:''This article is about the tabloid. For the abolitionist newspaper of the same name, see National Enquirer (1836)''
'''''The National Enquirer''''' (also commonly known as '''''The Enquirer''''') is a national American supermarket tabloid published by American Media Inc (AMI). The paper is known for its articles focusing on celebrities. It makes no secret of the fact that it will pay sources for information, a practice officially frowned upon by the mainstream press.
It has now dropped its famous catchphrase, "Enquiring sic minds want to know."
Early History: The Pope Years
Founded in 1926 as ''The New York Enquirer'', it was bought in 1952 by Generoso Pope Jr., allegedly with funds provided by Frank Costello. It has also been alleged that Costello provided the monies in exchange for the ''Enquirer'''s promise to list lottery numbers and to refrain from all mention of Mafia activities.
[http://www.rense.com/politics5/maf.htm]In 1954, Pope revamped the format from a broadsheet to a tabloid, and changed the name to ''The National Enquirer''. Pope worked tirelessly in the 1950s and 1960s to increase the circulation and broaden the tabloid's appeal. In 1971, Pope moved the headquarters from New York to Lantana, Florida. It later relocated south again; but this time only 15 miles to Boca Raton, Florida.
During most of the 1970s and 1980s, the ''National Enquirer'' sponsored the placement of the largest Christmas Tree in the world at its Lantana headquarters in what became an annual tradition. A tree was shipped in mid-autumn from the Pacific Northwest by rail and off-loaded by crane onto the adjacent National Enquirer property. Every night during the Christmas season, thousands of visitors would come to see the tree. This would grow into one of south Florida's most celebrated and spectacular events. Although tremendously expensive, this was Pope's "Pet Project" and his "Christmas present" to the local community. The tradition passed into history with his death in 1988.
By the time of Pope's death, the ''National Enquirer'' had grown into a publishing company called American Media, Inc. (hereinafter AMI), which by that time included ''Weekly World News'', and Distribution Services, Inc, the company which pioneered the idea of selling magazines at supermarket checkouts. The surviving business interests, including Pope's widow, Lois, sold AMI to a partnership of MacFadden Publishing and Boston Ventures for $412 million. Soon after, the company bought the ''Enquirer'''s main competition, ''The Star'' from Rupert Murdoch.
Recent History: Evolution and Maturation
Though many see the ''Enquirer'' through the historical prisms of sensationalism and embellishment, there was a period of time during which it was recognized for occasional examples of thorough research and scoops; it
