Most people, if you dig down deep, go to the supermarket for tabloids, and not just the glossy celebrity magazines that have multiplied like gremlins in the last ten years. I mean real, honest-to-badness tabloids, the newspapers for which truth and responsibility and even reality are other people's hang-ups.
And now, the world is poorer, thanks to the news this week that American Media will cease publication of one of the great pieces of trash this country has ever produced: the Weekly World News. (Read more about it here and here.)
Published since 1979, the WWN has staunchly refused, for the most part, to tell us about Lindsay or Paris or Britney, instead opting for stories about aliens, Satan, giant pigs rampaging through the Georgia woods, Nostradamus-like prophets, time travel, and, of course, Bat Boy. In an increasingly frightening world, the Weekly World News provided regular -- you might even say weekly -- respite in the form of pedal-to-the-metal stupidity. It's too bad that WWN didn't break the story of its own demise, because then we would know that it wasn't true.
[Ben Greenman's acclaimed new book of fiction, A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both, is now available. Order it here.]
Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 12)
91. Now why doesn't Ben Greenman explain why American Media is axing Weekly World News? What will they publish instead? What will happen to the Weekly World News staff? C'mon Ben, enquiring minds want to know.
Frank George at 4:07PM on Jul 24th 2007
92. At one point I was an avid tabloid reader, and the WWN was one of the ones I enjoyed most. The writing was creative enough to make many of the stories believable, and the other features were lots of fun. I enjoyed Ed Anger, Dottie, the Sabaks, and, of course, Bat Boy. I am going to go out tomorrow and try to find one last copy for posterity; just like the equally venerated Life magazine, also gone recently and too soon.
Jon at 4:11PM on Jul 24th 2007
93. http://www.geocities.com/peteargiro/welfare.html
I wrote for this newspaper and am proud of it Especially the piece I wrote about Ozzie Ozbourne adopting the Bat Boy and the Who Wants To Be A Welfare Recepient. Hey $800/for a cover story ain't a bad deal. But truly YES the stories were made up. Even the ones I wrote! Except the one about John Gotti appearing in Giuliani's pizza pie
Nanci Meek at 4:10PM on Jul 24th 2007
94. I've always favored "I chopped up a liberal and sprinkled them on my salad".....
twann9852 at 4:46PM on Jul 24th 2007
95. I can't believe it. I remember the cover: Woman's Breasts Explode After 5 Hours in Tanning Booth. I was a regular subscriber for years (until they switched editors in '04 was it?) I'll re-up my subscription forever if WWN stays. It's become an American staple of humor and writing. Oh , and Brynn, YOU get a life.
Jim at 4:15PM on Jul 24th 2007
96. If all these rags folded I'd be thrilled. But then again...what would I use to start the campfire?
Nancy at 4:23PM on Jul 24th 2007
97. My favorite headline?
"Weekly World News To Fold"!!!!!
I say, good riddance to bad garbage.
I can't believe people paid good money for this trash.
They should have printed every issue on toilet paper, because each one is so full of SHIT!!!!
Joel Lafargue at 4:23PM on Jul 24th 2007
98. life is over as we now know it.....who will now warn us of aliens attacking D.C.,monsters from deep lagoons, and our children being taken over by alien invaders? Oh, woe!!!!!!
Laurie at 1:31PM on Jul 25th 2007
99. I will miss this tabloid. It's headlines were so special that they were even the subject of satire. To wit, "ERIC ESTRADA -- Aliens Fixed My Teeth" (sic)
Michael Sacher at 4:27PM on Jul 24th 2007
100. But seriously, wasn't this the rag that got the anthrax mailed to it shortly after 911? Maybe Bush was pissed off at them for something they wrote about Jenna being a virgin or something...
Alex Hamilton at 4:28PM on Jul 24th 2007
101. Where will I get my favorite Crossword puzzle from? Some of the news may have been hokey, but at least it was entertaining, not cheapp, like the other tabloids.
Steve Wilbar at 4:38PM on Jul 24th 2007
102. I will miss the WWN too. My favorite articles concerned chimps. The "Gay chimp has hots for circus dwarf" article was hilarious.
jaycee at 4:42PM on Jul 24th 2007
103. My favorite was JFK WAS AT WIFE'S FUNERAL and on the cover it showed a White Haired JFK in a wheelchair.
BTW Sara that fattest women that sat on her cat the women was probably Aretha Franklin
Charlesvolcher6 at 4:38PM on Jul 24th 2007
104. Best article in the mid 1980's ...
"I was Raped by a Female Bigfoot"...It almost read like a steamy romance novel..
DPTRON at 4:40PM on Jul 24th 2007
105. I remember seeing the headline "ALIEN INVASION IMMENENT" and I kicked myself for not buying it. Now that is a HEADLINE. Also "SATAN ESCAPES FROM HELL" with a great picture, a whole series with a guy in an alien suit checking out various political candidates,and really, too many to write.
The world is a poored place, indeed. My trip to the drugstore will never be the same.
Michael Vogelmann at 10:45PM on Jul 24th 2007