The primary reason to run a bit of juicy gossip as a blind item is because the gossip cannot be confirmed. By publishing a blind item, the author can protect the publication from legal ramifications, such as a defamation suit from the angered topic of a blind item. Blind items also pique interest from readers, often garnering much more response than a column in which the identities of the subjects are revealed. A blind item may also be used as a promotional tool, with a publication suggesting that people will find out more if they buy the magazine, or tune in next week for more details.
Sometimes, the information in a blind item will be verified at a later date by the publication, usually in a longer article. In other cases, the gossip fades away into the background, because it is never verified. Blind items are designed to create brief buzz, and they are quickly superseded by more celebrity gossip in a news cycle which is extremely rapid.
In publications where a blind item column is a well-established tradition, the author often includes clues which reference previous blind items or running jokes at the publication. Long-term readers can use these clues to identify the subject of the blind item without too much difficulty, while the item itself remains true to the letter of the law by not explicitly naming anyone.
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