- Formerly (1926â57):
- New York Evening Enquirer
National Enquirer
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What is the National Enquirer?
The National Enquirer is an American weekly newspaper famous for celebrity gossip, crime news, and investigative reporting. Because it is widely available at grocery store checkout counters, the Enquirer is often called a "supermarket tabloid." It is also available on newsstands, through subscriptions, and online. The tabloid is based in New York City.
The Enquirer started in 1926 as the New York Evening Enquirer, a Sunday weekly. William Griffin, a former advertising executive, founded it with funding from newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The National Enquirer is known for breaking stories later confirmed by mainstream media, such as the 2007 John Edwards extramarital affair.
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When was the National Enquirer first published?
The National Enquirer, an American weekly newspaper known for celebrity gossip, crime news, and investigative reporting, started in 1926 as the New York Evening Enquirer, a Sunday weekly National Enquirer. William Griffin, a former advertising executive, founded it with funding from William Randolph Hearst. In 1953, under Generoso Pope, Jr.'s ownership, it switched to a tabloid format. In 1957, it was renamed the National Enquirer and went national National Enquirer.
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What kind of stories does the National Enquirer usually cover?
The National Enquirer, an American weekly newspaper, is known for celebrity gossip, crime news, and investigative reporting.
Originally, it covered politics, sports, theatre news, and human interest stories. To appeal to a broader audience, it shifted to sensational stories of paranormal occurrences, celebrity gossip, medical anomalies, and "freaks".
Despite its reputation, the Enquirer has broken stories later confirmed by mainstream media, such as the John Edwards extramarital affair in 2007. In the 2010s, the tabloid became embroiled in scandals involving Donald Trump, including burying negative stories to help Trump's campaign.
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Why is the National Enquirer known for celebrity news and gossip?
The National Enquirer is known for celebrity news and gossip due to its editorial shift in the 1950s. Under Generoso Pope Jr., the paper converted to a tabloid format and began emphasizing sensational stories to increase circulation. To appeal to a broader audience, the Enquirer started selling in supermarkets in the mid-to-late 1960s, focusing on celebrity gossip and paranormal occurrences. Despite controversies, the tabloid has broken stories later confirmed by mainstream media, such as the John Edwards affair in 2007.
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How has the National Enquirer influenced American media and journalism?
The National Enquirer is an American weekly newspaper known for celebrity gossip, crime news, and investigative reporting. Founded in 1926 as the New York Evening Enquirer, it was later bought by Generoso Pope, Jr., who converted it to a tabloid format in 1953 and renamed it the National Enquirer in 1957. The paper gained prominence through sensational stories and eye-catching headlines, later focusing on celebrity gossip and paranormal occurrences to appeal to a broader audience.
Despite its reputation, the Enquirer has broken stories later confirmed by mainstream media, such as the John Edwards affair in 2007. However, it has also faced controversy, including scandals involving Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos, raising questions about its journalistic ethics and political motivations.
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What controversies or criticisms has the National Enquirer faced over the years?
The National Enquirer has faced controversies, especially in the 2010s, involving Donald Trump. During his 2016 campaign, the tabloid bought negative stories about Trump but never published them, a practice known as "catch and kill." David J. Pecker, head of AMI and a friend of Trump, buried stories to help Trump's campaign, leading to a Federal Election Commission fine for the corporation. In 2019, the Enquirer published leaked texts revealing Jeff Bezos's extramarital affair. Bezos, who owned The Washington Post, which was often critical of President Trump, started an investigation that reportedly found evidence that the Enquirerâs coverage of Bezos was politically motivated. Bezos accused AMI of "extortion and bribery" for threatening to release compromising photographs if he did not stop the inquiry.
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National Enquirer, American weekly newspaper best known for its celebrity gossip, crime news, and investigative reporting. The Enquirer is commonly termed a âsupermarket tabloidâ because of its wide availability at grocery-store checkout counters. It is also sold on newsstands and through subscriptions and is published in an online version. The tabloid is based in New York City.
The Enquirer began in 1926 as the New York Evening Enquirer, a Sunday weekly. It was founded by a former advertising man, William Griffin, with funds from newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. At Hearstâs behest the Enquirer experimented with journalistic methods and standards, such as embellishing stories to attract more reader attention; Hearst would then adopt the more successful techniques for his own papers. The Enquirer primarily covered politics, sports, theatre news, and human interest stories. The paper never achieved great financial success, and its fortunes suffered further from the poor reception of the isolationist editorials Griffin wrote for it during World War II.
It was bought in 1952 by Generoso Pope, Jr., the son of the late owner of the Italian-language daily Il Progresso Italo-Americano. Under Popeâs ownership the Enquirer converted to a tabloid format in 1953. It foundered during the first years, but circulation rose dramatically after Pope refocused its editorial direction to emphasize sensational stories, such as those involving murder and gore, and used vivid eye-catching headlines. He took the paper national and renamed it the National Enquirer in 1957; it turned a profit for the first time the following year.
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In the mid-to-late 1960s the National Enquirer began to sell in supermarkets, which, more and more, were replacing the smaller markets, corner stores, and newsstands that had been the paperâs main outlets. To increase its appeal to a family audience, the Enquirer moved away from its more lurid headlines and articles while entertaining readers with sensational stories of paranormal occurrences, celebrity gossip, medical anomalies, and âfreaksâ such as animals with multiple heads. In 1971 the editorial offices moved from the New York area to Lantana, Florida. Average weekly circulation continued to grow, reaching its peak for that decade at 5.7 million copies in 1978.
In the early 1980s, seeking to expand in the face of increased competition from other publications, the National Enquirer began advertising itself on a large scale and courting major national advertisers. After Popeâs death in 1988, GP Group Acquisitions bought his operations, which included a sister tabloid, the Weekly World News (known for even more sensational stories, such as those of alien visitations, and regularly featuring ânews updatesâ of a quasi-human creature named âBat Boyâ). In 1994 the companyâwhich by then included a range of other publicationsâchanged its name to American Media, Inc. (AMI).
The National Enquirer remained perhaps the best-known U.S. supermarket tabloid into the early 21st century. Despite its reputation for providing more entertainment than hard journalism, it broke a number of stories that were later confirmed by mainstream media. Among them was the revelation in 2007 of an extramarital affair by then-presidential candidate John Edwards; for its coverage of the story, the National Enquirer was nominated in two journalism categories in the 2010 Pulitzer Prize competition.
While not a stranger to controversy, the Enquirer became embroiled in a series of particularly notable scandals in the 2010s, several of which involved Donald Trump. During his successful 2016 presidential campaign, the tabloid bought negative stories about Trump but never published them, a practice known as âcatch and kill.â At the time, David J. Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump, headed AMI, and it was subsequently revealed that Pecker buried stories to help Trumpâs campaign; the Federal Election Commission later fined the corporation. More controversy came in 2019 when the Enquirer published leaked text messages which revealed that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was having an extramarital affair. Shortly thereafter, Bezosâwho also owned The Washington Post, which was often critical of President Trumpâinitiated an investigation that reportedly found evidence that the Enquirerâs coverage of Bezos was politically motivated. Bezos later published an online essay in which he accused AMI of âextortion and briberyâ for threatening to release compromising photographs if he did not stop the inquiry.
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Amid these controversies, American Media merged with Accelerate360 in 2020 and became known as A360 Media. Three years later the National Enquirer and several of its sister publications were sold to VVIP Ventures.