There are two things one can expect on a trip to see Michael Musto at the offices of the Village Voice: a 20-minute round-trip wait for the elevator and rapid fire answers from one of the most recognizable gossip columnists in the United States.  Musto, in addition to his appearances on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the E! network, has been writing his column for the Voice since 1984.  He has recently compiled the best of them in a book released this year titled, La Dolce Musto: Writings by the World's Most Outrageous Columnist.  He was Carrie Bradshaw, replete with a prodigious use of puns, before Sex in the City was a thought.  His column is a romp through his life, spats and opinions on socio-political issues.  As David Thigpen of the Chicago Tribune wrote, Musto is "a funny and caustic satirist who masquerades as a gossip and nightlife columnist."
Musto, a Columbia University graduate, is a rarity in today's celebrity world: he is accessible.  He often corresponds with his readers and his public functions are a mix of parties, nightclubs, academic lectures, university panels and film premieres.  
He is friendly and frank, and he welcomes people to join him in his world ("I just got a message that Michael Lucas died!" he says staring wide-eyed at his phone; the message turned out to be false).  Wikinews reporter David Shankbone spoke with Musto about his life and his relationship to the world of celebrity journalism.  And he did not hold back.
DS:  What do you prefer: gossip columnist, journalist or celebrity reporter?
DS:  Do you have a favorite gossip columnist?
DS:  Was it difficult to write a gossip column after September 11?
DS:  Was there a reaction to that business-as-usual reporting of the column?
DS:  How does that feel when someone acknowledges you achieved an affect you wanted?
DS:  I photographed at the Tribeca Film Festival for Wikipedia, and a lot of the paparazzi photographer would talk in a derogatory way about the celebrities they were photographing, and they gave themselves a lot of credit for making their images.  Recently, Cindy Adams wrote in her column a blurb about something Alan Greenspan said, and then she said something to the effect of, 'and I'd mention the name of his book if he had told me that to me first,' as if Greenspan is going to go run to Cindy Adams just to get a book mention in her column.  Is the celebrity press lacking humility because they report on the famous?
DS:  How so?
DS:  Do you have celebrities who simply will not talk to you no matter what you do or say, because you pissed them off so royally?
DS:  Do you ever punish people for an infraction against you?
DS:  Can you give an example?
DS:  What did you say?
DS:  Do you have a sense that celebrities are paying much attention to the war, that there's a consciousness they have, as a community or individually, outside of the glitz centers of New York and Los Angeles?
DS:  Do you think you play a certain role in the gay community?
DS:  You are a sharp critic of the gay community, almost in the mold of Larry Kramer—
DS:  —not completely, but in terms of criticizing apathy and the party lifestyle of the gay community where they do not focus on meaningful issues.
DS:  Do you think that conformity is gone?
DS:  You inhabit that partying, gym-fetish world, the one you criticize.  How do you criticize, yet live off of that world?
DS:  Were you ever part of that world?
DS:  [Laughs] —you look a little hung today—
DS:  You recently did a column that opened talking about how gays don't want to bottom anymore; later you talk about Michael Moore's Sicko and the problem of hospitals over-medicating their patients.  Do you think that style of mixing glitz and substance reaches people, or do you think they tend to gloss the substantive parts?
DS:  It seems to be because it's a reaction of a community to a health related topic, since you were saying it was a health consciousness that is causing a dearth of bottoms.  Bare-backing is still the rage.
DS:  What stands out as a story that you did where you were bowled over by the reaction to it.
DS:  —You outed Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen Degeneres—
DS:  Do you have a theory or philosophy you follow about outing?
DS:  What about the argument that it is more appropriate for people who are working against the gay community, a Larry Craig, if you will?
DS:  There are a lot of gay people who aren't talked about in Hollywood now.  Merv Griffin was an example.  Do you not feel the need to spell it out for some people who lead very openly gay lives but that nobody talks about?
DS:  But why not write something before he died?
DS:  Did you ever come under editorial pressure over those?
DS:  You are pretty accessible to your readers as well, right?
DS:  Where do you see Manhattan's culture going?
DS:  Do you miss the old New York?
DS:  A friend of mine said that if you transplanted someone from 1983 New York into 2007 New York they would be shocked by how many people there are walking around; they would be like, 'Where did all these people come from?!'  People don't realize that there were a lot of empty streets back then.
DS:  How do you define freaky?
DS:  Do you think drugs makes for a fun party scene?
DS:'  So the people you are hanging out with who are swinging from the chandeliers, they are just naturally that way?
DS:  How would you choose your own death?
DS:  What's a lesson your father taught you?
DS:  It's so true, isn't it?
DS:  Has the Iraq War affected your writing at all?
DS:  Has if affected your world view?
DS:  Hillary or Barack?
DS:  Who would be your dream candidate?
DS:  By magic microphone you have to talk to Osama bin Laden, but you can't apprehend him.  What do you say?
DS:  How would you describe your style of dress?
DS:  A nuclear bomb goes off, and the planet is wiped clean of everyone else but you and the animals.  What do you do now that you are king of the world?
DS: Which animal would you choose first?
DS:  Sounds scratchy.
DS:  Would you build a little animal kingdom, or would you set out on your own?

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An interview with gossip columnist Michael Musto on the art of celebrity journalism