that bright.

She wants me to blog about this, about how you bought every one of her bizarre ideas no matter how silly and now have a whole new universe of conspiracies. In fact, the Wayne Newton thing came from an email I wrote to her last weekend when I wrote, "Look, next he'll say Wayne Newton's involved!" She fed that to you and you bought it!

I will not blog about this. For one thing, I'm beginning to pity your mental instability. It's cruel to mock it.

More importantly, though, I won't ever mention your name or your blog again, let alone read it. Had I exhibited that restraint in the first place, nobody would ever know who you are. I can't undo that, but I can avoid making my mistake any worse.

Good luck to you. I do expect you to get meaner and meaner the more I ignore you. Knock yourself out.

I sincerely hope you get some help.

-Steve Friess"


A few final notes: We're "mean"? Hell-lo! We did not "swallow" any of Steve Friess' (above) false leads. We were well known long before he flew into our radar. And far from ignoring us, Steve Friess has baited us. In his post today, he referred to us as "gay-obsessed lunatics," "Internet nutjobs" and "crazies," among others.

We hold no animus toward Steve Friess. This charade is not distracting us from our investigation or our work (we have operatives on the ground and on the phones) and we consider this sidebar to be a very colorful and important part of the overall story.

We do believe he owes TabloidBaby.com and our readers an apology.


(Steve Friess threatened us every time we posted his picture, so we've been forced to used fascimiles. Help us get it right by sending us a nice photo of Steve Friess today!)

"Anonymous plagiarizing gnats!" Las Vegas Review-Journal editor takes potshot at Tabloid Baby after we clean his paper's clock in Danny Gans coverage

The editor of The Las Vegas Review-Journal has lashed out at TabloidBaby.com after this site exposed his newspaper's lax and cowardly coverage of the Danny Gans death mystery.

Thomas Mitchell (above left), the mustachioed, hard-blogging boss at the Las Vegas paper that did not win a Pulitzer Prize this year, wrote on his blog forum in response to a query from our own publicist and occasional contributor Sam Peters (above right):

"Mr. Mitchell...
have you seen the Danny Gans coverage
on the site TabloidBaby.com?
They compared their coverage to the RJ.
Think they're going too far? Not far enough?"

Mitchell replied:

"Sam: Anonymous plagiarizing gnats.
Never saw it before. Stole our photos
and text without the courtesy
of proper linking."

Whoa! Hold on there, pardner! Them's fightin' words!

While we hand it to Tom Mitchell for responding to the question, we've got to take issue with the "plagiarizing gnats" dig, and not only because referring to this site as "gnats" indicates that the flailing Review-Journal is a journalistic giant being nettled by a tiny insect, when in fact it's being beaten to the punch by a topnotch competitor.

But let's get one thing straight, buckaroo: TabloidBaby.com has not "plagiarized" a word. We've got a multifaceted role here of critiquing the news media coverage of the story, satirizing the buffoons and breaking news on our own. In doing so, we've quoted from papers and news sites including the Review-Journal-- but in every case have linked to the original story, cited the source and even included photos of the authors. "Linking" to other sites and stories has been a hallmark of TabloidBaby.com since its inception a decade ago.



Says Sam Peters:

"On the point of plagiarism, Tom Mitchell is full of... beans. Malarkey! He oughta be a real cowboy and apologize for that one!"

As to the photos we allegedly "stole," TabloidBaby.com has indeed attributed many photos, with the exception of standard publicity shots of Gans onstage (and in the case of Las Vegas comp queen-blogger Steve Friess, even removed photos at his request).

Although we do have the right to post any news-related photos (including one showing Steve Friess in bed with the executive producer of KVBC-TV News, colleague of the controversial beauty queen-turned-TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs) under the fair use sections of copyright law, we've also gone out of our way to accommodate anyone who's complained, and we'll begin attributing all photos when possible.

Responds Sam Peters: "Stealing? Every story has links to the sources. The mainstream media steals from TabloidBaby! Tom Mitchell ought to temper his words."

Thomas Mitchell & Sam Peters, without hats

Inaccurate though his words may be, we understand Tom Mitchell's motivation. Newspapers across the country are in dire straits because of "gnats" like us, beating the lazy, entrenched old school journos at what was their own game. Tom Mitchell knows that TabloidBaby.com has been cleaning the Review-Journal's clock on the Danny Gans story.

Heck, yesterday we cited the Review-Journal's Norm Clarke for the Whoopi Goldberg story. This morning, he copied our "Curse of The Encore Theatre" angle (which we first reported the day of Danny Gans' death)-- with nary a whit of attribution.

On May 19, we posted a "Tale of The Tape," comparing the number of Danny Gans stories posted here and published in the Review-Journal in the days since his mysterious death at the age of 52 on May 1st.

Here is an update:

Las Vegas Review Journal:
May 21: Jacobs' visibility triggers questions of perception
May 21: Mike Weatherford column on free memorial invites to fans
May 21: NORM: Fans to pay tribute at Gans memorial
May 22: Memorial service reveals real Danny Gans
May 22: NORM: Family never knew of any health woe
May 23: NORM: Emergency halts Whoopi's show

TabloidBaby.com:
May 20: Danny Gans memorial plans revealed
May 20: The New York Times runs a condescending feature
on Danny Gans and gets it wrong about "hyperventilating bloggers"
May 20: Twelve weeks? Still no word on the cause
of Danny Gans' death; If the Coroner takes a year,
will the Las Vegas news media simply wait?
May 20: Question for the New York Times: What bloggers

"are swapping dark speculations about depression"

in Danny Gans case?
May 20: Las Vegas writer Steve Friess finds it "strange"
that ordinary folk are being invited to Danny Gans' memorial
May 21: Danny Gans memorial at 3 pm today
May 21: Locals play catch-up: Las Vegas newspaper

slams Alicia Jacobs for her"reverse bias"

in reporting the Danny Gans death case
May 21: Gans memorial will go on with no answers
about what caused his untimely death at 52;
Vegas journos waste column inches questioning public invites
May 21: 3 pm: The curtain falls for Danny Gans
May 21: Tears & smiles at memorial for Danny Gans
May 22: Danny Gans' son says family knew of no health problems
May 22: The program for Danny Gans' memorial
May 22: The show goes on: Whoopi Goldberg moves into
Danny Gans' theatre tonight
May 22: Who will be the new Danny Gans?
May 22: Coroner still has no word on what killed Danny Gans
as the Las Vegas death mystery enters its fourth week
May 23: The curse of the Encore? Whoopi Goldberg walks off
during first show in the theatre since the death of Danny Gans
May 24: "Anonymous plagiarizing gnats!"
Las Vegas Review-Journal editor takes potshot
at Tabloid Baby after we clean his paper's clock
in Danny Gans coverage

Tom Mitchell photos: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Vegas writer Steve Friess pays tribute to Tabloid Baby while disclosing his connection to Danny Gans coverup TV gal

Our dedicated coverage of the overdose death of Danny Gans and the Las Vegas news media's failure to investigate it like a truly responsible, curious, resourceful and independent entity has begun to pay off.

The writer who attacked us publicly for investigating the mysterious passing of the musical impressionist, is not only disclosing his connections to the heart of the Danny Gans death coverup-- he's paying-- perhaps unconsciously-- tribute to Tabloid Baby, by copying our style!

Steve Friess, a local stringer for The New York Times and other national publications, best known as author of the Gay Vegas tourist guide, went on the attack against Tabloid Baby the week after Gans' untimely death, calling us "beneath contempt, vermin and a Perez Hilton wannabe"-- all for trying to get a few answers about why a clean-living, athletic, Christian family man who billed himself as the antithesis of Vegas sin would die in his sleep at 52!


And that was only the start of our troubles with Steve Friess continued. After we ran his photo, he contacted our web host in an attempt to have our site shut down and harassed us to the point that we were forced to use fascimiles!

It didn't take long for tipsters to clue us in as to why he was on the Gans coverup campaign: Steve Friess is in an unofficial marriage with Miles Smith, executive producer of KVBC News, where Danny Gans close friend Alicia Jacobs is employed as an entertainment reporter. While the local media waited for an official toxicology report to confirm hat they knew about Danny Gans' drug use, the former beauty queen was working tirelessly with Gans' manager to cloud the truth, claiming they knew Gans was clean as a whistle.


Steve Friess later wrote a mind-boggling defense of the local news media's failures in the Gans case, yet apparently, or his freelance editors, have decided full disclosure would be most healthy for his future. In one of his latest postings on his Vegas-promoting blogsite, Friess fesses up to his Alicia Jacobs bond:

"Finally, it must be said that my pal (and Miles' KVBC colleague) Alicia Jacobs provided some really cool coverage via Twitter. Say what you want about her as a journalist-- it seems to me she occupies a unique netherland between being a reporter and being a celebrity who uses her connections to take the public into worlds we don't usually get to go..."

Anyone notice the wording of Friess' condemnation of his pal's journalistic credibility?

Here's another clue:

"Another tip of the hat is due to the Review-Journal's Jason Bracelin and Mike Blasky..."

Our readers know that the word "pal"-- as in "Tabloid Baby pal"-- has been part of the Tabloid Baby lexicon for years.

And the phrase "A tip of the Tabloid Baby hat" has become world-renown (click here for the proof!)

Steve Friess might shout that our coverage has had no influence in Las Vegas, but it's evident we've had a major influence on him! And for that, we offer our troubled pal a tip of the Tabloid Baby hat!

Media's coverage of Michael Jackson's death exposes the failures and corruption of the Las Vegas news media in covering the death of Danny Gans

“In New York and Los Angeles, when a major star
drops dead of unknown causes, there is a repulsive
ritual that takes place. A certain breed of journalist
will begin a vigil outside the deceased’s residence,
will rifle through their trash, will bribe all sorts of people
for all sorts of reasons and will call up anyone and
everyone even questionably related to the person for
even the most unlikely comment.

“In Las Vegas, when left to our own devices,
we do things a little differently.”

--Steve Friess, Las Vegas Weekly

Someone asked us about the parallels between the deaths of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. We're more interested in the parallels between the news media's respeonse to the deaths of Jacko and Danny Gans (who imitated Jacko in his show): the biggest star in the world (consummate showman and Christian), and the biggest star in Las Vegas (consummate showman and Christian).

The actions of public officials and the Fourth Estate in each case reveal a stark contrast in transparency and fulfillment of responsibility:

Michael Jackson, genius performer, dead at 50.
Danny Gans, genius performer, dead at 52.
Michael Jackson, found not breathing at home in his bed
Danny Gans, found not breathing at home in his bed.
Michael Jackson, pulled to the floor for CPR as a 911 dispatcher gives instructions.
Danny Gans, pulled to the floor for CPR as a 911 dispatcher gives instructions.
Prescription drugs are immediately suspected as the cause of Michel Jackson's death.
Prescription drugs are immediately suspected as the cause of Danny Gans's death.
Police say they want to speak to Michael Jackson’s many doctors immediately.
Police do not seek out Danny Gans’ many doctors.
Police impound the car of one of Michael Jackson’s doctors in search of drug evidence.
Police allow Danny Gans’ wife to gather “all of her husband’s medications” for them to examine.
The world media swarms onto the Michael Jackson story.
The Las Vegas media tiptoes around the Danny Gans story.
Michael Jackson’s “secret” dependence on prescription drugs is immediately laid bare by journalists and their editors, who can finally publish what they’ve known for years.
Danny Gans’ “secret” dependence on prescription drugs is immediately covered up by journalists and their editors, who decline to publish what they’ve known for years or to investigate further.
Michael Jackson’s family members, friends, doctors and colleagues say they knew about his drug problems, but were helpless to save him.
Danny Gans’ friends and colleagues lie about him and claim ignorance, and the gullible and cynical local media print and broadcast what they know is not true.
Respected publications like The New York Times and Los Angeles Times go with major front-page splashes on Michael Jackson’s death, with details about his final hours and many sidebars about his secret life and speculation about what killed him.
Publications like the Las Vegas Review-Journal publish major front-page splashes on Danny Gans’ death, but report only the information that was handed to them.
The Michael Jackson 911 tape is released immediately and analyzed by police, journalists and the public.
The Danny Gans 911 tape is kept under wraps.
Journalists investigate the actions of the paramedics who treated Michael Jackson and get immediate answers, erasing any mystery.
Las Vegas journalists go with the official statements, with one (who is a stringer for The New York Times) stating that it is improper to “harass” the paramedics who attended to Danny Gans, adding to more mystery.
Police and the coroner hold a press conference in which journalists ask many obvious questions about Michael Jackson’s habits and cause of death.
Police, the coroner and Danny Gans’ boss Steve Wynn issue terse statements regarding Danny Gans’ death.
Police and the coroner answer all of the questions they can in the case of Michael Jackson.
Local journalists ask no questions at all in the case of Danny Gans.

Newspapers and media cover every aspect of Michael Jackson’s life, art, influence and legacy, filling column inches for days with fascinating detail about the troubled superstar.
Local newspapers and media get reactions from people like Carrot Top and run out of Danny Gans coverage in a day and a half.
Newspapers and media offer forums for fans to vent their grief and confusion over Michael Jackson.
Las Vegas media outlets censor any correspondence criticizing their performance, publishing only letters that demand the Danny Gans details be kept private.
The coroner says it will take four to six weeks for the toxicological report to reveal exactly what killed Michael Jackson, but with all bases covered and all secrets laid out, there will be no shock or mystery when the details come out.
The coroner says it will take as long as six weeks for the toxicological report to reveal exactly what killed Danny Gans, and the local media close their notebooks and walk away, claiming they are helpless to report or publish any of the easily-verifiable information about the superstar until the government official hands them his statement. When the coroner’s report turns out to be a politically-parsed, incomplete, confusing explanation that only deepens the mystery, the local media whine for a day and then drop the story.
In the Michael Jackson case, members of the news media show what they do best, clearing away mystery, cutting through the spin and laying out the unpleasant truth.
In the Danny Gans case, members of the local news media reveal their corruption, adding to the mystery, clouding the truth and holding back what they know to be true.
Fans understand that the great Michael Jackson was only human and love him only more.
Fans wonder if the great Danny Gans they loved was actually a fraud, and their perception of him darkens amid the coverup.
Revealed as myth and man—thanks to the news media-- Michael Jackson’s legacy is burnished.
Transformed from man to mystery—thanks to the local news media-- Danny Gans’ legacy is tarnished.

Yes, in Las Vegas, when left to their own devices, they do things a little differently. But is the public or the subject well-served by their fear to offend? It seems that the responsible and aggressive coverage of the newspack in the Michael Jackson case puts the lie to Steve Friess' excuses and proves there's a big difference between Reporting 101 and bribery. What do you think? And can you think of other contrasts in the case? Add your own!

COMING SOON: Analysis of the Danny Gans 911 tape and investigator’s report... They closed the case after this??