Soap Opera Weekly Magazine Shuts Down...Unless It Was All Just a Dream

Original main title (Photo credit: Wikipedia)With once-thriving daytime dramas down to four stalwart soap opera hangers-on, including General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, it's not surprising news that American Media Inc. has discontinued Soap Opera Weekly ("SOW").

According to an article in Ad Week citing Audit Bureau of Circulations numbers, SOW circulation plunged 50 percent over the past four years to 107, 817. Competitor Soap Opera Digest ("SOD") continues to keep readers abreast of all the torrid affairs, long-lost twins and other hijinks among their favorite  "soaps" characters, but also saw  circulation decline by 40 percent last year to 292,219.

Sounds as if this segment of the publishing industry is undergoing a not-so Secret Storm and can use a Guiding Light to show it the way to profitability.

Whither Jen, Brangelina & the Kardashians?

Image via WikipediaAmericans' taste can't have improved, so the sour economy must be to blame for sagging celebrity magazine newsstand sales.

Ad Week reports that the numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations' Rapid Report don't bode well for periodicals immersed in Hollywood glitz. People magazine, for instance, saw decreased newsstand sales over the second half of 2011 average out at 1.1 million copies, a 12.4 percent decline compared to second half 2010 numbers. People can take some solace in a 4.3 percent upward tick in subscriptions, for a total circulation of 3.6 million.

The news isn't much better for Bauer Publishing Co. periodicals Life & Style and In Touch, according to Rapid Report figures, as newsstand purchases plunged 7.5 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. Celeb gossip journal Star Magazine, published by American Media, Inc., missed its rate base on more than half of  22 issues sold, while Us Weekly magazine, produced by Wenner Media, fell short on its circulation guarantee on five of 13 issues, Ad Week noted in its review of Rapid Report figures.

Looks like TMZ.com and tv talk shows are going to have to step up to inform Americans about whether Kim Kardashian is dating an NFL star and to provide bulletins on Demi Moore's rehab.

Will Reality Fans Be Able to Track Kardashians' Periodical Monthly?

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe tabloid New York Post reports today that the omnipresent Kardashian clan is negotiating with National Enquirer owner American Media, Inc. to produce a glossy (not as in "brilliant") magazine about the celebrity family.

The fanzine may be on newsstands as early as spring, the Post reports, though neither side would confirm the story. No details were offered about the content of the Kardashian magazine, but "TUOL" suspects articles about the latest achievements of Kourtney, Kim and the rest of the klan, er, clan, will be augmented by columns featuring wedding announcements and NBA scores.

Look for the back of the book to be full and heavy with advertisements.

National Enquirer Parent Company Shopping Itself?

Image via WikipediaAccording to a story in today's New York Post, American Media, Inc.(AMI), parent company of supermarket tabloids The National Enquirer and Star Magazine, as well as other journals, including Muscle & Fitness and Radar Online, is looking for a buyer.

The Post claims private equity firm Apollo Management is kicking the tires. Apollo declined to respond to inquiries by the Post, but speculation remains the firm might consider snatching up AMI and combining it with its recent acquisition of CKX, which owns American Idol.

AMI emerged from a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [In re American Media, Inc., 10-BK-16140] in late 2010 (see "TUOL" post 11/17/10).  "TUOL" is hopeful that the National Enquirer's current owner holds out until it either is purchased by space aliens or adopted by Madonna or Angelina Jolie.

Extra!: National Enquirer Pitches Reality Series to CBS

Image via WikipediaAmerican Media, Inc.-owned supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer is working with CBS to develop a reality tv series involving the daring exploits of Enquirer reporters as they uncover, or create--depending on one's perspective--scandalous news stories.

The New York Post reports today that CBS veteran Has Gessner is producing the pilot series, Breaking It: Behind the Scenes at the National Enquirer, featuring Enquirer Executive Editor Barry Levine. Reportedly, one of the teaser items in the reel pitching the series includes 2008 footage of a secret liaison at a hotel involving Rielle Hunter and America's current favorite sleazeball du jour, former Sen. John Edwards.

"TUOL" is intrigued. National Enquirer and "reality" rarely appear in the same sentence. A caveat to the suits at Black Rock contemplating airing a series celebrating Enquirer snoops on the network where Murrow & Cronkite once roamed: If you 'Breaking It,' you bought it.

UPDATE: Holmes' Libel Suit Against Star No Longer Afoot

Image via WikipediaReuters and The Hollywood Reporter's "THR, Esq." blog report today that actress Katie Holmes has settled her $50 million defamation suit against Florida-based American Media's Star Magazine (see "TUOL" post 3/2/11).

Although the financial terms of the settlement in the Los Angeles Superior Court case, Katie Holmes v. American Media, Inc. (Case No. 11-cv-01750) were undisclosed, Holmes received an apology in the May 9 edition of Star Magazine that states the supermarket tabloid "did not intend to suggest that Ms. Holmes was a drug addict or was undergoing treatment for drug addiction." As part of the resolution of the case, the publication agreed to make a sizable contribution to a charity favored by Holmes, the Dizzy Feet Foundation, which advocates for greater access to dance education and offers opportunities to underprivileged children to pursue careers as professional dancers.

Holmes sued over a Jan. 20, 2011 front-page Star story trumpeting: "Addiction Nightmare, Katie Drug Shocker!" The inside story on page 42, however, made no reference to prescription or illicit drugs, but rather, to "addictive treatments" of Scientology counseling sessions employing an "e-meter" device. Holmes is married to actor and high-profile Scientologist Tom Cruise.

The dedicated staff of "TUOL" is delighted that Holmes is not an impaired substance abuser, though it does make it that much harder to explain why she agreed to portray Jackie Kennedy in "The Kennedys" mini-series.

Holmes Repairs to Court to Sue Star for Libel

Image via WikipediaActress Katie Holmes, 32, whose five-year marriage to actor Tom Cruise--Hollywood's most famous Scientologist--has been fodder for supermarket tabloids, has filed a $50 million defamation suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Star Magazine's parent company, American Media, Inc., whose stable of publications also includes The National Inquirer.

The nine-page Complaint, Katie Holmes v. American Media, Inc. (Case No. 11-cv-01750) arises from a January 2011 front-page Star Magazine headline: "Addiction Nightmare, Katie Drug Shocker!" that trumpets an inside story on page 42 that never suggests the former Dawson's Creek actress is a drug user. Rather, as reported by Reuters and The Hollywood Reporter Web site THR, Esq,, the article alleges Holmes is "trapped in a cycle of addictive treatments" at Scientology counseling sessions that involve the use of a device called an "e-meter," that purportedly stimulates endorphin production through a low-level electrical current the tabloid likened to "an effect similar to heroin."

Plaintiff's counsel, while noting that strenuous exercise also stimulates endorphin production, accuse the Florida-based publisher of deliberately misleading the public with a bogus Page 1 headline creating the impression that the Batman Begins heroine is a substance abuser that most shoppers would not bother to learn was not the case by turning to page 42 of the magazine.

In addition to the $50 million damages claim, Holmes also is seeking punitive damages.  As a public figure, she'll have to prove actual malice, in other words, that Star Magazine knew the headline and accompanying story were false, or showed reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity.  Hanging the lawsuit on an inflammatory headline is a risky proposition for Holmes as courts have ruled libel actions are not supportable by snippets of statements taken out of context.

Some may argue that the amount of damages claimed evoke one of the Ohio-born actresses films, Mad Money.

Extra: Natl. Enq. & Star Scribes Cut--Staff Caught in Hot News Bureau Share

Image via WikipediaTwo Star Magazine writers and one National Enquirer reporter are the latest job casualties as circulation and financially beleaguered American Media, Inc.("AMI") continues to trim costs.

According to a report by WWDMedia.com, the two tabloids, which already share office space, are going to operate as an AMI news bureau, with New York-based editors doling out the celebrity scandal articles generated by the bureau between the two papers.  AMI filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (In re American Media, Inc., 10-BK-16140) last November.(See "TUOL" post 11/17/10.)

Circulation figures for the supermarket tabloids remain flat, despite the continued presence of Mel Gibson and Michael Jackson's physician/pill dispenser.

X-Posed: National Enquirer & Star Tabloids in Bankruptcy Love Nest

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As anticipated here [see "TUOL" post 11/2/10], Boca Raton, Fla.-based American Media, Inc., whose publications include the Star and National Enquirer supermarket tabloids, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (In re American Media, Inc., 10-BK-16140), according to Bloomberg News.

The publisher of the popular gossip tabloids listed assets of  under $50,000 against debts of up to $1 billion in its court filing.  The Enquirer's circulation as of September 2010, averaged 695,000, a drop of 83,000 compared to October 2009 figures, while the Star's  numbers during the same period saw a decrease to 940,000 from 1.1 million, according to Bloomberg.

National Enquirer Seeks Chapter 11 Protection: Space Aliens to Blame?

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If Demi Moore, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Courtney Cox and other Hollywood celebs have an extra bounce in their step today, it's probably because they read The New York Post story about National Enquirer parent company American Media's decision to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.


American Media, which owns Shape and Star, along with the Enquirer, previously planned a debt-for-equity exchange, but instead has opted for a pre-packaged Chapter 11 re-organization plan.  Key bondholders Capital Research, Avenue Capital Management, Angelo Gordon & Co. and the Oppenheimer Fund, along with fellow bondholders, who are owed upward of $355 million in total, are likely to wind up with a 95 percent controlling interest in American Media Stock, according to the Post story.


The Chapter 11 filing is two weeks away, and the tabloid owner is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within 60 days after filing, according to the Post.  Meanwhile, Enquirer editors are keeping their fingers crossed that another John Edwards or Michael Jackson story is just around the corner.