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32-529: Known for its old-school tabloid irreverence and in-your-face reporting style, the publication operates under the motto of "No Fear, No Favour". Strategic targets that the Special sets its sights on include the corporate establishment, big brother government and miscarriages of justice. The magazine runs regular investigative features such as "School Time Confidential", trend stories in Fad Forecast and

64-665: A continuation of the Ripsaw "without the articles objected to by Commissioner Tischer." On June 1, 1931, the "gag law" was found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court , in what is considered to be the first and most important freedom of the press decision in U.S. history. The Ripsaw returned in January 1999. Brad Nelson and Cord R. Dada published a monthly scandal sheet similar to Morrison's original Ripsaw . Its first lead story, "Dotygate," accused Duluth Mayor Gary Doty and his administration of various crimes associated with

96-553: A morning radio prank gone wrong involving pizzas, George Wendt and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission . This article about a Canadian newspaper is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Toronto -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tabloid journalism Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism which takes its name from

128-566: A sheriff from Walker, Minnesota (the county seat of Cass County) on charges of criminal libel brought by Jamison. Morrison was sentenced to 90 days in the Cass County jail, but raised bail and returned to Duluth pending appeal. While Morrison was held in Cass County, Power instigated criminal and civil libel actions, claiming the October 25 Ripsaw article was written for the sole purpose of injuring him politically. The Duluth police held

160-498: A significant turning point in the relations between celebrities and tabloid journalism, increasing the willingness of celebrities to sue for libel in the U.S., and somewhat dampening the recklessness of U.S. tabloids. Other celebrities have attempted to sue tabloid magazines for libel and slander including Phil McGraw in 2016 and Richard Simmons in 2017. Tabloids may pay for stories . Besides scoops meant to be headline stories, this can be used to censor stories damaging to

192-515: A warrant for Morrison's arrest pending his release from the Cass County jail. A jury in Hibbing, Minnesota , found him guilty, and he was sentenced to 90 days in the county workhouse. He immediately appealed. Later, Morrison was ordered to make a public apology to Power. The charges against him were dropped and his sentence rescinded. Later that month, Morrison pleaded guilty to the charges of criminal libel brought by Jamison. The most powerful blow to

224-609: Is credited with authorship. The Public Nuisance Bill of 1925 was approved by the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives . It allowed a single judge, without jury, to stop a newspaper or magazine from publishing, forever. Governor Theodore Christianson signed the Public Nuisance Law, but Morrison was unaware of this change. On April 6, 1926, the Ripsaw attacked Minneapolis Mayor George Emerson Leach: "Minnesotans do not want loose-love governor." In

256-821: The Daily Mirror , and the Daily Record . In the early 21st century, much of tabloid journalism and news production changed mediums to online formats. This change is to keep up with the era of digital media and allow for increased accessibility of readers. With a steady decline in paid newspapers , the gap has been filled by expected free daily articles, mostly in the tabloid format. Tabloid readers are often youths, and studies show that consumers of tabloids are on average less educated. It can often depict inaccurate news and misrepresent individuals and situations. Ripsaw (newspaper) Ripsaw (sometimes called Rip-Saw , RipSaw or The Duluth Rip-Saw )

288-589: The Ripsaw and leaving Brad Nelson as the majority owner and sole publisher of the paper. Within a few months, Lundgren was dismissed and Nelson became editor/publisher. The last weekly issue was published on Dec. 31, 2003. Three months later, the Ripsaw returned to monthly status, this time as a full-color magazine edited by Tony Dierckins. It lasted 10 issues before reverting to newsprint for its final three issues, which were published every other month, ending in September 2005. Barrett Chase and Scott Lunt founded

320-816: The Ripsaw . He also editorialized in favor of streetcars, public toilets and higher pay for policemen. During the Ripsaw 's first year, Duluth Chief of Police Robert McKercher and City Auditor "King" Odin Halden were both ousted from their positions after being labeled crooked in the Ripsaw . Microfilm copies of the Ripsaw are located in the Duluth Public Library and in the Library of the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, for researchers interested in reading specific articles from

352-718: The supermarket checkout lines. In the 1960s, the National Enquirer began selling magazines in supermarkets as an alternative to newsstands. To help with their rapport with supermarkets and continue their franchise within them, they had offered to buy back unsold issues so newer, more up to date ones could be displayed. These tabloids—such as the Globe and the National Enquirer —often use aggressive tactics to sell their issues. Unlike regular tabloid-format newspapers, supermarket tabloids are distributed through

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384-403: The tabloid newspaper format : a small-sized newspaper also known as half broadsheet . The size became associated with sensationalism, and tabloid journalism replaced the earlier label of yellow journalism and scandal sheets . Not all newspapers associated with tabloid journalism are tabloid size, and not all tabloid-size newspapers engage in tabloid journalism; in particular, since around

416-482: The "Great Family Journal" came in the summer of 1925. Senator Boylan, who, according to the Oct. 25, 1924 Ripsaw , had threatened to kill Morrison, was trying to have the paper shut down. He worked with Rep. George Lommen to draft several bills allowing suppression of scandalous newspapers. Sen. Freyling Stevens, a powerful lawyer, introduced the senate version of what would become known as the "Minnesota gag law," for which he

448-505: The "head sawyer" of the "Great Family Journal." The Ripsaw began shortly after St. Louis County outlawed the sale of alcohol. When Superior , Wisconsin , followed a few months later with its own voter-instituted prohibition, the Twin Ports were nominally dry, but alcohol was available at bootleg outlets and in townships nearby. Local politicians and police did little to enforce the prohibition, and Morrison ridiculed them for it in

480-490: The Phoenix Building. Morrison produced the Ripsaw almost entirely by himself. Three known helpers were stenographer Alice B. Bartlett, a cartoonist who signed his work "Webster," and Isadore Cohen, a pre-teenaged newsboy who hawked papers in front of the old St. Louis County State Bank. Other writers were also periodically featured, but the vast majority of the work was always done by Morrison, who called himself

512-568: The award-winning photocomic Screwed . The Special houses famed Toronto celebrity columnist Clammy J. Byner, ex- Navy SEAL Izzy Stern, Mentalist Mysterion the Mind Reader , Cam Gordon's Off the Radar and sexpert Polly Roxxhoff. Magazine segments are regularly featured on SpecialFM in Toronto. The segments were originally hosted by DJs Mad Dug and Anthony Anderson until they were fired due to

544-512: The charges of graft were untrue and he demanded that the Ripsaw be stopped. The Finnish Publishing Company, which printed the Ripsaw , was also named in the injunction, and news dealers and newsboys were barred from distributing the paper. Morrison's trial was set for May 15, 1926. Morrison did not appear in court, as he had fallen ill. On May 18, 1926, Morrison was rushed to St. Francis Hospital in Superior at around 1 a.m. Nine hours later, he

576-584: The demolition of buildings on East First Street to make way for construction of the Duluth Technology Village. The Ripsaw became a weekly publication on April 5, 2000. Paul Lundgren was hired as managing editor and the paper was transformed into an alternative news, arts and entertainment source. One year later, it was accepted into the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies . While Morrison's original Ripsaw fought for temperance,

608-404: The history of U.S. supermarket tabloids was the successful libel lawsuit by Carol Burnett against the National Enquirer ( Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer, Inc. ), arising out of a false 1976 report in the National Enquirer , implying she was drunk and boisterous in a public encounter with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger . Though its impact is widely debated, it is generally seen as

640-562: The lurid and profane, sometimes used to grind political, ideological, or personal axes, sometimes to make money (because "scandal sells"), and sometimes for extortion. A Duluth, Minnesota example was the Rip-saw , written by a fundamentalist journalist named John L. Morrison who was outraged by the vice and corruption he observed in that 1920s mining town. Rip-saw regularly published accusations of drunkenness, debauchery, and corruption against prominent citizens and public officials. Morrison

672-468: The magazine distribution channel like other weekly magazines and mass-market paperback books. Leading examples include the National Enquirer , Star , Weekly World News (later reinvented as a parody of the style), and the Sun . Most major supermarket tabloids in the U.S. are published by American Media, Inc. , including the National Enquirer , Star , Globe , and National Examiner . A major event in

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704-624: The new Ripsaw reveled in the exploits of Slim Goodbuzz, who wrote a "Barfly on the Wall" column. The comic strip "Violet Days," by Chris Monroe , which is now featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Duluth News Tribune , first appeared in the Ripsaw reincarnation. Co-publisher Cord R. Dada sold the majority of his ownership in the paper to Brad Nelson's brother Tim Nelson in April 2001, relieving himself of all duties at

736-701: The new law could be used to shut down Rip-saw . The Saturday Press was another Minnesota scandal sheet. When the Public Nuisance Bill of 1925 was used to shut down The Saturday Press , the case made its way to the United States Supreme Court which found the gag law to be unconstitutional. In the United States and Canada, "supermarket tabloids" are large, national versions of these tabloids, usually published weekly. They are named for their prominent placement along

768-539: The next issue, Duluth Commissioner of Public Utilities W. Harlow Tischer was the target: "Tischer and his gang fail to establish graft plan." Morrison was served with a warrant for his arrest based on a complaint from Leach under an obscene-literature ordinance recently rushed through the Minneapolis City Council . The next day, a temporary restraining order was placed on the Ripsaw by State District Judge H. J. Grannis of Duluth. Tischer claimed that

800-466: The paper's allies. Known as " catch and kill ", tabloid newspapers may pay someone for the exclusive rights to a story, then choose not to run it. Publisher American Media has been accused of burying stories embarrassing to Arnold Schwarzenegger , Donald Trump , and Harvey Weinstein . The term "red tops" refers to British tabloids with red mastheads , such as The Sun , the Daily Star ,

832-411: The paper. The Ripsaw' s decline began with the October 25, 1924 issue. Morrison accused State Senator Mike Boylan of threatening him with mayhem and death, Cass County Probate Judge Bert Jamison of having acquired syphilis at a brothel and Victor L. Power, a former mayor of Hibbing , of corrupt legal practices and a weakness for women and whiskey. All three retaliated. Morrison was arrested by

864-647: The precursors to tabloid journalism. Around 1770, scandal sheets appeared in London, and in the United States as early as the 1840s. Reverend Henry Bate Dudley was the editor of one of the earliest scandal sheets, The Morning Post , which specialized in printing malicious society gossip , selling positive mentions in its pages, and collecting suppression fees to keep stories unpublished. Other Georgian era scandal sheets were Theodore Hook 's John Bull , Charles Molloy Westmacott 's The Age , and Barnard Gregory 's The Satirist . William d'Alton Mann , owner of

896-584: The scandal sheet Town Topics , explained his purpose: "My ambition is to reform the Four Hundred by making them too deeply disgusted with themselves to continue their silly, empty way of life." Many scandal sheets in the U.S. were short-lived attempts at blackmail . One of the most popular in the U.S. was the National Police Gazette . Scandal sheets in the early 20th century were usually 4- or 8-page cheap papers specializing in

928-503: The year 2000 many broadsheet newspapers converted to the more compact tabloid format . In some cases, celebrities have successfully sued tabloids for libel , demonstrating that their stories have defamed them. Publications engaging in tabloid journalism are also known as rag newspapers or simply rags . Tabloid journalism has changed in the 21st century to more online platforms that seek to target and engage youth consumers with celebrity news and entertainment . Scandal sheets were

960-680: Was a Duluth , Minnesota newspaper published from 1917 to 1926 and relaunched from 1999 to 2005. The paper was a scandal sheet during the first years of publication, with a reputation for muckraking , sensationalism and criminal libel . The revival was similar in tone, though the publishers changed. The original Duluth Ripsaw was founded by John L. Morrison , a fundamentalist Christian who abhorred alcohol, gambling and prostitution. The paper debuted on March 24, 1917. Issues were published every other Saturday, with copies sold at newsstands for five cents. The newspaper's offices were originally in downtown Duluth's Fargusson Building, and later moved to

992-507: Was convicted of criminal libel in one instance, but his scandal sheet may have contributed to several politicians losing their elections. After Morrison published an issue claiming that State Senator Mike Boylan had threatened to kill him, Boylan responded by helping to pass the Public Nuisance Bill of 1925. It allowed a single judge , without jury , to stop a newspaper or magazine from publishing, forever. Morrison died before

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1024-494: Was pronounced dead. The cause was reported in the Duluth Herald to be an embolism , a blood clot on the brain. The Herald reported that Morrison "had been ill for 10 days, suffering from pleurisy following an attack of influenza , a general breakdown and attacks of syncope ." Tischer continued to insist the injunction against the Ripsaw be maintained, even after Morrison's death. Judge E. J. Kenney, however, allowed

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