You are perhaps not an outlier in the HN crowd, but gossip is popular. Very popular.

* online: TMZ is ranked 125th most visited in the US by Alexa, ahead of webmd, drudge report, and even gmail

* on TV: did you know TMZ has its own late night television show? Not to mention Access Hollywood and I'm sure a few I'm forgetting

* even in print: many publications have stopped printing, but not Star, the Enquirer, and similar ones. You can still pick them up at the checkout line in most US grocery stores.