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 August 15, 2005 cover | |
| Editor-in-chief | Greg D'Alessandro (2019–present) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Supernatural,paranormal,tabloid,satire,humour |
| Frequency | Weekly (1979–2007) Bi-weekly |
| Total circulation | 1.2 million (in its peak)[1] |
| Founder | Generoso Pope, Jr. |
| First issue | October 16, 1979; 46 years ago (1979-10-16)[2] |
| Final issue | August 27, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-08-27), continues online and on social media |
| Company | American Media (1979–2007) SpyCat LLC (2008–present) |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Los Angeles and New York |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0199-574X |
| OCLC | 6010349 |
TheWeekly World News is atabloid formerly published in a newspaper format reporting mostly fictional "news" stories in the United States from 1979 to 2007. The paper was renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based onsupernatural orparanormal themes and an approach to news that verged on thesatirical. Its characteristic black-and-white covers have becomepop-culture images widely used in the arts. It ceased print publication in August 2007.[3] The company has a library of 110,000+ articles and 300+ original characters.
In 2009, theWeekly World News was relaunched as an online and social media publication. In July 2021, theWeekly World News announced the formation of Weekly World News Studios, to develop and produce entertainment projects based on its brand and characters.[4]
Generoso Pope Jr. launched theWeekly World News in 1979[5] to continue using the black-and-white press that sister tabloidThe National Enquirer had been printed on before it switched to color printing.[3] TheWWN was published inLantana, Florida, until it moved to Boca Raton in the late 1990s. It was unique as a tabloid because it was printed entirely in black and white. Eddie Clontz was its long-time editor, a 10th-grade dropout from North Carolina, and a former copy editor at small newspapers.[3] In the 2000s, the circulation ofWWN peaked at 1.2 million per issue.WWN went on to thrive online from 2009 to 2015 and was relaunched in 2019 by senior editor Greg D'Alessandro, along with investor David Collins.
The editor-in-chief from 2009 to 2018 was Neil McGinness.[1] The editor-in-chief since August 2019 has been D'Alessandro.[6]
TheWWN traditionally claimed that it always printed the truth, but many stories appeared to have comedic intent – more so as time went by.[7] As recalled by Joe Berger, a former White House correspondent who served as aWWN editor from 1981 to 2001, "About 80 percent of the stories were clipped from newspapers. We had three or four clippers who were surrounded by mountains of newspapers. We spent the day looking at newspapers throughout the world, clipping weird stories. About 50 percent were about people narrowly escaping death; someone falling off a cliff, or hanging off a tree branch for four days until they were rescued."[7] The introduction toBatboy Lives! states that one person would read the tabloid for real news, whereas another would read it for the humor. The tabloid's main rivalSun carried a fine print disclaimer, whereas theWWN never publicly contradicted the accuracy of its own stories until 2004, when it began stating that "the reader should suspend disbelief for the sake of enjoyment." In the 2000s,Sun moved more toward articles on health and miracle cures, leavingWWN alone in its niche of supernatural news stories, such assightings of Elvis Presley and theLoch Ness monster.
Thus, for a significant percentage of its content, theWWN ran strange-but-true stories, such as "DEVOUT CHRISTIAN ATTACKED – AND HE'S THE ONE FINED!"[8] referring to British street evangelistHarry Hammond. Other verifiable stories included those of agiant mutant hog monster attacking Georgia[9] and the arrest of aTallahassee, Florida, man whose pants were on fire at the time.[10] It reported on the discovery of an infant dragon preserved in formaldehyde proving the existence of dragons,[11] although this was later proven to be a hoax. It also quoted Vatican exorcist FatherGabriele Amorth onPope John Paul II's battles with Satan[12] and ran a story on the trademark dispute betweenO, The Oprah Magazine and a German erotic periodical also namedO. Whether partially fictional or wholly true, the writing style remained as fact-based as possible. As writerBob Lind recalled forMental Floss, "We wrote these things straight, for people who wanted to believe these things. We wrote it like a news story. We wrote a lede with a dash in it, filled it in, and then had a money quote."[7]
In February 1989,WWN published real, graphic photos on its front page of the post-autopsied body of executed serial killerTed Bundy. Managing editor Eddie Clontz defended his decision to run the photos, claiming that he hoped that such images would deter other murderers.[13][14] Angry and surprised officials in Florida vowed to catch the person responsible, eventually arresting a low-level employee of theAlachua County, Florida Medical Examiner's office and charging him with taking the photographs and selling them to theWWN.
As other supermarket tabloids switched to celebrity gossip, theWeekly World News remained devoted to its original content, refusing to fact-check its way out of a sensational story, or, as Iain Calder,WWN co-founder andEnquirer editor-in-chief from 1973 to 1997, toldMental Floss: "We'd say Elvis was still alive and run a picture of what Elvis would have looked like at that time. We'd get dozens of phone calls. If someone calls and says, 'I saw Elvis,' you didn't try to disprove the headline."[7] Derrik Lang, astringer for the paper, said that "everything in my stories was fake – you know, depending on how you define fake."[15] CommonWWN stories involved alien abductions, the Loch Ness monster,Bigfoot, time travel, predictions of an oncoming depression or apocalypse, and other newly found lost prophecies or religious relics. There were also characters who, in later years, became stock fixtures inWWN news stories, most famouslyBat Boy, a half-bat half-boy discovered in West Virginia caverns, andP'lod, an extraterrestrial who became involved in Earth politics and had an affair withHillary Clinton.
Regular columns includedEd Anger (opinion), first Dear Babs and later Dear Dotti (outspoken advice columnists), Hi Dolly (relationship advice), Horse Sense (medical advice), Monkey Business (financial and business-related advice and information) and Madame Malisa (psychic). The most famous of these was Ed Anger, a character created in 1979 by staffer Rafe Klinger; Anger was a perpetually angry conservative (a typical column began "I'm pig-biting mad!"), who railed against illegal immigrants, women, speed limits and rainforests, among many other perceived ills.[16]
Beginning on May 9, 2005, theWeekly World News went "All New" along with other tabloid papers such as theNational Enquirer, which had become "Bigger • Bolder • Better." In the newWeekly World News, Serena and Sonya Sabak'spsychic column was replaced by the horoscopes of Madame Malisa, and Dotti Primrose's "Dear Dotti" was supplanted by an advice column called "Hi Dolly" written by a middle-aged Southern blonde woman. The newWWN included a weekly "Weird Picture Search" byMad cartoonistSergio Aragonés. Other features included Trivia, Test Yourself, Jokes, and "Miss Adventure", a.k.a. "The Gayest American Hero", who has penetrated themob, gone toHollywood, and foughtDRAG-U-LA traveling from the depths of the Earth's center to outer space.
Two pages of comic strips were spun off from feature stories. For two years, in 2004 and 2005,Peter Bagge created a Bat Boy comic "using celebrities and current events and creating totally absurd and implausible stories and situations for them."[17] In 2011, IDW Publishing released a hardcover collection of Bagge's strips.[18] "SpyCat", created by Dick Siegel, was drawn byErnie Colón. SpyCat spoke nine different languages ranging from Persian to "dog" and was armed with "Adamwestium" claws and deadly cat-of-nine-tails. He wrote free-form poetry when not waging war on America's enemies—at home and abroad. "Matthew Daemon", also created by Dick Siegel, was written and illustrated byMike Collins and was a spinoff from the "SOS Matthew Daemon (Seeker of Obscure Supernaturals)" feature. Daemon's lair was located beneathGrant's Tomb. Daemon specialized in B-List Monster hunting. "Alien Baby" by Craig Boldman chronicled the adventures of Moogera the deadbeat alien dad, alien baby Ethan, and Stacy, his Earth-born mother.
Though it mainly featured offbeat stories, it also featured legitimate games and quizzes such as crossword puzzles, a segment called "Bedside Manner" where readers choose which celebrity is best suited for the featured celebrity and "Mystery Eyes" which featured photographs of five pairs of eyes which belonged to celebrities and readers have to guess who they are.
Bat Boy was first featured in a 1992 issue after being found in a cave inWest Virginia (Lost World Caverns). He has since led police on a high-speed chase, fought in the war on terror, led the troops to captureSaddam Hussein, bittenSanta Claus, and traveled into outer space. In 2000, he gave his endorsement toAl Gore. It was foretold that Bat Boy would become president in 2028.
The story of Bat Boy was the basis for an acclaimed off-Broadway musical,Bat Boy: The Musical, in which Bat Boy meets a tragic end. In addition to articles, Bat Boy has been featured in acomic strip since 2004, though it is said that only the articles are the "true" story of Bat Boy.
Each week a different model was featured on page 5 and on the back page. She was usually wearing abikini and a description of her was printed. This feature ended after the Halloween issue of 2006.
One of the many other recurring subjects was the occasional "ALIVE!" cover story. Most often the story pertained to some sort of creature such as a mummy, prehistoric creature, or, occasionally, a human who had been frozen in a block of ice (e.g.Santa Claus).
Another subject often tackled byWWN is the reemergence of many prominent figures believed to be deceased, includingHank Williams,Marilyn Monroe,John F. Kennedy,Adolf Hitler, andMichael Jackson. Survivors of the Titanic and Hindenburg were also occasionally featured. Among the most frequently printed reports were those asserting that "Elvis is alive."
TheWWN frequently reported Elvis sightings with a series of articles claiming thatElvis Presley had faked his death and had recently emerged from years of seclusion to prepare for a comeback. Obviously altered photos purported to show a gray-haired, balding Elvis sneaking into a movie theater and coming out of aBurger King restaurant. When theU.S. Postal Service conducted a poll to determine the design of the Elviscommemorativepostage stamp, theWWN conducted its own poll pitting the USPS's 1950s Elvis and 1970s Elvis versus its own, 1990s Elvis; the elderly Elvis won.
In 1994, the newspaper ran a front cover with the headline "Elvis Presley Dead!", stating that Presley was now "really dead" from heart failure after slipping into a diabetic coma. In a 2004Washington Post article on Clontz's death, humoristGene Weingarten claimed that he andDave Barry were the sources of the story.[19] According to Weingarten, theWWN later reported that claims of Presley's (belated) death had been a hoax. In an earlier telling of his story, Weingarten varied some details.[20]
Numerous stories regarding shockingly obese people made the pages ofWWN, the most popular of which was Roland Gillespie, the world's fattest man. After Roland was first discovered,WWN encouraged readers to send in their guesses as to exactly how much they believed Roland weighed. Weighing in at over 576.2 lbs., Roland was featured being weighed and measured and the crew was possibly sat on, by the world's fattest man. Later stories involved Rolands attempts to lose weight through the OMAD diet, his struggle with near fatal obesity, and claims that he ate his family. Other stories featured the exploits of the world's fattest couple at the gym, the world's fattest baby, and even a similar weight-guessing contest featuring the world's fattest dog. One continuing story featured a morbidly obese man named Buster Simcus who had lost so much weight that it left 80 pounds of loose skin hanging off his body that he was planning to have surgically removed. By the next story, he had regained the weight, severely damaging his scars.
WWN covered stories that featured analysis of a comingGreat Depression in the immediate future in which many prominent celebrities, politicians, and icons of business would become penniless. The cover story of the June 6, 2005, issue warned that the second Great Depression was "just weeks away." Because of this, Texas oil tycoons were planning to flee toLuxembourg, the only country to survive this economic crash. Consequences of this depression would include mass starvation, a disease epidemic, mobs of looters and a return to pagan religions andSatanism.[21]
Another typicalWeekly World News topic was new Bible-related findings, including relics fromNoah's Ark, theGarden of Eden (claimed by the tabloid to be inColorado),[22] the discovery of additional commandments from God, and sandals worn by Jesus. The magazine also reported on whenJesus will return to Earth, and held an interview withSisyphus when he finished his eternal boulder-hauling "workout." Other stories stated that natural disasters such asearthquakes and human economic activity likedrilling for oil have opened up gates and portals toHell from which demons have escaped to wreak havoc upon the earth. A story shortly afterSeptember 11, 2001 showed the face ofSatan appearing in a cloud of dust caused by thecollapse of the World Trade Center. Similar stories, wherein Satan's face had appeared in a thunderstorm, had appeared before.
Following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001,WWN featured articles about plans for future terrorist attacks on the United States of America. A 2004 cover story described plans byKim Jong-il to eventually invade and conquer the United States. Other stories featured profiles on the location and nature of Iraq'sweapons of mass destruction, including the news that Saddam Hussein had an arsenal of giant slingshots, the missing link, anddinosaurs. In 2003, a series of articles profiled the ongoing relationship between and eventual marriage ofSaddam Hussein andOsama bin Laden. Other stories have made claims that Bin Laden was actually adwarf, that he recruited aclonedAdolf Hitler to joinAl Qaeda, and that he was in fact dead, long before his actual death and that the CIA was keeping it a secret. After his being captured by Bat Boy, Saddam was humiliated by female prison guards, won the United States lottery, and even demanded that the government pay for hissex change operation.
WWN has often been the home to political satire regarding current and past presidential administrations. The magazine reported that the founding fathers were allgay and thatGeorge Washington andAbraham Lincoln were actually women. According to the paper, President Lincoln was insane, and his ghost had also been spotted in theWhite House giving PresidentGeorge W. Bush advice on the war in Iraq. Stories about President George W. Bush capitalized on the public'sperception that he lacked intelligence. The paper chronicled his plans to run for pope, his love affair withJanet Reno, and his intention to nominateYoda as secretary of defense. The June 21, 2004, issue stated that Vice PresidentDick Cheney was actually arobot and that his frequent trips to the hospital allowed him to rewire his circuits.
Aliens are another subject frequently tackled byWWN.Weekly World News blamed these creatures for holes in the ozone. ARoswell crash survivor, "Altair Bob," made contact withWWN via telepathic e-mail. Several factions of extraterrestrials have been using the moon to dump garbage. Martians have been monitoring the Mideast crisis. Warrior aliens have been resurrecting the dead, fightingBigfoot, and training in a mock U.S. town hidden in Antarctica. San Franciscans have opened their hearts to immigrants from Mercury.
One such alien, named P'Lod, who made several appearances inWWN, has been known to fraternize with known women of politics. It was reported that he andHillary Clinton once had a close relationship that ended up in a brawl between him and PresidentBill Clinton, who went on a jealous rage. After P'Lod left Hillary Clinton, he expressed a lot of interest inCondoleezza Rice. A June 15, 1993 cover announced Hillary Clinton's adoption of an alien baby.
In the June 7, 1994, edition,WWN reported that 12 U.S. senators were aliens from other planets. In response, several senators or their spokespersons humorously "confirmed" the story. One,William S. Cohen of Maine, told the mainstream press, "It is preferable to be a space alien than aspace cadet."[23][24]
In the August 11, 1998, edition,WWN reported that autograph dealer Steve Koschal offered to pay $1 million for anything signed by an extraterrestrial. Koschal said he would pay the million dollars to anyone who had a signed letter or signed photograph or anything signed by a visitor from outer space. "Hundreds of people claim to have been abducted and taken aboard UFOs and yet there's not a single verifiable signature of an extraterrestrial being anywhere on Earth," said Koschal in an exclusive interview. "Someone out there must have asked one of these creatures for an autograph," continued Koschal. "If not, someone will in the future. When they do, I want to be the first collector to acquire it."[25]
The subject of space aliens endorsing U.S. presidential candidates in various elections was also a recurring topic.[26] During the2000 U.S. presidential election, then-candidate George W. Bush posed for photographers with aWeekly World News issue opened to the article reading, "Space Alien Backs Bush for President!".[16]
Cryptids and half-animal half-human hybrids are another frequent topic ofWeekly World News. Creatures such as Bigfoot, merpeople, real-life catwomen, half-alligator half-humans, frog babies, kangaroo women, and many other creatures have taken the world by storm on various covers (e.g.Abominable Beachman strikes terror in Hawaii! andBigfoot Steals Race Car!!!!) including the aforementioned 'Bat Boy'.
The existence ofmermen andmermaids is also frequently reported in the pages of theWeekly World News. One detailed article recounted a mermaid being caught in a fishing net off the coast ofFlorida on April 17, 2004. According to the article, she was at least half human, very sociable, and extremely intelligent; and was able to talk in a sophisticated "three dimensional language" that depends heavily on noises that could possibly be connected to the "click languages" prevalent in parts of Africa and on hand movements that look likesign language.
Similar to their female counterparts, mermen are found within the pages of theWeekly World News. On June 17, 2003, a merman was reported to have been caught in the South Pacific, this one measuring only 28 inches.
Since theWeekly World News began to publish online, its stories have occasionally been treated as legitimate news stories by readers unaware of the nature of the publication.
In 1999,David Pecker boughtAmerican Media Inc., which owned theWeekly World News. Within the next two years, many ofWWN's longtime writers and editors, including Clontz, Sal Ivone, Derek Clontz, Susan Jimison, Joe Berger,Bob Lind,Dick Kulpa, and Leskie Pinson, were gone.[3] Clontz left the paper in 2001, having been there 20 years, and died in 2004.[30]
In a filing with theUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2007, American Media said that sales ofWWN in 2006 were only 83,000 per issue.[31]WWN ceased its print publication in August 2007.[32] It was then published as an insert within theSun magazine, with new material being printed alongside articles and columns from older issues, untilSun itself ceased publication in 2012.
In October 2008,Bat Boy L.L.C., a company started by Neil McGinness, boughtWWN.[33] It was relaunched as an online-only publication in 2009. In January 2011, theWeekly World News was made available via an online paid subscription. The online edition is emailed to subscribers biweekly. The online edition closely resembles the printedWeekly World News in both appearance (it uses theWeekly World News logo used from 1979 to 2001) and subject matter (the first issue's headline was "Werewolf Sues Airline Over Flight Delay"). In January 2013,Weekly World News announced that it would go behind apaywall.[34] An initial limit was set at three free article views, though select content remained unmetered.[35]
In August 2019, Greg D'Alessandro took over as CEO/Editor-In-Chief with David Collins as President/CFO. They relaunched the brand and began developing a number of projects with Hollywood producers.
On September 21, 2020,Weekly World News launched aKickstarter campaign in an effort to expand reporting, graphics and video production, as well as to get the tabloid back into print.[36] The campaign was successful in reaching its financial goal.
On March 21, 2021, 'Weekly World News" printed its first full-length print publication in 15 years. "Weekly World News Greatest Covers" was printed as a limited special edition (5,000 copies).
On July 31, 2024, it was reported by the web siteDeadline thatNetflix was developing a Bat Boy live-action television series.[37]
Articles fromWeekly World News were a primary inspiration forDavid Byrne's 1986 filmTrue Stories as reported byRolling Stone magazine: "Your big inspiration for the movie was reading headlines in tabloids. Were you mostly readingWeekly World News at the time?" David Byrne: "Yeah, they were all fromWeekly World News. They weren't really in the[National] Enquirer."[38]
In January 1996, a satirical comedy series inspired byWeekly World News premiered on theUSA Network, and was hosted by longtime journalistEdwin Newman.[39][40] The series was canceled after one season.
Tabloid Dreams (1996) by Pulitzer-winning author [Robert Olen Butler] is a short-story collection that used headlines from theWeekly World News and other supermarket tabloids as writing prompts. Two examples: “Jealous Husband Returns in the Form of a Parrot” and “Boy Born with Tattoo of Elvis.”
A parody of theWeekly World News called "The World" was featured in the 1997 filmMen in Black as "The best damn investigative journalism in the country." A publication that told the truth because it was 'a free country.' It is cited as a source of material and shows the bug case they are working on.
In an episode of theHBO sketch comedy seriesTracey Takes On...,Ruby Romaine (Tracey Ullman) reads and confirms a story printed in the February 24, 1998 issue ofWeekly World News aboutLiberace.[41]
In 1999, theWeekly World News was declared the "Official Newspaper of the Windows 2000 Team" atMicrosoft, and its Senior Vice President,Brian Valentine, would read excerpts from it at what was called Windows Information Meetings, or WIMs, while attempting to entertain and encourage the developers, testers, program managers, and writers involved.
Weekly World News was also featured in theSupernatural,Season 2 episode "Tall Tales".
Disney Channel's paranormal/supernatural-themed animated showGravity Falls features a reference toBat Boy in the show's intro. Shion Takeuchi andGravity Falls creatorAlex Hirsch, executive producers ofInside Job, said they were inspired by pages of the publication.[42]
RapperTravis Scott parodies theWeekly World News and references the character Bat Boy on his cover for his 2021 singleEscape Plan / Mafia, with a similar tabloid named "Weekly World Truths".