The National Enquirer has been a staple of grocery store checkout lines for decades, with its sensational headlines and scandalous stories. But what is the history of this infamous tabloid, and how has it managed to stay relevant in the age of digital media?
The National Enquirer was founded in 1926 by William Randolph Hearst as a newspaper called The New York Enquirer. It quickly gained a reputation for publishing sensational stories and lurid photos, but struggled financially throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1952, Generoso Pope Jr., an Italian-American businessman, purchased The New York Enquirer for $75,000. He changed its name to The National Enquirer and shifted the focus from hard news to celebrity gossip and true crime stories.
Under Pope’s leadership, The National Enquirer became wildly successful. Its circulation grew from around 17,000 in the early 1950s to over five million by the late 1970s. In addition to celebrity gossip and true crime stories, the magazine also began running articles about UFO sightings and other paranormal phenomena.
After Pope’s death in 1988, ownership of The National Enquirer passed to his son Paul David Pope. Paul David struggled to maintain his father’s success with the magazine, however. Circulation declined dramatically throughout the 1990s as readers turned away from print media in favor of digital alternatives.
In an attempt to boost sales, Paul David Pope shifted The National Enquirer’s focus even further towards celebrity gossip and scandalous sex scandals. Critics accused him of crossing ethical boundaries by paying sources for information or fabricating stories entirely.
Despite these controversies (or perhaps because of them), The National Enquirer remained popular among certain segments of American society throughout the early twenty-first century. Its coverage helped bring down political figures like John Edwards and Gary Hart while fueling rumors about celebrities like Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie.
In 2019, The National Enquirer made headlines of a different sort when it was revealed that the magazine had paid $150,000 to silence Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with President Donald Trump. As part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, The National Enquirer’s parent company American Media Inc. admitted to making the payment in order to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
The scandal led many observers to question the ethics and legitimacy of tabloid journalism in general, and The National Enquirer in particular. Some argued that paparazzi-style reporting and sensationalized stories were corrosive to democratic institutions by undermining public trust in elected officials and other sources of authority.
Others countered that tabloid journalism played an important role in holding powerful people accountable for their actions. They pointed out that mainstream media outlets often ignored or downplayed scandals involving politicians or celebrities until they were covered by tabloids like The National Enquirer.
Regardless of where one falls on this debate, there is no denying that The National Enquirer has had a significant impact on American culture over the past century. Its combination of celebrity gossip, true crime stories, and paranormal phenomena has captured the imaginations (and wallets) of millions of readers across multiple generations.
As print media continues to decline in popularity and digital alternatives become more prevalent, it remains to be seen whether The National Enquirer will be able to adapt and survive. But for now at least, it seems likely that this controversial publication will continue churning out sensational stories for years to come.