National Enquirer

===1926–1990s===
In 1926, William Griffin, a [[mentorship|protégé]] of [[William Randolph Hearst]], founded the paper as ''The New York Evening Enquirer'', a Sunday afternoon [[broadsheet]] newspaper distributed throughout New York City, using money lent to Griffin by Hearst. It made its debut on September 19, 1926.<ref>"Under the Nutmeg Tree." ''Stamford (CT) Daily Advocate'', September 20, 1926, p. 4.</ref>  As partial payment of his loan, Hearst asked Griffin to use the ''Enquirer'' as a proving ground for new ideas. Hearst took the ideas that worked in his successful publications; the less successful ideas stayed with the ''Enquirer'', and as a result the ''Enquirer''{{-'}}s sales never soared. During the 1930s and 1940s, it became a voice for [[isolationism]] and pro-[[fascist]] propaganda. The paper was indicted along with Griffin under the [[Smith Act#Great Sedition Trial of 1944|Smith Act]] for sedition by a grand jury in 1942 for subverting the morale of US troops through Griffin's editorials against US military involvement in [[World War II]]. The charges were later dropped.<ref>Under Cover, p. 246, by John Roy Carlson, (1943)</ref><ref name=enq>{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/EnquirerStar-Group-Inc-Company-History.html |title=Enquirer/Star Group, Inc. – Company History |publisher=Fundinguniverse.com |access-date=October 16, 2010}}</ref>

By 1952, when the paper's circulation had fallen to 17,000 copies a week, it was purchased by [[Generoso Pope Jr.]], the son of [[Generoso Pope]], the founder of ''[[Il Progresso Italo-Americano|Il Progresso]]'', New York's Italian language daily newspaper.<ref name=enq /> Pope's son Paul alleged that [[Genovese crime family|Luciano crime family]] boss [[Frank Costello]] provided Pope the money for the purchase in exchange for the ''Enquirer''{{'}}s promise to list lottery numbers and to refrain from any mention of Mafia activities.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Deeds of My Fathers: How My Grandfather and Father Built New York and Created the Tabloid World of Today |last=Pope |first=Paul David |url=https://archive.org/details/deedsofmyfathers0000pope |year=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-1-4422-0486-7 |oclc=600995928 |access-date=October 23, 2010 |url-access=registration }}</ref>

In 1953, Pope revamped the format from a [[broadsheet]] to a sensationalist [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]]. The paper's editorial content became so salacious that [[Mayor of New York City|New York Mayor]] [[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]] forced Griffin to resign from the city's Board of Higher Education in 1954.<ref name=enq/> In 1957, Pope changed the name of the newspaper to ''The National Enquirer'' and changed its scope to national stories of sex and scandal.<ref name=enq/> Pope worked tirelessly in the 1950s and 1960s to increase the circulation and broaden the tabloid's appeal. In the late 1950s and through most of the 1960s, the publication was known for its gory and unsettling headlines and stories such as: "I Cut Out Her Heart and Stomped on It" (September 8, 1963) and "Mom Boiled Her Baby and Ate Her" (1962). At this time the paper was sold on newsstands and in drugstores only. Pope stated he got the idea for the format and these gory stories from seeing people [[Rubbernecking|congregate around auto accidents]]. By 1966, circulation had risen to one million.<ref name=enq/>

Pope pioneered the practice of selling magazines at supermarket checkouts. To gain access to the supermarkets, Pope completely changed the format of the paper in late 1967 by dropping all the gore and violence to focus on more benign topics like celebrities, the occult and UFOs.

In 1971, Pope moved the headquarters from New York to [[Lantana, Florida]]. In 1974, ''The National Enquirer'' began running [[Bill Hoest]]'s ''Bumper Snickers'', a cartoon series about cars and drivers, collected by Signet into a paperback reprint two years later.

The death of [[Elvis Presley]] was the first show business news story that provided the ''Enquirer'' with ongoing opportunities to investigate offshoots of the breaking story.  Items that followed up on Presley's death included a color photograph of his body in an open coffin, a description of nine-year-old [[Lisa Presley]]'s shock and grief over the loss of her father and reports of his pharmaceutical drug abuse, autopsy results and malpractice claims against the doctor who had supplied him with the drugs.   These reports appeared in nearly every issue of the ''Enquirer'' for more than two years.<ref name=enq/>

During most of the 1970s and 1980s, ''The National Enquirer'' sponsored the placement of the largest decorated [[Christmas tree]] in the world at its [[Lantana, Florida]] 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 base of ''The 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 ended when he died in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|title=''Flashback Blog'': 'The Worlds Largest Decorated Christmas Tree'|publisher=Palm Beach Post|date=December 3, 2009|url=http://www.historicpalmbeach.com/flashback/2009/12/the-worlds-largest-decorated-christmas-tree|access-date=March 4, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205193345/http://www.historicpalmbeach.com/flashback/2009/12/the-worlds-largest-decorated-christmas-tree/|archive-date=December 5, 2009}}</ref>

By this time, ''The National Enquirer''{{'}}s parent company [[A360media|American Media]] had acquired publications and companies including ''[[Weekly World News]]'', and Distribution Services, Inc. The surviving owners, including Pope's widow, [[Lois Pope|Lois]], sold the company to a partnership of [[Macfadden Publications|Macfadden Publishing]] and Boston Ventures for $412&nbsp;million. Soon after, the company bought the publication's main competition, ''[[Star (magazine)|Star]]'' magazine, from [[Rupert Murdoch]]. The combined interests were controlled by a newly formed company, [[American Media, Inc.|American Media Inc (AMI)]]. In 1999, the paper relocated south again, but this time only 15 miles to [[Boca Raton, Florida]].