Who's Paying Reidel?

I've now heard from more than one source that Reidel is payed off by Producer David Stone. It would seem apparent with several of his columns, including today's. When taking sides, his column nearly always favors either WICKED, or in this case, the Producer's side of the bargaining table. Think of the attack he made on Donna Murphy for missing performances? At that point Kristin Chenoweth had missed just as many shows, if not far more.
Anyone heard anything like this before?

What does Reidel's column have to do with reporting? It's a gossip column, not a news story.