In the often ruthless world of online gossip blogs, Just Jared is a runaway hit.

The celebrity news site, started by Jared Eng, is a cheery, judgmentfree zone. Or, as Taylor Swift told him in a recent video on JustJared.com: “You’re really, really nice! You’re really positive!”

That might also explain the adulation Mr. Eng, 28, enjoys from press agents, who practically shove clients his way.

“A lot of bloggers will just grab stuff and make judgments,” said Kelly Bush, the chief executive of ID, a public relations firm in Los Angeles. “ He’s successful because he’s not trying to be negative.”

According to comScore, which monitors Web traffic, JustJared.com had 3.3 million unique visitors in December, beating not only Perez Hilton, the self-described “Queen of Gossip,” but also other entertainment sites like Jezebel, Vanity Fair, Radar Online and the Hollywood Reporter.

Not that Mr. Eng cares about competition. “I don’t throw anyone under the bus,” he said. “It’s all objective and/or positive.”

In a recent interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan, Mr. Eng ordered water at the bar. “I have the Asian curse,” he said, explaining that he becomes flushed after a few drinks.

He grew up in the Queens neighborhood of New York, the third among five boys. His Chinese-American parents limited TV to 30 minutes per week and stressed academics. He built a proto-blog in sixth grade, where he posted personal photos and ramblings.

At Columbia University, he studied computer science.

But his real major was pop culture. “That’s when I fell in love with celebrity,” he said.

After college, Mr. Eng went to work for Time Inc., analyzing magazine distribution . In 2005, he quit his job to start Just Jared.

Eventually, he began breaking celebrity stories on his own. “People have learned to trust me,” he said. Mr. Eng says he was the first to publish online images of the 2006 People Magazine cover featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their newborn, Shiloh. (He prefaced the scoop with “WEEEEEEE!!!” Mr. Eng is a big fan of exclamation points.) He also takes some credit for promoting newer celebrities like Ke$ha, whose debut single, “Tik Tok,” he blogged about early on.

Blogging, even about celebrities, is not glamorous. Mr. Eng posts about 65 items a day, every day, from the moment he wakes up. Sometimes he doesn’t sleep.

In addition to Just Jared, there is Just Jared Jr., devoted to the Miley Cyrus set, and three Twitter feeds, including a personal one (@JaredEng) .

JustJared’s revenue comes almost entirely from prestigious advertisers like MTV, NBC, Coca-Cola and Disney . He has five full-time employees, including his brother Jason Eng, 33, a former hedge fund trader.

Jason Eng declined to disclose the site’s earnings, except to say, “This year we’re easily going to gross seven figures.”

Meanwhile, Just Jared recently hired a business consultant to grow the young brand.

“I’ve always celebrated celebrities,” Jared Eng said. “I never wanted to tear them down. That’s why I have so many devoted readers.”


By STEPHEN HEYMAN