The National Enquirer, the scandal-plagued tabloid that chimed in “Catch and Kill” Practices to bury stories about Donald Trump during his presidential campaign have been sold.
VVIP is buying the National Examiner and another tabloid, the Globe, from magazine publisher a360 Media in an all-cash deal, although exact financial terms have not been disclosed.
In December 2018, the parent company of publications including National Enquirer, Us Weekly and In Touch admitted to engaging in journalism dubious practice known as “catch and kill” to help Donald Trump become President.
Federal prosecutors announced at the time that they had agreed not to prosecute American Media Inc. for secretly supporting Trump’s campaign by paying $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal for the rights to her story about an alleged affair paid with Trump. The company then deliberately pushed McDougal’s story out until after the election.
jeff bezosThe Amazon founder also accused the newspaper of wanting to bribe him in 2019 with embarrassing “below the belt” photos that he sent to his girlfriend.
American media sold The National Enquirer and some other publications in April 2019 to James Cohen, former head of airport kiosk company Hudson News. However, the transaction was never completed.
In August 2020 David Pecker resigned as CEO of American Media. At that time, American Media Inc. was acquired by Accelerate360, a logistics company based in Smyrna, Georgia. For years under Pecker, the National Enquirer buried potentially embarrassing stories about Trump and other popular celebrities by buying the rights to them and never publishing them.
VVIP Ventures is a joint venture between Vinco Ventures Inc., a digital media and content technology holding company, and ICON Publishing.
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