National Enquirer
The National Enquirer (also commonly known as The Enquirer) is a national American supermarket tabloid published by American Media Inc (AMI).
It has now dropped its famous catchphrase, "Enquiring minds want to know."
History
Founded in 1926 as The New York Enquirer, it was bought in 1952 by Generoso Pope Jr. In 1954, Pope revamped the format from a broadsheet to a tabloid, and changed the name to The National Enquirer. 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. The paper is known for its articles focusing on celebrities. It makes no secret of the fact that it will pay sources for information, a practice frowned upon by the more mainstream press.
During most of the 1970's and 1980's, 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 National 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. The tradition passed into history with the death of Pope in 1988.
By the time of Pope's death, the National Enquirer had grown into a publishing powerhouse called American Media, Inc. (hereinafter AMI), which by that time included not only the Enquirer but also The Star, Weekly World News, and a magazine distributor, Distribution Services, Inc. The surviving business interests which included Pope's widow, Lois, sold AMI to a partnership of MacFadden Publishing and Boston Ventures for 412 million dollars.
Though many still see the Enquirer through the historical prisms of sensationalism and embellishment, it has, in recent years, become rather well-regarded for its thorough research and fact-checking. The Enquirer has occasionally scooped other media; it was the Enquirer that uncovered, in 2001, the fact that the Rev. Jesse Jackson had an illegitimate child. Salacious details of the Monica Lewinsky affair probably would have been left untouched by the mainstream press had the details not been made public by the Enquirer.
This change in the Enquirer's reporting style is due to its involvement in a major legal entanglement. In 1981, actress Carol Burnett won a judgment against the Enquirer after it claimed she had been seen drunk in public with Henry Kissinger. 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 disseminated facts that were false and knowingly done so or with reckless reporting.)
This legal loss in the Burnett case led to a considerable tightening of reporting standards. The former longtime chief editor Iain Calder has written a book The Untold Story asserting that afterwards, the Enquirer worked very hard to check the reliablity of its facts and its sources.
The Enquirer was also regarded as having — by a significant measure — the best media coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Even some academics studying the case and regular news pundits contend that this was the case. For example, after a distinctive footprint from a Bruno Magli shoe was found at the crime scene, Simpson vehemently denied ever wearing such a shoe. The Enquirer, however, dug up a photograph of him with just such a pair.
AMI was among the victims of the 2001 anthrax attacks, when a photo editor of one of the Enquirer's sister publications died after opening an envelope containing anthrax spores. The entire AMI office complex in Boca Raton had to be closed and remains fenced off and quarantined to this day. AMI moved its headquarters into another building in the town.
Controversy arose again for the Enquirer when writer Alan Butterfield published an article in 2003 alleging 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[1]. The Enquirer printed a retraction and an apology, and then threatened to sue the Salt Lake Tribune for making false and defamatory statements about the publication. [2]
In recent years, the circulation of the Enquirer has slumped below 1 million. In early 2005, Paul Field, a former executive at the British tabloid The Sun was brought in as editor, in an attempt to restore the tabloid to its glory days when it sold more than 4 million. AMI moved the editorial offices back to New York and the Enquirer was relaunched in April 2005 with a new look and style. However, thus far, the attempt to increase circulation has been unsuccessful.
See also
External links
- National Enquirer website
- Carol Burnett vs. The National Enquirer: A Fake Comedy Documentary Short Film About Burnett's Lawsuit Against The Tabloid
- I believe the National Enquirer - Why don't you? by Jack Shafer - Article in Slate magazine arguing that the journalistic accuracy of the National Enquirer is higher than generally believed