The modern American Media came into being after
Generoso Pope Jr., longtime owner of the
National Enquirer, died in 1988, and his tabloids came under new ownership. American tabloids began consolidating in 1990, when American Media bought
Star from Rupert Murdoch. The purchase of Globe Communications (owner of the
Globe and the
National Examiner) followed nine years later.
Roger Altman, through
Evercore Partners, bought a controlling stake in American Media in 1999. American Media is not to be confused with American Media Distribution, the international news coverage firm. American Media's former corporate headquarters in
Boca Raton, Florida, figured prominently in news headlines in late 2001, after an
anthrax attack was perpetrated on the company and other media outlets. Since then the corporate headquarters have moved to New York City at 1 Park Avenue in
Manhattan, before moving to the
Financial District to the former
JP Morgan Chase headquarters at
4 New York Plaza. That building was severely damaged by
Hurricane Sandy but reopened in February 2013. AMI continued to expand after it bought
Joe Weider's Weider Publications in 2002. Joe Weider continued to manage control of his magazines under AMI's Weider Publications subsidiary until his death in March 2013. Eli Lippman was appointed the Director of Audience Development and subsequently as Director of Digital. American Media also owned Distribution Services, an in-store magazine merchandising company. In fall 2002, it launched the book-publishing
imprint, AMI Books.
Bankruptcy, sale to Chatham Asset Management, In 2009, American Media was taken over by its bondholders to keep it out of bankruptcy. In November 2010, American Media filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to nearly $1 billion in debt, and assets of less than $50,000. Its subsidiary, American Media Operations Inc., listed assets of $100 to $500 million and debt of over $1 billion. It exited in December. In May 2014, American Media announced a decision to shift the headquarters of the
National Enquirer from Florida, where it had been located since 1971, back to New York City, where it originally began as
The New York Enquirer in 1926. In August 2014, American Media was acquired by Chatham Asset Management and
Omega Charitable Partnership. In 2015, American Media sold
Shape,
Natural Health, and
Fit Pregnancy to
Meredith. In 2016, Pecker revealed to the Toronto Star that AMI now relied on support from Chatham Asset Management and its owner Anthony Melchiorre. The $4 billion hedge fund owns 80 percent of AMI's stock. Three months later, in June 2017, American Media also acquired ''
Men's Journal'' from Wenner Media. In June 2018, American Media acquired 13 brands from
Bauer Media Group including
In Touch Weekly,
Life & Style and
Closer to add to their celebrity portfolio. They also acquired Bauer Media's kids group including
J-14 and ''Girl's World''. In February 2019, American Media acquired
TEN's adventure sports properties.
Sale attempts, a360media, merger into McClatchy In April 2019, the
National Enquirer was reported to be up for sale and likely to be sold within days. The company stated that it had shifted its emphasis away from tabloids to its "glossy" magazines such as
Us Weekly and ''
Men's Journal''. This came following pressure from Chatham owner Anthony Melchiorre, who expressed disapproval of the Enquirer's style of journalism. On April 18, 2019, AMI accepted an offer from
Hudson News Distributors head James Cohen and agreed to sell not only the
National Enquirer, but also
Globe and
The Examiner to Hudson News Distributors for $100 million. At the time the sale was announced, AMI was approximately $355 million in debt. The sale, however, fell through. In August 2020, Chatham Asset Management announced it would merge AMI with Accelerate 360, a wholesale distribution company it also owned. As part of the merger, AMI was officially renamed a360media on October 1. In 2022, a360media acquired single issue magazine publisher Centennial Media. Also in 2022, a360media sold ''
Men's Journal'' and the Adventure Sports Network properties to The Arena Group. In February 2023, a360media announced that it would sell its tabloid titles to a joint venture of Vinco Ventures and Icon Publishing. In August 2024,
McClatchy—a newspaper publisher that Chatham Asset Management had acquired out of bankruptcy in 2020—announced that it would merge with a360media. The merger was completed in December 2024, with McClatchy reorganized as the McClatchy Media Company, and a360media brought under the McClatchy Lifestyle & Entertainment division. The company officially stated that the tabloids had been sold, but a buyer was not disclosed. == Controversies ==