Everything about National Enquirer totally explained
The National Enquirer (also commonly known as the
Enquirer) is an
American
supermarket tabloid now published by
American Media Inc (AMI). Founded in 1936, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years, and is currently well-known for its articles focusing on
celebrity news, gossip, and crime. While it briefly sought a reputation for reliable journalism and had some success scooping other media with angles on the
O.J. Simpson and
Monica Lewinsky stories, notable erroneous reports such as those concerning the
Elizabeth Smart case have not supported that effort and the focus has been alleged to have returned to celebrity gossip.
Allegations have been made that various false stories ("Trojan Horses") have been sold to the
Enquirer in order to compromise its credibility. The
Enquirer makes no secret of the fact that it'll pay sources for tips, a practice officially frowned upon by the mainstream press; in the Smart case, a large payment encouraged the reporting of false information. In recent years the tabloid has struggled with declining circulation figures due to competition from glossy tabloid publications including American Media's
The Star.
Early history
Founded in 1926 as
The New York Enquirer, it was bought in 1952 by Generoso Pope Jr., allegedly with funds provided by Mafia boss Frank Costello. It has also been alleged that Costello provided the money in exchange for the Enquirer's promise to list lottery numbers and to refrain from all mention of Mafia activities.
In 1954, Pope revamped the format from a
broadsheet to a
tabloid, and changed the name to
The National Enquirer. Pope worked tirelessly in the 1950s and 1960s to increase the circulation and broaden the tabloid's appeal. In the late 50s and through most of the 60s, the Enquirer was known for its gory and unsettling headlines and stories such as: "I Cut Out Her Heart and Stomped On It!" (Sept. 1963) and "Mom Boiled Her Baby And Ate Her!" (1962). At this time the paper was sold on newsstands and drugstores only. Pope stated he got the idea for the format and these gory stories from seeing people congregate around auto accidents.
Pope pioneered the idea of selling magazines at supermarket checkouts. In order to get into the supermarkets, Pope completely changed the format of the paper in late 1967 by dropping all the gore and violence and instead focusing on more benign topics like celebrities, the occult and UFO's.
In 1971, Pope moved the headquarters from
New York to
Lantana, Florida. It later relocated south again; but this time only 15 miles to
Boca Raton, Florida. During most of the 1970s and 1980s,
The National Enquirer sponsored the placement of the largest
Christmas Tree in the world at its Lantana headquarters in what became an annual tradition. A tree was shipped in mid-autumn from the
Pacific Northwest by rail and off-loaded by crane onto the adjacent
Enquirer property. Every night during the
Christmas season, thousands of visitors would come to see the tree. This would grow into one of
south Florida's most celebrated and spectacular events. Although tremendously expensive, this was Pope's "Pet Project" and his "Christmas present" to the local community. The tradition passed into history with his death in 1988.
By the time of Pope's death,
The National Enquirer empire included Weekly World News, and Distribution Services, Inc. The surviving owners, including Pope's widow, Lois, sold the company to a partnership of MacFadden Publishing and Boston Ventures for $412 million. Soon after, the company bought the Enquirer's main competition,
The Star, from
Rupert Murdoch. The combined interests were controlled by a newly formed company American Media Inc (AMI).
Recent history
Anthrax attack
AMI was among the victims of the
2001 anthrax attacks; a photo editor of one of AMI's other publications died after opening an envelope containing anthrax spores. The entire AMI office complex in Boca Raton was closed and remained fenced off for two years, and AMI moved its headquarters to another building in Boca.
Noted stories and lawsuits
In 1981, actress
Carol Burnett won a judgment against the
Enquirer after it claimed she'd been seen
drunk in public at a restaurant with
Henry Kissinger in attendance. The fact that both of her parents suffered from
alcoholism made this a particularly sensitive issue to Burnett. Under U.S. law, in order to be guilty of
libel, a publication must be shown to have knowingly or with malice disseminated facts that were false and defamatory, making Burnett's successful suit unusual in the world of American tabloid journalism. The former longtime chief
editor Iain Calder in his book
The Untold Story, asserted that afterwards, while under his leadership, the
Enquirer worked hard to check the reliability of its facts and its sources.
For a time the
Enquirer sought recognition for journalistic research and news scoops. In 2001, the
Enquirer uncovered that the Rev.
Jesse Jackson had an
illegitimate child. Salacious details of the
Bill Clinton-
Monica Lewinsky affair were first made public by the
Enquirer. The
Enquirer was regarded by some as having the best media coverage of the
O.J. Simpson murder trial. For example, when a distinctive footprint from a
Bruno Magli shoe was found at the crime scene, Simpson vehemently denied owning such a shoe. The
Enquirer, however, dug up a photograph of him with just such a pair.
Controversy over false content arose again for the
Enquirer when a 2002 article alleged that male members of the family of kidnapping victim
Elizabeth Smart were involved in a
gay sex ring. Subsequently, two reporters from the
Salt Lake Tribune were fired after it was learned that they'd been paid $20,000 for the story, which they'd fabricated. The
Enquirer threatened to sue the
Salt Lake Tribune for making false and defamatory statements about the publication after an editorial had disclaimed the Tribune's involvement. The salacious details of the Smart story were retracted by the
Enquirer, and a rare apology was issued to the Smart family. One of the fired reporters acknowledged that his behavior was unethical, but expressed surprise that the story had been taken seriously, stating, "When I dealt with the Enquirer, I never dreamed that I was accepting money for 'information'."
The
Enquirer settled a libel lawsuit with the wife of
Gary Condit out of court in 2003, lost a suit brought by
Kate Hudson in 2006, and has been or is currently being sued by a number of other public figures.
In September, 2005, the
Enquirer stated that U.S. President
George W. Bush was drinking and acting erratically. The potential furor over this story was overshadowed by
Hurricane Katrina and it went largely ignored by the national media.
In 2006, the
Enquirer was the first newspaper to reveal that O. J. Simpson had written a book,
If I Did It. The story was immediately denied by Simpson's lawyer, but was confirmed by release of the book one month later.
In early March 2007 the paper blocked access to its website for British and Irish readers because a story about
Cameron Diaz that they'd published in 2005 and for which she received an apology had appeared on the site. The apology concerned a story it had run in 2005 entitled “Cameron Caught Cheating” which turned out to be false – an accompanying picture was just an innocent goodbye hug to a friend, not evidence of an affair. Although only 279 UK web addresses had looked at the story, it was deemed to have therefore been published in the UK. UK libel laws are more plaintiff friendly and it isn't necessary to prove
actual malice for the plaintiff to win., Also in March 2007, Tucker Chapman, son of
Duane "Dog" Chapman sold a tape to the Enquirer of his father disparaging his black girlfriend with the use of the word "
nigger" in which The Enquirer paid Tucker an undisclosed amount. The
A&E Network canceled Chapman's show,
Dog the Bounty Hunter, pending an investigation. On
February 21, 2008,
A&E Network stated that'll be resuming production on
Dog the Bounty Hunter, and on May 14, 2008, announced it'll be returning to TV on June 25, 2008.
Editorial changes
In 1999 AMI was bought by a group fronted by publishing executive David Pecker. Funding was diverted from the
Enquirer, once considered to be the company's principal publication, to
The Star. Editor Steve Coz, who guided the paper through the Simpson case, was fired and replaced by David Perel, who had been the Editor in charge of breaking numerous stories on the Simpson coverage.
The
Enquirer's circulation for a time fell below 1 million (from over 6 million at its height). AMI brought in around 20 British journalists in early 2005, headed by editor, Paul Field, a former executive at the British tabloid
The Sun, and relocated the editorial offices to New York for an April 2005 relaunch. The move failed horribly and Field and virtually all the British journalists were fired after just a year. The company reappointed David Perel and announced the
Enquirer offices would return to Boca Raton, Florida in May 2006. Circulation numbers then climbed to over 1 million readers again (and Pecker realized his mistake), and according to the
Audit Bureau of Circulations remain over 1 million today. David Perel remains in charge.
Further Information
Get more info on 'National Enquirer'.
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