Catch and kill
Catch and kill is a technique used by newspaper and magazine publishers to prevent a person from posting information that is harmful to a third party.
A legally effective confidentiality agreement is signed between the person and the publisher. The publisher acquires the exclusive rights to the publication of the specific story and information of the person. After that, the publisher "kills" the story for the third party by never publishing the information and by exclusive rights not allowing anyone else to publish the information.
National Enquirer magazine and its parent company American Media, Inc. have used this technique repeatedly.
Examples
Examples of magazines accused of using the technique include:
- In 2003, the National Enquirer signed an exclusive $ 20,000 contract with Gigi Goyette regarding her extramarital affair with Arnold Schwarzenegger , who was then running for governor of California . After that, the magazine never published the story or asked Goyette for further information.
- In 2015, the National Enquirer attempted to sign a contract with Ambra Battilana for the exclusive rights to the sexual assault story by Harvey Weinstein . It did so after Weinstein asked the magazine's director for help on the case. After Battilana could not be brought to an agreement, the National Enquirer tried instead to gather compromising information on her and other victims from Weinstein. Ronan Farrow , the journalist who eventually published the story of Battilana and other Weinstein victims, published a book in 2019 called: Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Benjamin Radford : 'Why Isn't The Media Covering This Story?' - Or Are They? . In: Center for Inquiry . November 9, 2018. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ Daniel Lippman: Ronan Farrow: National Enquirer shredded secret Trump documents . In: politico.com . October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.