Misplaced Pages

#767232

25-476: Founded by Kuroiwa Shūroku on November 1, 1892, the newspaper was originally published as a tabloid to appeal to the working class. The newspaper is cheap and easy to read, which also had a penchant for pursuing scandals and had been ordered to cease publication by the government on several occasions. Kuroiwa Shūroku also published some of his own short translations in this newspaper. While the United States

50-476: A form of extortion and may be covered in the same statutory provision as extortion. Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm. Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt. In many jurisdictions, blackmail

75-498: 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

100-526: Is a criminal act of coercion using a threat . As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States , blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a threat to do something that would cause a person to suffer embarrassment or financial loss. By contrast, in the Commonwealth its definition is wider: for example

125-725: Is a statutory offense, often criminal, carrying punitive sanctions for convicted perpetrators. Blackmail is the name of a statutory offense in the United States, England and Wales, and Australia, and has been used as a convenient way of referring to certain other offenses, but was not a term used in English law until 1968. Blackmail was originally a term from the Scottish Borders meaning payments rendered in exchange for protection from thieves and marauders. The "mail" part of blackmail derives from Middle English male meaning "rent or tribute". This tribute (male or reditus )

150-424: Is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public. Acts of blackmail can also involve using threats of physical, mental or emotional harm, or of criminal prosecution, against the victim or someone close to the victim. It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly of position, money, or property. Blackmail may also be considered

175-746: 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. Blackmail Blackmail

200-718: 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

225-403: 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

250-404: 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

275-423: The laws of England and Wales and Northern Ireland state that: A person is guilty of blackmail if, with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, he makes any unwarranted demand with menaces... In popular culture, 'blackmail' involves a threat to reveal or publicize either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It

SECTION 10

#1732787258768

300-562: 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

325-468: 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

350-638: 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

375-466: 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 ,

400-541: The paper's editors became involved in a labor dispute, and subsequently Risōdan (Ideal corps), a Christian socialist group focused on the rights of Japanese workers, was formed within the paper. After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War , the newspaper initially took an anti-war stance, but then adopted a pro-war, pro-government stance, which led to the resignations of Kōtoku Shūsui, Uchimura Kanzō, and Sakai Toshihiko . Sales of this newspaper plummeted during

425-713: The practice was common in the Scottish Highlands as well as the Borders . In the Irish language , the term cíos dubh , meaning " black rent ", was used for similar exactions. Some scholars have argued that blackmail should not be a crime. Objections to the criminalization of blackmail often rest on what legal scholars call "the paradox of blackmail": it takes two separate actions that, in many cases, people are legally and morally entitled to do, and criminalizes them if done together. One American legal scholar uses

450-647: 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

475-584: 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

500-597: The war. After the Russo-Japanese War, the newspaper was further commercialized, and many stores were opened under its name. After the High Treason incident , this newspaper publicly criticized its former employee, Kōtoku Shūsui. In 1940, the newspaper ceased publication and was incorporated into Tokyo Maiyu Shimbun . Tabloid journalism Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism which takes its name from

525-503: 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

SECTION 20

#1732787258768

550-507: 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

575-498: Was experiencing " yellow journalism ", the situation was somewhat different in Japan, where Yorozu Chōhō was one of the first to print newspapers on red paper, and where news that struck a chord with the people came to be known as "red newspapers". By the end of the 1890s, however, it had become one of the most widely published newspapers in Japan had attracted some celebrities such as Kōtoku Shūsui and Uchimura Kanzō . In early 1901,

600-571: Was paid in goods or labour ( reditus nigri , or "blackmail"); the opposite is blanche firmes or reditus albi , or "white rent" (denoting payment by silver). An alternative version is that rents in the Scottish Borders were often paid in produce of the land, called " greenmail " ('green rent'), suggesting "blackmail" as a counterpart paid perforce to the reivers. Alternatively, Mackay derives it from two Scottish Gaelic words blathaich pronounced (the th silent) bla-ich (to protect) and mal (tribute, payment), cf. buttock mail . He notes that

625-408: Was paid in goods or labour ("nigri"); hence reditus nigri , or "blackmail". The word blackmail is variously derived from the word for mailing (in modern terms, protection racket ) paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to Border Reivers in return for immunity from raids and other harassment. The "mail" part of blackmail derives from Middle English male , "rent, tribute". This tribute

#767232