Weekly World News Ends Long, Strange 28-Year Trip
Sad but true: the world mourns the demise of The Weekly World News this month -- the current August 27th issue being its last. (weeps) (okay, not really)
The good news -- if you can call it that -- is that if you simply can't get enough of vampire aliens, killer babies, and bigfoot sightings on Staten Island, you're in luck: WWN publisher American Media Inc. (AMI) announced that while the print version has indeed come to an end, they will continue publishing WWN's online edition. Umm, hoorah?
Details from Reuters (which here almost cracks its poker-faced editorial (mono)tone):
American Media is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, and is best known as the publisher of the National Enquirer. The company announced last month it was exploring the sale of five of its 16 magazines as part of a strategy to focus on celebrity weeklies and lifestyle magazines.
The Weekly World News, which boasted it was "The World's Only Reliable Newspaper," reveled in shocking and almost always exclusive reports about extra-terrestrials, ghosts, scoundrels and scientific discoveries, such as the cure for lovesickness found on the walls of an ancient Mexican monument.
Bat Boy, the half-bat, half-human child found in a cave, was a regular feature. After the September 11 attacks, the tabloid reported he had been enlisted in the hunt for Osama bin Laden because of his special cave-dwelling skills.
The current online version reports that Mother Nature has endorsed Al Gore for president and other recent headlines include: "Man bothered by alien telemarketers" and "Dentist uses UFO metal in patient's tooth"
AMI reported a $160 million net loss for 2006 and is struggling with $1 billion of debt and plummeting circulation. It said in an SEC filing in March that sales of the Weekly World News dropped to 83,000 in 2006 from 153,000 in 2004, while circulation of the National Enquirer fell to 802,000 in 2006 from 1.2 million in 2004.
Its the end of an era, folks. Anyone up for a few rounds of Kumbaya? Pouring a little out for the homies? Anyone? Hell-o?
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Hey, according to Men In Black, they WERE the only reliable source of info.
I'll miss seeing batboy's defiant face in the checkout line. But not enough to sign up for the online version. ;)
Posted by: justzoot | August 31, 2007 at 01:29 PM
The Weekly World News actually inspired me to go into journalism, back in the day, I kid you not. They will be sorely missed.
Posted by: rockle | September 01, 2007 at 10:08 AM
in a way, i truly admire those kinds of papers.
Posted by: tom | September 01, 2007 at 01:52 PM