The National Enquirer (also commonly known as the Enquirer) is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc (AMI). Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years, and is currently 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, subsequent notable erroneous reports such as those concerning the Elizabeth Smart case have not supported that effort and the focus has returned to celebrity gossip. The Enquirer makes no secret of the fact that it will 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 strugged with declining circulation figures due to competition from glossy tabloid publications including American Media's The Star. This article is about the British technology news website. ... Supermarket tabloids are national weekly magazines in the United States, printed on newsprint in tabloid format, specalizing in celebrity news, gossip, astrology, and bizarre (some would say apocryphal) stories about ordinary people. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... “Megastar” redirects here. ... Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), commonly known as O. J. Simpson and also just by his initials O.J. and his nickname The Juice, is a retired American football player who achieved stardom at the collegiate and professional levels. ... Monica Lewinsky as she appeared on her U.S. Government ID in 1995 Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American woman with whom the former United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having a sexual relationship[1] while Lewinsky worked at the White House in 1995 and... Elizabeth Smart is the name of: Elizabeth Smart, 20th century Canadian author Elizabeth Smart, American teenager whose kidnapping from her Utah home in 2002 gained significant media attention; later rescued March 2003 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... Star Magazine is a magazine owned by American Media Corporation specializing in celebrity gossip and scandals. ...

Early History: The Pope Years

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.^[1] Generoso Paul (Gene) Pope, Jr. ... Frank Costello, born Francesco Castiglia, or Castilla (January 26, 1891 - February 18, 1973) was an American gangster who rose to the top of Americas underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and had political influence like no other La Cosa Nostra boss. ...

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 50's and through most of the 60's, 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. Newspaper sizes in August 2005. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

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 celebrities, the occult, UFO's, and the like.

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. NY redirects here. ... Lantana is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. ... Nickname: Coordinates: Country United States State Florida County Palm Beach Founded 1925 Government  - Type Commission-Manager  - Mayor Steven L. Abrams Area  - City  29. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A Christmas tree from 1900. ... The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the United States. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... Location of metropolitan area in the state of Florida Major cities Miami, Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida Area  - Total  - Water 15,896 km² (6,137 mi²) 2,621 km² (1,011 mi²) 16. ...

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). Hillary Rodham Clinton on the cover of the Weekly World News. ... Lois Berrodin Pope (born June 7, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is one of Americas leading philanthropists. ... Star Magazine is a magazine owned by American Media Corporation specializing in celebrity gossip and scandals. ... Keith Rupert Murdoch AC, KCSG (born 11 March 1931) is an Australian born United States citizen who is a global media executive and is the controlling shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation, based in New York. ...

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. The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its FBI case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001 (a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks). ...

Noted stories and lawsuits

In 1981, actress Carol Burnett won a judgment against the Enquirer after it claimed she had 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. Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is a successful comedienne mostly on American television, thanks largely to her eponymous variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, that ran on CBS from 1967 through 1978. ... Drunkenness, in its most common usage, is the state of being intoxicated with alcohol (i. ... Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American diplomat, and 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... Editing may also refer to audio editing or film editing. ...

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. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. ... // Illegitimacy is a term that was once in common use for the status of being born to parents who were not validly married to one another. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Monica Lewinsky as she appeared on her U.S. Government ID in 1995 Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American woman with whom the former United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having a sexual relationship[1] while Lewinsky worked at the White House in 1995 and... Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), commonly known as O. J. Simpson and also just by his initials O.J. and his nickname The Juice, is a retired American football player who achieved stardom at the collegiate and professional levels. ... Bruno Magli is an Italian shoemaker, designing and handcrafting high quality luxury shoes and accessories. ...

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 had been paid $20,000 for the story, which they had fabricated.^[2] 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.'"^[3] For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Elizabeth Ann Smart (born 1987) was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah bedroom on June 5, 2002 at the age of 14. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Marquis of the Salt Lake Tribune on the Tribune Building in Downtown Salt Lake City The Salt Lake Tribune is Salt Lake City, Utahs largest-circulated local daily newspaper. ...

The Enquirer settled a libel lawsuit with the wife of Gary Condit out of court in 2003,^[4] lost a suit brought by Kate Hudson in 2006,^[5] and has been or is currently being sued by a number of other public figures. Gary Adrian Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American politician, a fiscally and socially conservative Blue Dog Democrat who served in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003. ... Kate Garry Hudson[1] (born April 19, 1979) is an American film actress. ...

In early March 2007 the paper blocked access to its website for British and Irish readers because a story about Cameron Diaz that they had 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 is not necessary to prove actual malice for the plaintiff to win.^[6] Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress and former fashion model. ... Actual malice in US law is defined as knowledge that the information was false or that it was published with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. ...

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 after Pecker appointed Us Weekly editor Bonnie Fuller as group editorial director. He was replaced by David Perel, who had been in charge of the Simpson coverage. Star Magazine is a magazine owned by American Media Corporation specializing in celebrity gossip and scandals. ... Us Weekly (a. ... Bonnie Fuller was the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, Glamour magazine (beginning in 1998), and Us Weekly. ...

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 London tabloid The Sun, and relocated the editorial offices to New York for an April 2005 relaunch. The move failed and Field and virtually all the British journalists, were replaced after just a year. The company reappointed David Perel and announced the Enquirer offices would return to Florida in May 2006. Circulation numbers then climbed to over 1 million readers again, and according to the Audit Bureau of Ciruculation remain over 1 million today. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up sun in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

References