National Enquirer

Best known for its dramatically suggestive headlines, outlandish stories, and aggressive reporters, the National Enquirer is eagerly and secretly read in supermarket checkout lines by many more people than the 2.1 million who buy it each week. Although most readers claim they do not believe most of what the tabloid newspaper prints, they are drawn to its promise of insider knowledge and hot scoops about celebrities, politicians, and aliens from outer space.

The National Enquirer got its start as a crime-focused tabloid called the New York Enquirer in 1926. (A tabloid is a half-size newspaper that usually contains many photographs and focuses on dramatic and lurid stories.) The New York Enquirer was bought in 1952 by Generoso Pope Jr. (1927–1988). Pope recognized that people were drawn to the blood and shock of an accident. Soon he added gory photos and articles to the crime stories in his paper. In the 1970s, he toned down the gore a bit, and included gossipy and sexy stories about celebrities in order to get his paper, now called the National Enquirer, placed on newsstands in supermarkets.

The circulation of the National Enquirer began to climb, reaching a peak of 5.7 million readers per week in 1977. Competition from other tabloids, like the Star and the Globe, along with more television coverage of Hollywood gossip, caused sales of the Enquirer to decrease during the 1980s. In 1989, Pope's widow sold the paper to American Media (which also owned its rivals the Star and the Globe) for $412 million. By 1994, circulation had dropped to 3.1 million, and by 2001 it was at 2.1 million.

The Enquirer responded to these decreases by changing its focus once again, this time to politics. Originally exposed by a mainstream paper, the Miami Herald, it was the Enquirer that splashed politician Gary Hart's (1936–) scandalous affair across its pages in the late 1980s to much fanfare. Coverage of political figures increased dramatically in the 1990s. With its aggressive investigative reporters and its policy of sparing no cost to get a story, the National Enquirer managed to scoop many more respected newspapers on stories about the love affairs of politicians like Bill Clinton (1946–), Jesse Jackson (1941–), and Gary Condit (1948–).

Many celebrities have been angered by the Enquirer's exposés about their lives, and some have taken the tabloid to court. However, the Enquirer prides itself on its careful research. Although some well-known people, like actress Carol Burnett (1933–), have won settlements against the paper, many others have lost.

—Tina Gianoulis

For More Information

Cohen, Daniel. Yellow Journalism: Scandal,Sensationalism, and Gossip in the Media. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century Books, 2000.

Farhi, Paul. "Three-Headed Baby? Rival Tabloids Joined in Corporate Deal." TheWashington Post (November 3, 1999): p. C1.

Hogshire, Jim. Grossed-Out Surgeon Vomits Inside Patient! An Insider'sLook at Supermarket Tabloids. Venice, CA: Feral House, 1997.

National Enquirer Online.http://www.nationalenquirer.com (accessed February 26, 2002).

"Pass the Pulitzers: The Power of the Tabloid Magazine Press." The Economist (July 7, 2001): pp. 3–7.

Sloan, Bill. I Watched a Wild Hog Eat My Baby: A Colorful History ofTabloids and Their Cultural Impact. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2001.

Waters, John. "Why I Love the National Enquirer." Rolling Stone (October 10, 1985): pp. 43–48.