Us Weekly Editor: 'I Care' About Celebrity News

Montag's first Us Weekly cover came when she revealed her extensive plastic surgery, the sort of thing stars of yesteryear might take great pains to hide. But these days, it seems the only thing worse than embarrassment, is obscurity.

"Oftentimes if we get an interesting set of photos we'll follow-up with a call to the rep and ask, you know, 'can you ask your client, was this an uncomfortable situation? Are they fine with us running the photo?'" said Min. "And I would say, 9 times out of 10, they're fine with us running the photo."

The 'Potency' of the Red Carpet

That "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" arrangement is on full display one Thursday night in L.A. when the magazine is throwing its annual "Hot Hollywood Party." It's a great arrangement: the magazine gets gossip and photos, the celebrities get in the magazine.

"Fewer people are buying albums, nobody is watching as much TV and nobody is going to the movies anymore. This is in many ways a true barometer of your popularity," said Min. "Those other traditional avenues to determine your fame and popularity don't have as much potency as the red carpet these days."

The next morning, Min tucked into her breakfast and began thinking about how she'd fill the last six pages with juicy tidbits and party pics.

"The gossip from the parties will start to roll in, all the reporters from L.A. will be buzzing about various things that happened last night, and I can't wait to hear about the drama involving people from 'The Hills,'" said Min. "And I'm 38 years old and I care."

This issue will be read by around 12 million people, proving she's not the only one who cares.