Eddie Clontz
August 15, 2005 cover of Weekly World News
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| Editor-in-chief | Neil McGinness (2009–present) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Supernatural, paranormal, tabloid |
| Frequency | Weekly (1979–2007) Bi-weekly |
| Total circulation | 1.2 million |
| Founder | Generoso Pope, Jr. |
| First issue | 1979 |
| Final issue | August 27, 2007 |
| Company |
American Media (1979–2007) Bat Boy L.L.C. (2009–present) |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Lantana, Florida |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0199-574X |
| OCLC number | 6010349 |
The Weekly World News was a largely fictional news tabloid published in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news that verged on the satirical. Its characteristic black-and-white covers have become pop-culture images widely used in the arts. It ceased publication in August 2007.
In 2009, Weekly World News was relaunched as an online only publication. Its current editor-in-chief is Neil McGinness.
The WWN was launched in 1979 by publisher Generoso Pope, Jr. as a means to continue using the black-and-white press that the higher-profile tabloid The National Enquirer had been printed on when the sister publication switched to color printing. Like many supermarket weeklies in the U.S., the Weekly World News was published in Lantana, 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.
Its longtime editor, Eddie Clontz, a 10th-grade dropout from North Carolina and former copy editor at small newspapers, joined the paper in 1981. In the 1980s, the circulation of WWN peaked at 1.2 million per issue.
The WWN traditionally claimed that it always printed the truth (typical slogan: "Nothing but the truth: The Weekly World News!"). Many stories, however, appeared to have comedic intent. In Batboy Lives!, a book about the WWN, a semi-serious introduction admitted that while Reader A reads the tabloid for real news, Reader B will read it for laughs. While the tabloid's main rival, Sun, carried a fine print disclaimer, the WWN never publicly contradicted the accuracy of its own stories until 2004, when the paper 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, mostly leaving WWN alone in its unique niche of basing a weekly publication on supernatural news stories, such as sightings of Elvis Presley and the Loch Ness monster.
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