122-481: The Weekly World News is a tabloid 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 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
244-592: A Burger King restaurant. When the U.S. Postal Service conducted a poll to determine the design of the Elvis commemorative postage stamp , the WWN 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 Elvis was now "really dead" from heart failure after slipping into
366-527: A Republican presidential candidate in 1988, when it narrowly went for George H. W. Bush . As of May 31, 2024, the county had a Democratic Party plurality, with large Republican and independent minorities. Alachua County is administered by the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, a five-member legislative body. The Constitutional county-wide elected officials include the Clerk of
488-508: A comic 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 a bikini 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
610-406: A giant mutant hog monster attacking Georgia and the arrest of a Tallahassee, Florida , man whose pants were on fire at the time. It reported on the discovery of an infant dragon preserved in formaldehyde proving the existence of dragons, although this was later proven to be a hoax. It also quoted Vatican exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth on Pope John Paul II 's battles with Satan and ran a story on
732-464: A broadsheet. Its sister publication, Meia Hora has always been a tabloid, but in slightly smaller format than O Dia and Lance! . The more recent usage of the term 'tabloid' refers to weekly or semi-weekly newspapers in tabloid format. Many of these are essentially straightforward newspapers, publishing in tabloid format, because subway and bus commuters prefer to read smaller-size newspapers due to lack of space. These newspapers are distinguished from
854-444: A cliff, or hanging off a tree branch for four days until they were rescued." The introduction to Batboy Lives! states that one person would read the tabloid for real news, whereas another would read it for the humor. The tabloid's main rival Sun carried a fine print disclaimer, whereas the WWN never publicly contradicted the accuracy of its own stories until 2004, when it began stating that "the reader should suspend disbelief for
976-458: A crowded commuter bus or train . The term compact was coined in the 1970s by the Daily Mail , one of the earlier newspapers to make the change, although it now once again calls itself a tabloid. The purpose behind this was to avoid the association of the word tabloid with the flamboyant, salacious editorial style of the red top newspaper. The early converts from broadsheet format made
1098-833: A dedicated Mumbai tabloid newspaper, Mumbai Mirror , which gives prominence to Mumbai-related stories and issues. Tehelka started as a news portal in 2000. It broke the story about match-fixing in Indian and International Cricket and the sting operation on defence deals in the Indian Army. In 2007, it closed shop and reappeared in tabloid form, and has been appreciated for its brand of investigative journalism. Other popular tabloid newspapers in English media are Mid-Day , an afternoon newspaper published out of and dedicated to Mumbai and business newspapers like MINT . There are numerous tabloids in most of India's official languages. There
1220-668: A department of the Gainesville municipal government in 1949. It was not until 1953 and opening of the Carver Branch Library that the city's African Americans had access to a library, as public facilities were still segregated. The Carver Branch closed in 1969, after the main library's desegregation. In 1958, the city of Gainesville and Alachua County agreed to jointly operate the library for the county. Branch libraries opened in High Springs, Hawthorne, and Micanopy
1342-413: A diabetic coma. In a 2004 Washington Post article on Clontz's death, humorist Gene Weingarten claimed that he and Dave Barry were the sources of the story. According to Weingarten, the WWN later reported that claims of Elvis' (belated) death had been a hoax. In an earlier telling of his story, Weingarten varied some details. Numerous stories regarding shockingly obese people made the pages of WWN ,
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#17327917906291464-636: A force of more than 100 volunteers from Georgia led by Colonel Daniel Newnan encountered a band of Alachua Seminole led by King Payne near Newnans Lake . After several days of intermittent fighting, Colonel Newnan's force withdrew. King Payne was wounded in the fight and died two months later. The Alachua Seminole then left Payne's Town and moved farther west and south, but other bands of Seminole moved in. A second American expedition in 1813 of U. S. Army troops and militia from Tennessee, led by Lt. Colonel Thomas Adams Smith , found some Seminoles, killing about 20, and burned every Seminole village they could find in
1586-439: A former copy editor at small newspapers. In the 2000s, the circulation of WWN 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. The editor-in-chief since August 2019 has been D'Alessandro. The WWN traditionally claimed that it always printed
1708-591: A half-bat half-boy discovered in West Virginia caverns, and P'lod , an extraterrestrial who became involved in Earth politics and had an affair with Hillary Clinton . Regular columns included Ed 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
1830-426: A hardcover collection of Bagge's strips. "SpyCat", created by Dick Siegel, was drawn by Ernie 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 by Mike Collins and
1952-446: A high-speed chase, fought in the war on terror, led the troops to capture Saddam Hussein , bitten Santa Claus , and traveled into outer space. In 2000, he gave his endorsement to Al 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
2074-470: A median income of $ 42,865, versus $ 36,351 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 25,172; 23.6% of the population was living below the poverty line . As of 2010 , 86.43% of the population spoke English as their primary language , while Spanish was spoken by 6.38%, 1.18% spoke Chinese , 0.57% were speakers of Korean , and 0.52% spoke French as their native language . The Alachua County School District and its 47 institutions serve
2196-475: A money quote." In February 1989, WWN published real, graphic photos on its front page of the post-autopsied body of executed serial killer Ted Bundy . Managing editor Eddie Clontz defended his decision to run the photos, claiming that he hoped that such images would deter other murderers. Angry and surprised officials in Florida vowed to catch the person responsible, eventually arresting a low-level employee of
2318-464: 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 by WWN is the reemergence of many prominent figures believed to be deceased, including Hank Williams , Marilyn Monroe , John F. Kennedy , Adolf Hitler , and Michael Jackson . Survivors of the Titanic and Hindenburg were also occasionally featured. Among
2440-538: A newspaper for the British Columbia market. The Canadian publisher Black Press publishes newspapers in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta in both tabloid ( 10 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (260 mm) wide by 14 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (368 mm) deep) and what it calls "tall tab" format, where the latter is 10 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (260 mm) wide by 16 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (413 mm) deep, larger than tabloid but smaller than
2562-522: 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." The subject of space aliens endorsing U.S. presidential candidates in various elections
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#17327917906292684-557: Is Bulgar , but some are written in English, like the People's Journal and Tempo . Like their common journalistic connotations, Philippine tabloids usually report sensationalist crime stories and celebrity gossip, and some tabloids feature topless photos of girls. Several tabloids are vernacular counterparts of English broadsheet newspapers by the same publisher, like Pilipino Star Ngayon ( The Philippine Star ), Bandera ( Philippine Daily Inquirer ), and Balita ( Manila Bulletin ). In
2806-748: Is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida . As of the 2020 census , the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville , the home of the University of Florida . The first people known to have entered the area of Alachua County were Paleo-Indians , who left artifacts in the Santa Fe River basin before 8000 BC. Artifacts from the Archaic period (8000 - 2000 BC) have been found at several sites in Alachua County. Permanent settlements appeared in what
2928-601: Is a short-story collection that used headlines from the Weekly 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.” In 1999, the Weekly World News was declared the "Official Newspaper of the Windows 2000 Team" at Microsoft , and its Senior Vice President, Brian Valentine , would read excerpts from it at what
3050-525: Is an all youth tabloid by the name of TILT – The ILIKE Times. In Indonesia, tabloids include Bola, GO (Gema Olahraga, defunct), Soccer (defunct), Fantasy (defunct), Buletin Sinetron (defunct), Pro TV (defunct), Citra (defunct), Genie , Bintang Indonesia (Indonesian Stars) , Nyata , Wanita Indonesia (Women of Indonesia), Cek and Ricek , and Nova . In Oman, TheWeek is a free, 48-page, all-colour, independent weekly published from Muscat in
3172-532: Is circulated mostly among blue-collar labourers . Compact tabloids, just like broadsheet - and Berliner -format newspapers, span the political spectrum from progressive to conservative and from capitalist to socialist . In Morocco , Maroc Soir , launched in November 2005, is published in tabloid format. In South Africa , the Bloemfontein-based daily newspaper Volksblad became
3294-583: Is emailed to subscribers biweekly. The online edition closely resembles the printed Weekly World News in both appearance (it uses the Weekly 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 a paywall . An initial limit was set at three free article views, though select content remained unmetered. In August 2019, Greg D'Alessandro took over as CEO/Editor-In-Chief with David Collins as President/CFO. They relaunched
3416-404: Is land and 94 square miles (240 km ) (9.7%) is water. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 278,468 people, 101,979 households, and 50,803 families residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 247,336 people, 100,516 households, and 53,500 families residing in the county. There were 112,766 housing units in the county, an occupancy rate of 89.1%; of
3538-477: Is largely of editorial style; both red top and compact tabloids span the width of the political spectrum from socialism to capitalist conservatism , although red-top tabloids, on account of their historically working-class target market, generally embrace populism to some degree. Red top tabloids are so named due to their tendency, in British and Commonwealth usage, to have their mastheads printed in red ink;
3660-449: Is now Suwannee County . In the twentieth-century, anthropologist J. Clarence Simpson assumed the named springs were in fact sinkholes . The Spanish later called the interior of Florida west of the St. Johns River Tierras de la Chua , which became "Alachua Country" in English. Around 1740, a band of Oconee people led by Ahaya , who was called "Cowkeeper" by the English, settled on what
3782-696: Is now Alachua County around 100 AD, as people of the wide-ranging Deptford culture developed the local Cades Pond culture . The Cades Pond culture gave way to the Alachua culture around 600 AD. The Timucua -speaking Potano tribe lived in the Alachua culture area in the 16th century, when the Spanish entered Florida. The Potano were incorporated by the colonists in the Spanish mission system , but new infectious diseases, rebellion, and raids by tribes backed by
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3904-612: Is now Payne's Prairie. Ahaya's band became known as the Alachua Seminole. In 1774, botanist William Bartram visited Ahaya's town, Cuscowilla , near what Bartram called the Alachua Savanna. King Payne , who succeeded Ahaya as chief of the Alachua Seminole, established a new town known as Payne's Town. In 1812, during the Patriot War of East Florida , an attempt by American adventurers to seize Spanish Florida,
4026-604: Is the site of five closed landfills—Southwest Landfill, Southeast Landfill, Northwest Landfill, Northeast Landfill, and Northeast Auxiliary Landfill. Since 1999, all solid waste from Alachua County has been hauled to the New River Solid Waste Facility in Raiford , in neighboring Union County . Alachua County had a number of populated places, usually with a post office, established in the 19th century or early 20th century, but which were abandoned or had
4148-651: The Boston Herald . US tabloids that ceased publication include Denver's Rocky Mountain News . In Australia , tabloids include The Advertiser , the Herald Sun , The Sun-Herald , The Daily Telegraph , The Courier Mail , The West Australian , The Mercury , the Hamilton Spectator , The Portland Observer , The Casterton News and The Melbourne Observer . In Argentina , one of
4270-532: The Daily Star and the Daily Mirror . Although not using red mastheads, the Daily Mail and Daily Express also use the 'tabloid journalism' model. In contrast to red-top tabloids, compacts use an editorial style more closely associated with broadsheet newspapers. In fact, most compact tabloids formerly used the broadsheet paper size, but changed to accommodate reading in tight spaces, such as on
4392-994: The New York Post , the Daily News and Newsday in New York, the San Francisco Examiner , The Bakersfield Californian and La Opinión in California , The Jersey Journal and The Trentonian in New Jersey, the Philadelphia Daily News , the Delaware County Daily Times and The Citizens' Voice , The Burlington Free Press , The Oregonian , the Chicago Sun-Times , and
4514-558: The Alachua County, Florida Medical Examiner's office and charging him with taking the photographs and selling them to the WWN . As other supermarket tabloids switched to celebrity gossip, the Weekly 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 and Enquirer editor-in-chief from 1973 to 1997, told Mental Floss : "We'd say Elvis
4636-607: The Berliner format (2008–2013) and now adopts a compact format with 32 pages during the week and 48 pages on Saturday. In Bangladesh , the Daily Manab Zamin became the first and is now the largest circulated Bengali language tabloid in the world. In Georgia , the weekly English-language newspaper The Financial switched to a compact format in 2005 and doubled the number of pages in each issue. Other Georgian-language newspapers have tested compact formats in
4758-622: The Garden of Eden (claimed by the tabloid to be in Colorado ), the discovery of additional commandments from God, and sandals worn by Jesus. The magazine also reported on when Jesus will return to Earth, and held an interview with Sisyphus when he finished his eternal boulder-hauling "workout." Other stories stated that natural disasters such as earthquakes and human economic activity like drilling for oil have opened up gates and portals to Hell from which demons have escaped to wreak havoc upon
4880-652: The Netherlands , several newspapers have started publishing tabloid versions of their newspapers, including one of the major 'quality' newspapers, NRC Handelsblad , with nrc•next (ceased 2021) in 2006. Two free tabloid newspapers were also introduced in the early 2000s, ' Metro and Sp!ts (ceased 2014), mostly for distribution in public transportation. In 2007, a third and fourth free tabloid appeared, ' De Pers ' (ceased 2012) and ' DAG ' (ceased 2008). De Telegraaf , came in broadsheet but changed to tabloid in 2014. In Norway , close to all newspapers have switched from
5002-537: The Nice Matin (or Le Dauphiné ), a popular Southern France newspaper changed from Broadsheet to Tabloid on 8 April 2006. They changed the printing format in one day after test results showed that 74% liked the Tabloid format compared to Broadsheet. But the most famous tabloid dealing with crime stories is Le Nouveau Détective , created in the early 20th century. This weekly tabloid has a national circulation. In
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5124-484: The Southern Philippines , a new weekly tabloid, The Mindanao Examiner , now includes media services, such as photography and video production, into its line as a source to finance the high cost of printing and other expenses. It is also into independent film making. The Berliner format, used by many prominent European newspapers, is sized between the tabloid and the broadsheet. In a newspaper context,
5246-488: The Suwannee River . It would be another 80 years before Alachua County was again reduced in size. In 1853, the residents of Alachua County realized that the route of the planned Florida Railroad connecting Fernandina to Cedar Key would bypass Newnansville. A general meeting at Boulware Springs was called to consider moving the county seat to a new town on the expected route of the railroad. The motion to move
5368-492: The Weekly World News in 1979 to continue using the black-and-white press that sister tabloid The National Enquirer had been printed on before it switched to color printing. The WWN 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. Eddie Clontz was its long-time editor, a 10th-grade dropout from North Carolina, and
5490-484: The Weekly 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 the Weekly 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 bought American Media Inc ., which owned the Weekly World News . Within
5612-402: The mob , gone to Hollywood , and fought DRAG-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." In 2011, IDW Publishing released
5734-492: The 1918 reference to smaller sheet newspapers that contained the condensed stories. Tabloid newspapers, especially in the United Kingdom , vary widely in their target market, political alignment, editorial style, and circulation. Thus, various terms have been coined to describe the subtypes of this versatile paper format. There are, broadly, two main types of tabloid newspaper: red top and compact . The distinction
5856-411: The 20-mile square Arredondo Grant in the southern part of what is Alachua County. By the time Florida was formally transferred from Spain to the United States, people from the United States and from Europe were settling in the area. Wanton's Store, near the site of the abandoned King Payne's Town, attracted settlers, primarily from Europe, who founded Micanopy . The 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek required
5978-640: The Alachua County Jail. The district's two bookmobiles visit more than 25 locations in the county from two to five times a month. The Alachua County Library District traces its origins to 1905, when the Twentieth Century Club in Gainesville started a subscription library. The Gainesville Public Library, a subscription library operated by the Library Association, opened in 1906. The Twentieth Century Club donated
6100-753: The Cone Park Branch in 2011. A new, permanent location for the Cone Park Branch Library opened near the Eastside Community Center in Gainesville on December 14, 2013. Like many other counties containing large state universities, Alachua County regularly supports the Democratic Party . It has voted for the Democratic candidate for president in the past eight elections. The county last supported
6222-806: The Court, the Supervisor of Elections, the Property Appraiser, the Sheriff, and the Tax Collector. The School Board and the Soil and Water Conservation District are also elected county-wide. Prior to 2024, county commissioners were elected at-large, but a ballot measure passed in 2022 created single-member district seats. The Alachua County Sheriff's Office is the chief law enforcement agency for unincorporated areas of Alachua County. As of 2023 ,
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#17327917906296344-756: The English led to severe population declines. What is now Alachua County had lost much of its indigenous population by the early 18th century. In the 17th century, Francisco Menéndez Márquez , Royal Treasurer for Spanish Florida , established the La Chua ranch on the northern side of what is now known as Payne's Prairie , on a bluff overlooking the Alachua Sink. Chua may have been the Timucua language word for sinkhole . Lieutenant Diego Peña reported in 1716 that he passed by springs named Aquilachua, Usichua, Usiparachua, and Afanochua while traveling through what
6466-541: The Historical Commission and cities to discuss how best to achieve this. A state historical marker on the Newberry Lynchings was dedicated in 2019. On February 15, 2023, the board of county commissioners for Alachua County voted to support the proposed amendment to the Florida state constitution that is entitled, Florida Right To Clean And Healthy Waters , making Alachua the first county in
6588-619: The Millhopper Branch in northwest Gainesville, the Tower Road Branch in unincorporated Alachua county southwest of Gainesville, the Library Partnership Branch in northeast Gainesville, and the Cone Park Branch in east Gainesville. The district also operates branches in the Alachua County municipalities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo, as well as a branch at
6710-490: 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
6832-455: The Seminole to move a reservation south of what is now Ocala , and the flow of settlers into the area increased. Many settlers occupied former Seminole towns, such as Hogtown . Alachua County was created by the Florida territorial legislature in 1824. The new county stretched from the border with Georgia, south to Charlotte Harbor . The original county seat was Wanton's (per the store, as
6954-583: The Sultanate of Oman. Oman's first free newspaper was launched in March 2003 and has now gone on to gather what is believed to be the largest readership for any publication in Oman. Ms Mohana Prabhakar is the managing editor of the publication. TheWeek is audited by BPA Worldwide, which has certified its circulation as being a weekly average of 50,300. In Pakistan, Khabrain is a tabloid newspaper popular within
7076-463: The United States. Other stories featured profiles on the location and nature of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction , including the news that Saddam Hussein had an arsenal of giant slingshots, the missing link, and dinosaurs . In 2003, a series of articles profiled the ongoing relationship between and eventual marriage of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden . Other stories have made claims that Bin Laden
7198-557: The area. In 1814, a group of more than 100 American settlers moved to a point believed to be near the abandoned Payne's Town (near present-day Micanopy ) and declared the establishment of the District of Elotchaway of the Republic of East Florida . The settlement collapsed a few months later after its leader, Colonel Buckner Harris, was killed by Seminole. The remaining settlers returned to Georgia. In 1817, F. M. Arredondo received
7320-401: 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 like sign language . Similar to their female counterparts, mermen are found within the pages of
7442-427: The arts. It ceased print publication in August 2007. The company has a library of 110,000+ articles and 300+ original characters. In 2009, the Weekly World News was relaunched as an online and social media publication. In July 2021, the Weekly World News announced the formation of Weekly World News Studios, to develop and produce entertainment projects based on its brand and characters. Generoso Pope Jr. launched
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#17327917906297564-467: The black working class. It sells over 500,000 copies per day, reaching approximately 3,000,000 readers. Besides offering a sometimes satirical view of the seriousness of mainstream news, the Daily Sun also covers fringe theories and paranormal claims such as tikoloshes , ancestral visions and all things supernatural. It is also published as the Sunday Sun . In Mauritius , the popular afternoon newspaper Le Mauricien shifted from tabloid (1908–2008) to
7686-443: The books from its subscription library, and the new library also received books from the library of the East Florida Seminary, which had been absorbed by the newly founded University of Florida. The Gainesville Public Library became a free library in 1918, supported by funds from city taxes from all residents, but it was available only to whites. The building was constructed with the aid of a Carnegie library grant. The library became
7808-466: The brand and began developing a number of projects with Hollywood producers. On September 21, 2020, Weekly World News launched a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to expand reporting, graphics and video production, as well as to get the tabloid back into print. 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"
7930-519: The broadsheet to the tabloid format, which measures 280 x 400 mm. The three biggest newspapers are Dagbladet , VG , and Aftenposten . In Poland , the newspaper Fakt , sometimes Super Express is considered as tabloid. In the United Kingdom, three previously broadsheet daily newspapers— The Times , The Scotsman and The Guardian —have switched to tabloid size in recent years, and two— Daily Express and Daily Mail —in former years, although The Times and The Scotsman call
8052-487: The broadsheets it also publishes. In the United States , daily tabloids date back to the founding of the New York Daily News in 1919, followed by the New York Daily Mirror , and the New York Evening Graphic in the 1920s. Competition among those three for crime, sex and celebrity news was considered a scandal to the mainstream press of the day. The tabloid format is used by a number of respected and indeed prize-winning American papers. Prominent U.S. tabloids include
8174-484: The change in the 1970s; two British papers that took this step at the time were the Daily Mail and the Daily Express . In 2003, The Independent also made the change for the same reasons, quickly followed by The Scotsman and The Times . On the other hand, The Morning Star had always used the tabloid size, but stands in contrast to both the red top papers and the former broadsheets; although The Morning Star emphasizes hard news , it embraces socialism and
8296-430: The character Bat Boy on his cover for his 2021 single Escape Plan / Mafia , with a similar tabloid named "Weekly World Truths". Tabloid (newspaper format) A tabloid is a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet . There is no standard size for this newspaper format . The word tabloid comes from the name given by the London -based pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Co. to
8418-444: The compressed tablets they marketed as "Tabloid" pills in the late 1880s. The connotation of tabloid was soon applied to other small compressed items. A 1902 item in London's Westminster Gazette noted, "The proprietor intends to give in tabloid form all the news printed by other journals." Thus tabloid journalism in 1901, originally meant a paper that condensed stories into a simplified, easily absorbed format. The term preceded
8540-463: The country's two main newspapers, Clarín , is a tabloid. In Brazil , many newspapers are tabloids, including sports daily Lance! (which circulates in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo ), most publications currently and formerly owned by Grupo RBS (especially the Porto Alegre daily Zero Hora ), and, in March 2009, Rio de Janeiro-based O Dia switched to tabloid from broadsheet, though, several years later, it reverted to being
8662-404: The county seat was hotly contested by the residents of Newnansville, but Tillman Ingram, a plantation owner in Hogtown who owned a sawmill there, offered to build a courthouse in the new town. The offer was for such as favorable price that the move was approved. At tha time, the name "Gainesville" was chosen for the new town. The county seat was moved to Gainesville in late 1856, upon completion of
8784-424: The current sheriff is Emery Gainey, a Republican appointee of Governor DeSantis. This marks the first time a Republican has controlled the sheriff's office since 2006. This appointment came as a result of Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr. resigning due to health issues. In June 2007, ten employees in the sheriff's office, including the jail's director, were either fired or resigned while being investigated. As of 2015
8906-554: The early 1990s. Tabloid journalism is still an evolving concept in India's print media. The first tabloid, Blitz was started by Russi Karanjia on February 1, 1941 with the words "Our Blitz, India's Blitz against Hitler !". Blitz was first published in English and then branched out with Hindi , Marathi and Urdu versions. In 1974, Russi's daughter Rita founded the Cine Blitz magazine. In 2005, Times of India brought out
9028-612: The earth. A story shortly after September 11, 2001 showed the face of Satan appearing in a cloud of dust caused by the collapse 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 by Kim Jong-il to eventually invade and conquer
9150-446: The entire county. Alachua County is also home to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College . The Alachua County Library District is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 250,000 citizens of Alachua County. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a library headquarters and four branches in Gainesville. These locations include
9272-410: The first serious broadsheet newspaper to switch to tabloid, but only on Saturdays. Despite the format being popular with its readers, the newspaper remains broadsheet on weekdays. This is also true of Pietermaritzburg's daily, The Witness in the province of KwaZulu-Natal . The Daily Sun , published by Naspers , has since become South Africa's biggest-selling daily newspaper and is aimed primarily at
9394-582: The format " compact " to avoid the down-market connotation of the word tabloid . Similarly, when referring to the down-market tabloid newspapers the alternative term " red-top " (referring to their traditionally red-coloured mastheads) is increasingly used, to distinguish them from the up- and middle-market compact newspapers. The Morning Star also comes in tabloid format; however, it avoids celebrity stories, and instead favours issues relating to labour unions . In Canada many newspapers of Postmedia 's Sun brand are in tabloid format including The Province ,
9516-556: The home to political satire regarding current and past presidential administrations. The magazine reported that the founding fathers were all gay and that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were actually women. According to the paper, President Lincoln was insane, and his ghost had also been spotted in the White House giving President George W. Bush advice on the war in Iraq. Stories about President George W. Bush capitalized on
9638-485: The lower middle class. This news group introduced a new paper, Naya Akhbar which is comparably more sensational. At the local level, many sensational tabloids can be seen but, unlike Khabrain or other big national newspapers, they are distributed only on local levels in districts. Tabloids in the Philippines are usually written in local languages, like Tagalog or Bisaya , one of the listed top Tagalog tabloids
9760-400: The major daily newspapers, in that they purport to offer an "alternative" viewpoint, either in the sense that the paper's editors are more locally oriented, or that the paper is editorially independent from major media conglomerates. Other factors that distinguish "alternative" weekly tabloids from the major daily newspapers are their less-frequent publication, and that they are usually free to
9882-399: The most frequently printed reports were those asserting that "Elvis is alive." The WWN frequently reported Elvis sightings with a series of articles claiming that Elvis 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
10004-414: 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
10126-484: The name Micanopy had not been adopted). In 1828, the county seat was moved to Newnansville , near the current site of the city of Alachua . As the area's population increased, Alachua County's size was reduced to organize new counties. In 1832, the county's northern part, including Newnansville, was separated to create Columbia County , forcing the county seat to move to various temporary locations, then to Spring Grove , from 1836 to 1839. In 1834, Hillsborough County
10248-480: The new Weekly World News , Serena and Sonya Sabak's psychic 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 new WWN included a weekly "Weird Picture Search" by Mad cartoonist Sergio Aragonés . Other features included Trivia, Test Yourself, Jokes, and "Miss Adventure", a.k.a. "The Gayest American Hero", who has penetrated
10370-399: The new courthouse. During the post-Reconstruction period, White Democrats regained control of the state legislature and worked to restore White supremacy. Violence against Blacks, including lynchings, rose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as Whites imposed Jim Crow and discriminatory laws, disenfranchising most blacks , which forced them out of the political system. Alachua County
10492-502: The newspapers will draw their advertising revenue from different types of businesses or services. An upmarket weekly's advertisers are often organic grocers, boutiques, and theatre companies while a downmarket's may have those of trade schools, supermarkets, and the sex industry. Both usually contain ads from local bars, auto dealers, movie theaters, and a classified ads section. Alachua County, Florida Alachua County ( / ə ˈ l æ tʃ u ə / ə- LATCH -oo-ə )
10614-621: The next two years, many of WWN' s longtime writers and editors, including Clontz, Sal Ivone, Derek Clontz, Susan Jimison, Joe Berger, Bob Lind , Dick Kulpa , and Leskie Pinson, were gone. Clontz left the paper in 2001, having been there 20 years, and died in 2004. In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2007, American Media said that sales of WWN in 2006 were only 83,000 per issue. WWN ceased its print publication in August 2007. It
10736-687: The next year, and a bookmobile was put into service. Alachua County joined with Bradford County to operate the Santa Fe Regional Library. After Bradford County withdrew from the Regional Library, the Alachua County Library District was formally established in 1986. The Millhopper and Tower Road branches opened in 1992, and the branches in Alachua, Archer, Newberry, and Waldo were all opened by 1997. The Library Partnership Branch opened in 2009, and
10858-409: The occupied units, 54,768 (54.5%) were owner-occupied and 45,748 (45.5%) were renter-occupied. The population density was 282.91 per square mile (109.23/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 172,156 (69.9%) White, 50,282 (20.3%) Black or African American, 906 (0.3%) Native American, 13,235 (5.4%) Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 20,752 (8.4%) of
10980-663: The ozone. A Roswell crash survivor, "Altair Bob," made contact with WWN 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, fighting Bigfoot, 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 in WWN , has been known to fraternize with known women of politics. It
11102-435: The personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news . Celebrity gossip columns which appear in red top tabloids and focus on their sexual practices , misuse of narcotics , and the private aspects of their lives often border on, and sometimes cross the line of defamation . Red tops tend to be written with a simplistic, straightforward vocabulary and grammar; their layout usually gives greater prominence to
11224-460: The picture than to the word. The writing style of red top tabloids is often accused of sensationalism and extreme political bias; red tops have been accused of deliberately igniting controversy and selectively reporting on attention-grabbing stories, or those with shock value . In the extreme case, tabloids have been accused of lying or misrepresenting the truth to increase circulation. Examples of British red top newspapers include The Sun ,
11346-477: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 100,516 households, 22.0% included children under the age of 18, 36.4% included a married husband and wife couple, 4.0% had a male head of house with no wife present, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 24.8% of all households included at least one child under the age of 18, and 19.6% included at least one member 65 years of age or older. The average household size
11468-482: The public's perception that he lacked intelligence . The paper chronicled his plans to run for pope, his love affair with Janet Reno , and his intention to nominate Yoda as secretary of defense. The June 21, 2004, issue stated that Vice President Dick Cheney was actually a robot and that his frequent trips to the hospital allowed him to rewire his circuits. Aliens are another subject frequently tackled by WWN . Weekly World News blamed these creatures for holes in
11590-543: The sake of enjoyment." In the 2000s, Sun moved more toward articles on health and miracle cures, leaving WWN alone in its niche of supernatural news stories, such as sightings of Elvis Presley and the Loch Ness monster . Thus, for a significant percentage of its content, the WWN ran strange-but-true stories, such as "DEVOUT CHRISTIAN ATTACKED – AND HE'S THE ONE FINED!" referring to British street evangelist Harry Hammond . Other verifiable stories included those of
11712-596: The sheriff's office had at least one Lenco BearCat armored vehicle and two helicopters provided by the federal government under various programs. The office received criticism after the BearCat was used in a routine traffic stop. On August 9, 2021, a prison inmate, Erica Thompson, gave birth while being held in Alachua County Jail. Her baby died. Despite the mother's screams, jail staff did not provide or call for medical assistance. An investigation held that law enforcement did not violate any law or policy. Alachua County
11834-469: The state to lend its support for adoption of the proposed amendment. The proposed amendment is the subject of a statewide, nonpartisan campaign to place adoption of it before all Florida voters on the 2024 ballot. The adoption was signed into effect by its chair, Anna Prizzia, after a unanimous vote by the board. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 969 square miles (2,510 km ), of which 875 square miles (2,270 km )
11956-409: The story. One, William S. Cohen of Maine, told the mainstream press, "It is preferable to be a space alien than a space cadet." 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
12078-521: The term Berliner is generally used only to describe size, not to refer to other qualities of the publication. The biggest tabloid (and newspaper in general) in Europe, by circulation, is Germany's Bild , with around 2.5 million copies (down from above 5 million in the 1980s). Although its paper size is bigger, its style was copied from the British tabloids. In Denmark , tabloids in the British sense are known as 'formiddagsblade' (before-noon newspapers),
12200-445: The term compact was coined to avoid the connotation of the word tabloid , which implies a red top tabloid, and has lent its name to tabloid journalism , which is journalism after the fashion of red top reporters. Red top tabloids, named after their distinguishing red mastheads , employ a form of writing known as tabloid journalism ; this style emphasizes features such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about
12322-512: The time?" David Byrne: "Yeah, they were all from Weekly World News . They weren't really in the [National] Enquirer ." In January 1996, a satirical comedy series inspired by Weekly World News premiered on the USA Network , and was hosted by longtime journalist Edwin Newman . The series was canceled after one season. Tabloid Dreams (1996) by Pulitzer-winning author [Robert Olen Butler]
12444-425: The trademark dispute between O, The Oprah Magazine and a German erotic periodical also named O . Whether partially fictional or wholly true, the writing style remained as fact-based as possible. As writer Bob Lind recalled for Mental 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
12566-502: The truth, but many stories appeared to have comedic intent – more so as time went by. As recalled by Joe Berger, a former White House correspondent who served as a WWN 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
12688-512: The two biggest being BT and Ekstra Bladet . The old more serious newspaper Berlingske Tidende shifted from broadsheet to tabloid format in 2006, while keeping the news profile intact. In Finland , the biggest newspaper and biggest daily subscription newspaper in the Nordic countries Helsingin Sanomat changed its size from broadsheet to tabloid on 8 January 2013. In France ,
12810-487: The user, since they rely on ad revenue. Alternative weekly tabloids may concentrate on local and neighbourhood-level issues, and on entertainment in bars, theatres, or other such venues. Alternative tabloids can be positioned as upmarket (quality) newspapers, to appeal to the better-educated, higher-income sector of the market; as middle-market (popular); or as downmarket (sensational) newspapers, which emphasize sensational crime stories and celebrity gossip. In each case,
12932-557: The victims were Black; two were White. (A 2015 report by the Equal Justice Initiative , based in Montgomery, Alabama, had identified 18 lynchings. The Historical Commission documented three more, including two white men.) In September 2017, the county commission approved plans to place markers with the names of the victims in the county. (See linked article for names of these individuals.) They are working with
13054-460: The world by storm on various covers (e.g. Abominable Beachman strikes terror in Hawaii! and Bigfoot Steals Race Car!!!! ) including the aforementioned 'Bat Boy'. The existence of mermen and mermaids is also frequently reported in the pages of the Weekly World News . One detailed article recounted a mermaid being caught in a fishing net off the coast of Florida on April 17, 2004. According to
13176-404: Was "just weeks away." Because of this, Texas oil tycoons were planning to flee to Luxembourg , 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 and Satanism . Another typical Weekly World News topic was new Bible-related findings, including relics from Noah's Ark ,
13298-458: Was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91. The demographic spread showed 17.9% under the age of 18 and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older; 48.4% of the population identified as male and 51.6% as female. The median age was 30.1 years. The five year American Community Survey completed 2011 gave a median household income of $ 41,473 (inflation indexed to 2011 dollars) and a median family income of $ 63,435. Male full-time year round workers had
13420-521: 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. Beginning on May 9, 2005, the Weekly World News went "All New" along with other tabloid papers such as the National Enquirer , which had become "Bigger • Bolder • Better." In
13542-596: Was a spinoff from the "SOS Matthew Daemon (Seeker of Obscure Supernaturals)" feature. Daemon's lair was located beneath Grant'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. Bat Boy was first featured in a 1992 issue after being found in a cave in West Virginia ( Lost World Caverns ). He has since led police on
13664-504: Was actually a dwarf , that he recruited a cloned Adolf Hitler to join Al 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 his sex change operation . WWN has often been
13786-485: Was also a recurring topic. During the 2000 U.S. presidential election , then-candidate George W. Bush posed for photographers with a Weekly World News issue opened to the article reading, "Space Alien Backs Bush for President!". Cryptids and half-animal half-human hybrids are another frequent topic of Weekly World News . Creatures such as Bigfoot, merpeople, real-life catwomen, half- alligator half-humans, frog babies, kangaroo women, and many other creatures have taken
13908-496: Was also featured in the Supernatural , season 2 episode "Tall Tales". Disney Channel 's paranormal/supernatural-themed animated show Gravity Falls features a reference to Bat Boy in the show's intro. Shion Takeuchi and Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch , executive producers of Inside Job , said they were inspired by pages of the publication. Rapper Travis Scott parodies the Weekly World News and references
14030-462: Was called Windows Information Meetings, or WIMs, while attempting to entertain and encourage the developers, testers, program managers, and writers involved. A parody of the Weekly World News called “The World” was featured in the 1997 film Men in Black as "The best damn investigative journalism in the country." A publication that told the truth because it was 'a free country.' Weekly World News
14152-524: Was created, which included the area around Tampa Bay down to Charlotte Harbor. In 1839, that part of Columbia County south of the Santa Fe River was returned to Alachua County, and Newnansville was restored as the county seat. Hernando County was created in 1843 from that part of Alachua County south of the Withlacoochee River ; Marion County was created in 1844; and Levy County was created in 1846 from that part of Alachua County west of
14274-459: 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 coming Great 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
14396-463: Was printed as a limited special edition (5,000 copies). On July 31, 2024, it was reported by the web site Deadline that Netflix was developing a Bat Boy live-action television series. Articles from Weekly World News were a primary inspiration for David Byrne 's 1986 film True Stories as reported by Rolling Stone magazine: "Your big inspiration for the movie was reading headlines in tabloids. Were you mostly reading Weekly World News at
14518-626: Was reported that he and Hillary Clinton once had a close relationship that ended up in a brawl between him and President Bill Clinton , who went on a jealous rage. After P'Lod left Hillary Clinton, he expressed a lot of interest in Condoleezza 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"
14640-715: 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." Derrik Lang, a stringer for the paper, said that "everything in my stories was fake – you know, depending on how you define fake." Common WWN 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 in WWN news stories, most famously Bat Boy ,
14762-478: Was the site of 21 documented lynchings between 1891 and 1926. The first three documented lynchings, in Gainesville in 1891, involved two Black men and a White man, who were associated with the notorious Harmon Murray . Ten lynchings took place in Newberry , six of them in a mass lynching there in 1916 . These lynchings were conducted outside the justice system, by mobs or small groups working alone. Nineteen of
14884-493: Was then published as an insert within the Sun magazine, with new material being printed alongside articles and columns from older issues, until Sun itself ceased publication in 2012. In October 2008, Bat Boy L.L.C. , a company started by Neil McGinness, bought WWN . It was relaunched as an online-only publication in 2009. In January 2011, the Weekly World News was made available via an online paid subscription. The online edition
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