1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to you Stuff you Should 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: Know from House Stuff Works dot com. Hey, and welcome 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 1: Bryant uh, and this is Stuff you should Know. It's podcast. 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: It's audio only, um, but coming soon it will also 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: include smells. Oh yeah, smell a vision, not vision, smellow 8 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: found smell it. We'll just call it smellow rama. I 9 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: mean grumpy people today. I'm not grumpy. You're grumpy. I'm 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: grumpy Jerry. Jerry's grumpy. I'm fine. Y'all were grumping at 11 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: each other when I came in here. No, Jerry was 12 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: mad at me for being mad at her, which doesn't count. 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: It's just everyone's grumpy. It's such a grumpy day. I'm 14 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: not grumpy. It's just head legitimate grumpy, right stripe. Everyone's scrapy, 15 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: so Chuck. Yes, I want to tell you about a 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: great American hero, William Katka Uh. Many years ago, in 17 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: the wilds of I wish I could remember where he 18 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: was found Mississippi, a little guy known as bat Boy 19 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: was captured. He was caught on a rooftop during a 20 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: flood in Mississippi, and the authorities seized him and UM 21 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: took him into their care. He became a ward of 22 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: the state. That makes sense because bat boys are known 23 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: to go to higher ground during flooding. Yeah, and he 24 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: did true to form uh so uh bat Boy at 25 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: first he didn't like this captivity, UM, but eventually he 26 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: kind of became something of a patriot by um volunteering 27 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: to go search for Osama bin Laden and his Al 28 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: Qaeda operatives UM in the caves of Afghanistan. The reason 29 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: bat Boy was so good at it because he was 30 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: raising caves half bat half boy name Um. He wasn't 31 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: able to find Ben Lawden, but he still returned to 32 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 1: the U S a hero after a long long flight 33 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: because he just flew himself. Of course, and we know 34 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: of bat boys exploits thanks to a little newspaper known 35 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: as The Weekly World News. Have you heard of this? 36 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: Two things? I used to subscribe to The Weekly World Yeah, 37 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,239 Speaker 1: for like a year in high school, me and my 38 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: buddy rad did because it was fun Radcliffe Radford, And 39 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: two I didn't realize that bat boy they continued his exploits. 40 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: I think bat Boys sold a lot of papers for 41 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: the Well, I knew he did, but I didn't know. 42 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: I didn't know they kept it up. That's awesome. I'm 43 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: glad to know that he was fighting the terrorists. He 44 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: he did, he tried to. I don't know if he 45 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: was successful. At least he went equipped more than with 46 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: just a sword. Um. But yeah, so bat Boy was 47 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: a prominent character, I guess. And the Weekly World News, 48 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: which which also bills itself as the world's only reliable newspapers. Yeah, 49 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: that that little tagline or whatever. Yeah, it's not around 50 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: anymore in print. Yeah, I think I remember shutting down 51 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: and being sort of sad. Is online, I guess. Yeah, 52 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight it moved to and moved online. 53 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: So really every aspect of that story from this outrageous 54 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: um claim that bat Boy was captured and sent to 55 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: Afghanistan to UM calling itself tongue in cheek, the World's 56 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: most reliable, the world's only reliable newspaper, to it's shutting 57 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: down and going online because of massive profit losses after 58 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: being purchased by this huge conglomerate of tabloid papers. The 59 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: Weekly World News is a perfect analogy for the course 60 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: of tabloids of the last like twenty as a whole. Yeah, 61 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: and we're gonna dig into that. Um I think it's funny. 62 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: I never because I didn't know the little tagline, but 63 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: I guess they figured if we're just going to be 64 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: making up stories, because the Weekly World News, for those 65 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: of you who haven't read it, isn't just a tabloid. 66 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 1: I mean it's like it's it's fan fiction. I mean, 67 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: it's completely ridiculous. They don't pretend. But that's why it's 68 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: funny that they said that the only reliable thing. They said, Wow, 69 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: we might as well just say that in the thing, 70 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: get it? Yes, And one of their apparently one of 71 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: their editors, is quoted as saying, I could only find 72 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: one source for this quote, so I don't know how 73 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: true it is. It could be made up, which would 74 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: be kind of like this apropos meta parody of the 75 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: whole thing, But um he said, if our if our 76 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: readers are informed, it's usually by accident. Really, so they 77 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: were well aware. That's great and it isn't an extreme example, 78 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: but there are there are some aspects of the Weekly 79 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: World News that do fit the bill of that of 80 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: a standard table. So I mean, let's talk about it. 81 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 1: What what is a tabloid? Well, Um, should we start 82 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: at the beginning or should we just talk about it 83 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: a little bit then do the history? Do you want 84 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: to do the history first? Man, Yeah, let's do the 85 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: history first, because positive that we don't practice. So I 86 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: did see, Um, there was one slight error. This is 87 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: an ed Grabanowski article, which are always great. But did 88 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: you see this other etymology for the word tabloid with 89 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: the pill company UM in the late eighteen hundreds, apparently 90 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: um Burrows, Welcome and Company was a pharmaceutical company in England. 91 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 1: They produced at the time, like medicines, were all like 92 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: BC powder good, he's powder, They're all powdered. And he 93 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: I think was the first one to make into a 94 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: pill by compressing the powder and he called it a tabloid. Yeah, 95 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: it probably was. And um that that word became to 96 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: mean anything figuratively, that was a small dose of anything. 97 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: So the word tabloid, it actually became came before I 98 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: believe about ten years before the shrunken newspaper, Uh, the 99 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: physical newspaper shrinking. Well, it still works. It's like the 100 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: origin of life on Earth comes from another planet. But really, 101 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: where did the origin of life begin? Right, it doesn't 102 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: answer the question. It's the same thing, like, okay, so 103 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: maybe that's the origin of the word tabloid. Then it 104 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: was associated with newspapers. The tabloid paper ums printed on 105 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: a smaller, more compact version of the normal newspaper newsprint 106 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: called a broadsheet. Right, so the tabloid is a smaller, 107 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: more compact version. The broadsheet is longer and wider UM 108 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: and then the tabloid were usually printed on the smaller paper, 109 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: hence the word yeah. So at first it was a pill, 110 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: then it became the size of the paper, and then 111 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: later on it just became um the style of the 112 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: paper and size, but really the style. But tabloids, as 113 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: were explaining them, are basically like um. They are also 114 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: commonly referred to as rags, as um gutter public Yeah, 115 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: they're gossip sheets, whatever it's it's basically it's a it's 116 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: a uh, slightly shifty, underhanded newspaper and um tabloids. One 117 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: of the ways that they exist and always have existed 118 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: is in comparison to quote legitimate newspapers. So like originally 119 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: newspapers that say, like the beginning the early nineteenth century. 120 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: They were extremely stuffy. They were extremely expensive. They were 121 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: like six cents per which was like half a day's 122 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: pay for the average labor. Really dry. Man. If you 123 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: ever read these old New York Times articles, there's like 124 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: they just really just you know, they lay out the 125 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: facts and then say the end, exactly like the AP 126 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: used to do. Until a few years ago. The AP 127 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: always did that who, what, when, how, where and why 128 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: the old journalistic pyramid exactly and then like maybe a 129 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: quote in there and that was it. Um. And so 130 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: out of this, I guess kind of boredom and a 131 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: need for the working class to be able to, you know, 132 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: get their news too, because I couldn't afford it, came 133 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: the predecessors of tabloids, called the penny Press. So they 134 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: were cheaper, and they also did something different. They took 135 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: stories from just these boring facts political stories, business stories, 136 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: that kind of thing, and started working on human interest stories. 137 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: And they changed the style of writing. Sentences were shorter, 138 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: paragraphs were shorter, way more emotion It was it was 139 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: designed for that, like listen to the triumph of this 140 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: family over their evil landlord or whatever kind of what 141 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: we see now in mainstream newspapers exactly. Yes, a lot, 142 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: a lot of our stream um media owes quite a 143 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: bit to the evolution of tabloids, and there's actually a 144 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: point where it kind of spread. Finally it made a jump. 145 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,839 Speaker 1: But you can see throughout the history of tabloids and 146 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 1: newspapers this interplay where tabloid's almost kind of break ground. Yeah, 147 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: take a bunch of heat and flak for it, and 148 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: then newspapers like latch onto what they're doing. After after 149 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: it becomes co opted in normal behind the guys of 150 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: you know, we're the upstanding publication. Disgusting, right, I'm disgusted 151 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: by it, all um. Yellow journalism came about in the 152 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: era of William Randolph Hurst with his New York Journal 153 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: later called The New York Journal American, and he was 154 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: the first person in the United States, at least, because 155 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: I think in England it even started out before us, 156 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: but not mistaken. In England, I think they were kind 157 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: of like the birth of some of the more tabloid 158 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: style writing. But in America William randolf Hurst did with 159 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: all of a sudden he are to doing some celebrity 160 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: stuff and some murderer and little sensational gore here and there, 161 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: and he found that it sold really well up until 162 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,679 Speaker 1: the Depression, when nothing's old really well. Um pick up 163 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: after the Depression when a very monumental figure in tabloid 164 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: history named Janetta Jenettos Pope or Gene Pope Jane Pope 165 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,959 Speaker 1: j Jr. Um He bought a hearst paper called the 166 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: New York and Choir for Grand, changed it to tabloid size, 167 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: started uh printing you know, you know, stuff that he 168 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: figured people like to stare at a car crash. So 169 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:45,319 Speaker 1: he was actually inspired literally by seeing people like jockeying 170 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: to see the blood and the gore in a car 171 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: crash and thought, Wow, people really are disgusting and crazy, 172 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: so I'm going to give them what they want. And 173 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: he did remember the crime scene photography episode we talked 174 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: about Uigi um he he and he sold a lot 175 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: of stuff to Geene Pope. Um he printed a lot 176 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: of his like gory crimes photos. What's his name, Lewis 177 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,079 Speaker 1: fellig I think, but he went by W E G 178 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 1: E EG interesting So I said it again, Um yeah, 179 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: I was cueing like the Executive Orders episode, how many 180 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: times like I'll bunch, do you know why because it 181 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: was super interesting. Um. So he starts selling a lot 182 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:31,719 Speaker 1: of papers based on this new style. And then a 183 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: guy named Rupert Murdoch who you may have heard of, 184 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: who saw or proved that you could actually have pretty 185 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: wide circulation um, and began selling News of the World 186 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 1: in England millions of copies sex scandals. And then the 187 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: Pope said, you know what, if he can sell millions 188 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: and millions of copies, so can I let me change 189 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: the name of the National Enquirer. Boom right, the National 190 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: Enquirer was born, but um, the Inquirer is we know 191 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: it's ill wasn't born yet. It was the thing they 192 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 1: were crazy headlines about, like interracial sex and lesbianism and 193 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: like horrible acts of violence posthumous violence. There is this 194 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: one headline, um about a team ripping the head off 195 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: of a corpse to get at its gold teeth, and 196 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: always with the gory crime scene photos like the pulp 197 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: comics were doing too. Yeah, very much. It was just 198 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: very tawdry. It's um, I mean, if the stuff and 199 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: the Inquiry today is tawdry, it's this was just like 200 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: it's not fathomed. But the reason it's not is again 201 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: because of Gene Pope, so he had a lot of competition. 202 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: And not just he, but the whole industry was facing 203 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,839 Speaker 1: a big problem in that news stands were starting to dry. 204 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: So Jeane Pope came up with an idea. He's like supermarkets. 205 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: Everybody goes to supermarkets. I need to get in there. 206 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: And now I stand in the line at the checkout stand. Right. 207 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: But he knew like there was no way that any 208 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: any respectable supermarket it was gonna sell his tabloid, his rag. 209 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: So he cleaned the thing up, right. He um added 210 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: way more. He took a queue from Rupert Rupert Murdoch 211 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: and his News of the World, and um added way 212 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 1: more celebrity stuff, sex scandals, but nothing tawdry like you know, 213 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 1: um this stuff he was talking about before it that 214 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: was just really it was more like a like a 215 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 1: the Senator got caught with somebody or whatever. Um. And 216 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,719 Speaker 1: there's this guy named James Walcutt. He wrote for the 217 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: for Vanity Fair, and he wrote this article called us Confidential. 218 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 1: It was in the June two thousand two issue of 219 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: Vanity Fair. It was about this and about that transition 220 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: going from you know, the crime scene photography to um 221 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: astrology overnight so he could get into supermarkets. Uh, he said. Um. 222 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: The Inquirer's staff was aghast. It was like asking an 223 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 1: experienced team of grave robbers to take up gardening. So 224 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: that's pretty much how the Inquirer's staff took We got 225 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,480 Speaker 1: to clean up our acts and start writing about astrology 226 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: and celebrity sex scandals. And it wasn't even cleaning them 227 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: attacked that much. Just not like you said, we're going 228 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: to become the you know, New York Times. But that's 229 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: why they're there. Yeah, that's why when you stand in 230 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: line at a supermarket checkout line, it's because in the 231 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, Jeane Pope was like, we got to get 232 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: in the supermarkets. I think people either read these or 233 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: they don't. Like I don't think anyone dabbles in tabloids, 234 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. It's kind of like soap operas, 235 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: Like no one just says, like, let me watch a 236 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: little bit of Days of Our Lives, Like you're either 237 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: hooked on this stuff or not. I agree with that, 238 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: but I think a lot of people are guilty of 239 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: picking up the tabloid and thumbing through it and then 240 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: not buying it in the supermarket checkout line. Well, now 241 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: you know what they do now, and of course we're 242 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: gonna get to this, might as well bring it up. 243 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: They look at People Magazine and US Weekly because they 244 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: have nicked from tabloids as well and become a quote 245 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: unquote respectable thing to pick up and read, even though, 246 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: come on, do you ever read a People magazine? I have, 247 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 1: it's sort of tabloid at times, it is, and um 248 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: actually you can thank the Star for that. Um. Star 249 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: used to be a tabloid sheet tabloid. Yeah, and it 250 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: went over to the glossy format at some point. I 251 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: think that maybe the late nineties, and um it, it 252 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: married those two things, glossy people magazine format with tabloid 253 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: and it was enough of his success that people was like, well, 254 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: we've already got the glossy magazine part, let's just start 255 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: doing the tabloid thing. Yeah. I mean, well, people have 256 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: I mean, legitimate articles still, but and they're not like 257 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: making stuff up, but they've definitely gone way into the 258 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: you know, look at the cellulite on the beach in 259 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: Malibu and look at this person and look at that person, 260 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: and who wore it better? Plastics? Yeah, exactly, stuff like that, 261 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: who wore it better? I know somebody who's been reading people. Yeah, 262 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: when you have the two ladies with the same dress 263 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: me and especially when it's like two to eighteen, now, 264 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: I know, especially when it's like you know, it's just 265 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: means sometimes I'm gonna start wearing hockey jerseys and they'll 266 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: be like, a who aren't better Kevin Smith or podcaster 267 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant. People go, I guess Kevin Smith because I've 268 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: never heard of this other guy. It's the same. It's 269 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: the same dude anyway. Alright, So um, that's pretty much 270 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: the quick history of tabloids. Yeah here in the States, 271 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: at least England. We keep mentioning England because they're they're 272 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: lousy with it. Well, they're kind of on the leading 273 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: edge of the decline of tabloids right now. Yeah, let 274 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: get to that, all right. So before we go onto 275 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: tabloid stories and how they get these stories, we should 276 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: point out that in the National Choir, the Star of 277 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: the Globe, the National Examiner, and Weekly World News, we're 278 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: all purchased by American Media, Inc. Like all all of 279 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: those just snap them all up basically just about on 280 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: the show, now, every big tabloid in the United States 281 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: was purchased by this one company, and um, yeah, I 282 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 1: think that's never a good thing. Or maybe that's just 283 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: me being it, you know. Well that's the funny thing. 284 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: Like the title of this sidebars, they control everything you 285 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: read unless you don't read any of those things. So, um, 286 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: the the am I. Actually they're the reason the Weekly 287 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:25,880 Speaker 1: World News shut down. Um, they were like, okay, these 288 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,719 Speaker 1: things losing money. Am I posted a hundred and sixty 289 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: million dollar loss in two thousand and six and was 290 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: facing like a billion dollars in debt. Yeah, bad boy 291 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: boys of the Internet. Yeah that makes sense. That's where 292 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: bad boy belongs. So okay, let's talk about this. What 293 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: what makes a tabloid? It's not just subjective. I mean, 294 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: it's tabloids like pornography, you know when you see it, 295 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 1: all right, it's tough to define. That's not um entirely 296 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,679 Speaker 1: the case. There are some actual, um discernible distinctions among 297 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: tabloids that make a tabloid a tabloid, I agreed, So 298 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: what are they? Well Ed points out here something really important. 299 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 1: The key to a tabloid story is not that it 300 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: be true, just that someone has said that it's true, right, 301 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,199 Speaker 1: and they latch onto that person. And as long as 302 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: they say, you know, attribute these quotes to this person, 303 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 1: then they can't be held accountable. And that person is 304 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: frequently cited as an expert and a close friend. Sure, 305 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: I mean, if somebody it's all the way you present 306 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: the story. If the if you're saying, if your whole 307 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: story is all about how this person said something, it's 308 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,880 Speaker 1: not really about the story. The story is still there, 309 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: but you're focusing on this person. It's like the the 310 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: rule of the of the tabloid industry. It's kind of 311 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: a trick though, because very much you're tricking people into 312 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: thinking you're reading about a story about Brandjelina. In fact, 313 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,840 Speaker 1: you're reading a story about a former made that worked 314 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:57,680 Speaker 1: for branch Elina and what they think is true, right, 315 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: or some crazy person who has nothing to do with 316 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: Brandngelina who like just um, maybe saw one of them 317 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: in a coffee shop and like, notice they didn't tip 318 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: or something like that. Bam, there's your story. Um. Also, 319 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: like we said that, they like to add experts, and 320 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: but the experts are in no way, shape or form 321 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: qualified In a lot of ways, they have no credentials. 322 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,399 Speaker 1: They're not vetted. It's more say, like, um, the example 323 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: Grabmanowski uses is like a bigfoot enthusiast. Right, if somebody 324 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: spends a lot of time, uh, searching for bigfoot, researching bigfoot. 325 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: There there's no institute out there to qualify them, to 326 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: give them credentials, but you could reasonably make a case 327 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,239 Speaker 1: of this person's a big foot bigfoot expert. Right. The 328 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,639 Speaker 1: thing is is like the Inquirer or the Star or 329 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,919 Speaker 1: the weekly World News is not going to the trouble 330 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: of explaining that. They just say bigfoot expert so and 331 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: so says that there's a bunch of these things out 332 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: and he's seen a bunch and he's an expert exactly. 333 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,920 Speaker 1: My favorite is the leading quote, like, uh, they will 334 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 1: get the random person who saw Angelina Jolina coffee shop, 335 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: and they will say did she look that? They would 336 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,919 Speaker 1: say maybe something like, yeah, she looked like she looked jittery, 337 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 1: and they would say did she look strung out and 338 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: that she had possibly been up for days without eating. Yeah, 339 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: she sort of looked like that, And then all of 340 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 1: a sudden, that's the quote. Witnesses say she looked strung 341 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 1: out and like she had not eaten for days, and Uh, 342 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 1: all they have to do is say yes, exactly yes, 343 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: or like would you say this? And if the prison 344 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: says yes and you just said that. Another hallmark of 345 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: tabloids is making a huge deal out of something I 346 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: guess other newspapers would consider small stuff. Yeah, and like 347 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,920 Speaker 1: actually looking through other newspapers to find some quasi interesting 348 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: story and then blowing it up into possibly a front 349 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:02,439 Speaker 1: page feature. Um, just by getting into this story, really 350 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: interviewing a lot of people involved, um, and then maybe 351 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 1: throwing an expert or something like that, and just basically 352 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 1: making a lot a lot of hay out of something 353 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: very um, kind of negligible. UM. And this by adding 354 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: a bunch of quotes and stuff and what do you 355 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: think about this? What do you think about that? It 356 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: takes it from being about the story, right, like a 357 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: um man saved a goat from a burning building, to 358 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: what these people think about this man and his goat? 359 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: And you can do anything with that exactly the love affair, 360 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: you mean, maybe who knows if somebody said it, then 361 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: they could conceivably report if anyone said, um. Celebrity Uh, 362 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,879 Speaker 1: celebrity news is obviously one of the biggest parts of 363 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,200 Speaker 1: tabloids these days at least, and they the writers have informants, 364 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: all kinds of informants, from um security, people who would 365 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:01,639 Speaker 1: work from them, or who worked at venues where they 366 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: might have been hairstylists, nail salon people like anyone that 367 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 1: can dish up dirt, and they get in the rotation 368 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 1: and uh I, remember we shot you ever heard of 369 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:17,919 Speaker 1: Janet Charlton, No, you might recognize her. She was a 370 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 1: gossip columnist and think did stuff for TV like Entertainment Tonight. 371 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: But that's how she made her living. And she was 372 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: like one of the more famous ones. And we shot 373 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 1: a commercial at her house one time in l A. 374 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: And she was there hanging out, and uh I was like, 375 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: you gotta tell me some stories. And of course she 376 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 1: just loved that kind of thing, and she would just 377 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: sit down and regale us with stories about Michael Douglas 378 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: and his secret sex addiction, and and she was He 379 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:44,959 Speaker 1: always said like, well, you know, my sources tell me. 380 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: She had a list, a rollodex of people on the 381 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: bank roll that she would pay, you know, a few 382 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: bucks if it was not a big deal, to a 383 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:55,679 Speaker 1: lot of money, if it was a big celebrity with 384 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,680 Speaker 1: big news and it's um, that's pretty much standard, like 385 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: you were saying. There, there's this guy named, um, Paul 386 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,440 Speaker 1: McMullen who wrote for I think News of the World, 387 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: and um, you know Dentel Elliott he was he was 388 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: Indiana Jones's sidekick. I can't remember his name, but the 389 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: older British guy. Okay, here's this this huge star in 390 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: Great Britain and he had a very very beloved too 391 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: and he had a daughter who was addicted to heroin. 392 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,480 Speaker 1: And after he died, Um, she took like a big 393 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: turn for the worst. And this cop tipped off I 394 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: think another person who in turn tipped off Paul McMullin. 395 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:37,959 Speaker 1: But the cop got a few hundred pounds for it. 396 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:42,360 Speaker 1: Um that this girl was like, she's kind of a prostitute, 397 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,280 Speaker 1: she's so much of a heroin addict, So whatever you 398 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:49,679 Speaker 1: want to do with that. Paul McMullin goes and like 399 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: offers to pay this this lady like drug money for 400 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,480 Speaker 1: sex or whatever, and she agrees, and like all of 401 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: a sudden, he starts reporting on it. He's got photos 402 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: and everything. Well she ended up killing youself, Oh my god. 403 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,159 Speaker 1: And he now says like, you know, I take responsibility 404 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: for that, which is meaningless. But um, yeah, he the 405 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: all started with a cop knowing about this and then 406 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: tipping off the reporters. That's so sad. Cops are not 407 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: immune to this kind of thing too, believe it or not, Josh. 408 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:28,920 Speaker 1: Another way they'll get their information is from the celebrities themselves. Um. 409 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: From what I've gathered, you're either you fall into three categories. 410 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: You either fight fight fight the tabloids. You either are 411 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,919 Speaker 1: lucky enough and are smart enough to kind of be 412 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: low profile and you're not really a subject of tabo tabloids. 413 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: There's a lot of big stars you've never seen the 414 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: tabloids Harrison for yeah. Uh. Or number three is you 415 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: play ball a little bit, which means, you know what, 416 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 1: I'll give you a little information here and there. I'll 417 00:24:57,359 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: leak out some stuff here and there. If you play 418 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: nine with me, I'll play ball with you. Maybe I'll 419 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:05,680 Speaker 1: let you know, like what restaurant I'll be coming out 420 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,520 Speaker 1: of one night you can photograph me. Give you your 421 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: little time. And um. Sometimes the movie studios a leak 422 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: stuff to get get up a little pressed. They did 423 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: that a lot a lot back in the day. But 424 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: it still goes on. Yeah, it's like a symbiotic relationship 425 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 1: between the person who needs their star to maintain this. 426 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:30,400 Speaker 1: It's position through things like just basically you're a star 427 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,880 Speaker 1: because the public is aware of you. Yeah, no such 428 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: thing as bad pressed. Like you might be in there 429 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:36,959 Speaker 1: for your cellulite. But what if someone picks up the 430 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: magazine They're like, Oh, I wonder whatever happened to her? 431 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 1: I thought she was dead, And all of a sudden 432 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 1: they're like, she's not dead, she just has cellulite. How sad? 433 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: How sad? But at the same time, I feel better 434 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: about myself exactly. Um, So, I guess one of the 435 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: ways that you stay in the tabloids is through have 436 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,880 Speaker 1: your picture made. A group of people known collectively is paparazzi, 437 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: and they, actually, I found out, are named after a 438 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: paparazz so photographer. You didn't know that named paparazzo with 439 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: a capital P. He was a character in Um Follini 440 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: Fellini's Ladulce Vita that's movie, and um apparently they were 441 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: already extant, but they got their name through this character. 442 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,679 Speaker 1: But even then they weren't crazy. It wasn't until the 443 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:37,639 Speaker 1: seventies again thanks to Jane Pope. Um that they really 444 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: became the kind of reckless, relentless nuisances that we have today. 445 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: And it was all because Jane Pope was obsessed with 446 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: Jackie Oh and Aristotle and he would pay so much 447 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:54,119 Speaker 1: money for anything on them that people that the photographers 448 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: were like just really really became aggressive and assertive because 449 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,199 Speaker 1: of it. And they're way worse in Europe because of 450 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: Geane Pope and because they initially started doing this stuff 451 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: in Greece and in in Europe. Um and that that 452 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 1: still is connected to this day, to the death of 453 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: Um Diana, Princess of Wales. They were supposedly the driver 454 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: had been drinking, but they were supposedly being chased paparazzi 455 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: on motorcycle. Yeah, very sad, but that's all Generoso Pope Jr. Um. 456 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:28,480 Speaker 1: I'll bet that guy wore huge black glass thick ones 457 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,000 Speaker 1: like Robert de Niro at the end of Casino. God. 458 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:35,880 Speaker 1: That's great. Um. Supposedly Fellini too, I dug this up. 459 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:39,399 Speaker 1: Took the word from an Italian word that described the 460 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:43,120 Speaker 1: buzzing sound of a mosquito. That's unverified, but he said 461 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,199 Speaker 1: in an interview in Time magazine in the sevenies that 462 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:47,959 Speaker 1: he's like, yeah, I always just associated with something buzzing 463 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 1: around you in your way, Like, well, that's paparazzi. Um, 464 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,159 Speaker 1: and there's that movie too, Paparazzi Is that what it 465 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 1: was called? From two four? Yeah, with the dude, uh 466 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: what's his face? Goes back and beats up ol Houser. 467 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 1: Did you see it? No? I ran across it on 468 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: IMDb today. It's not bad at all. Um. It's also 469 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 1: it could very easily be based on the life of 470 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:15,960 Speaker 1: Alec Baltwoin Uh yeah sure or something yeah yeah, because 471 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 1: there's I think the categories you were describing, um, the 472 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: people who are just so big that they can't keep 473 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:25,240 Speaker 1: a low profile, but they also don't want or need 474 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: that that the tabloids on them. But I've also very 475 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: much gotten the impression. It's like there's a lot of 476 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,879 Speaker 1: people out there who feed it to him, who wanted, 477 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: who craving, And I can't feel bad for those people 478 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: at all. It's as and because there are people plenty, 479 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 1: like you're saying, like plenty of people out there who 480 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:48,479 Speaker 1: are big stars, but you never see anything about him 481 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,480 Speaker 1: in the tabloids just because they just stay out of it. 482 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: They stay away from it, you know. Yeah, I'm trying 483 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: to think of one. I mean, there's so many. That's 484 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: probably why I can't think of it. But like Harrison 485 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 1: Ford is a good example, I guess, except when he 486 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: started eating close to Flockhart. They were, they were in 487 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: the tabloids a lot. But I also suspect like most 488 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: of that stuff was all very pleasant, like hand holding things. 489 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: So yeah, but she was in the tabloids a lot 490 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 1: because of her weight, so that fed into that, you know, 491 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: like maybe she'll be happy and eat again now that 492 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: she has Harrison Ford. You know, yeah, he's just like 493 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 1: eat this, eat that too. Here, eat this all right, 494 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: let's talk about let's talk about the law. Because this 495 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: was really interesting, I thought, because the first thing you 496 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: think of the rest of it was not interesting at all. No, 497 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 1: I thought, I thought this was super interesting though, because 498 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: the first thing I think of is why aren't these 499 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:44,479 Speaker 1: people suing every day? Suing these tabloids. Some try, some do, 500 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: Some have been successful for a while. For the early tabloids, 501 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: ones like um oh what were they called? Like Confidential 502 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: I think was one of the early tabloids, um like 503 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: the Tatler Um, they're just whatever stupid name about, not 504 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: about airing dirty laundry. That was the name of some 505 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 1: pulp tabloid in the fifties and sixties. Dirty laundry was 506 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: probably one of them, I'll bet um. And they got 507 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 1: away with that stuff because well, for two reasons. This 508 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: guy wrote, um uh yeah, he wrote I watched a 509 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: wild hoggy my baby, which is pretty much this definitive 510 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 1: history of the tabloids. And he's got his bona fides 511 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: because he was an editor for the National Enquirer, right, um, 512 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: And he said, there's two reasons. In the fifties and sixties. One, 513 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:38,520 Speaker 1: if you were a legitimate star, these things were so 514 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: in the gutter that the stoop to suing them was problematic. 515 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: In one, it was the attention that lawsuit would attract, 516 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: because the regular press was gonna start talking about it 517 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,560 Speaker 1: would make you look as bad as well, it would 518 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: draw a lot more attention to the original story. And 519 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: the second thing is, even if you want that publisher 520 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,320 Speaker 1: doesn't have the money to pay you, good luck. Then 521 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 1: Jeane Pope once again changes everything. Jeane Pope and Rupert Murdoch, 522 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, these things have enormous circulations. Um. 523 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: I think Jeane Pope took the inquiry from like fifteen 524 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: thousand or a hundred thousand to five million at its 525 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: peak in the eighties. Um. And so the suddenly they 526 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: did have deep pockets and things changed, and um, Carol 527 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 1: Burnett kind of still to this day stands as like 528 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: a bell weather for the celebrities versus the tabloids as 529 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: far as the law goes. Yeah, she sued in uh 530 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: after nine article said, and I have to read this quote, 531 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,640 Speaker 1: it's pretty good. At a Washington restaurant, a boisterous Carol 532 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: Burnett had a loud argument with another diner, Henry Kissinger. 533 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,560 Speaker 1: She traped around the place, offering everyone a bite of 534 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: her dessert, and they didn't put her dessert in quotes 535 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: I would have. Uh. Carol really raised eyebrows when she 536 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: accidentally knocked a glass of wine over one diner and 537 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: started giggling instead of apologizing. So they basically said she 538 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: was blitzed at this restaurant. And yeah, he's a big 539 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: fan probably, And she sued in one one point six 540 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: million dollars, which was and we'll find out here in 541 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: a second. This is one of the hallmarks of their 542 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,760 Speaker 1: litigation settled out of court for much much less, well, 543 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 1: very quietly. She got a big settlement because in one 544 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: dollars one point six millions, like a hundred billion today, 545 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:34,560 Speaker 1: I think, uh. And then um, it was reduced by 546 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: an appeals court, which is usually step two in these 547 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 1: kind of suits two grand Yeah, and then it was 548 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,040 Speaker 1: settled out of court. So I would imagine for even 549 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: less than that. Um, but it was still it was 550 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: a big deal. It was the first time really that 551 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 1: like a major star was able to win a defamation 552 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 1: lawsuit against the tabloid. But it was one of the 553 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: I don't want to say it was one of the 554 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: only times. It was one of the very few times, 555 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: especially if you are going on the premise of all 556 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: the people who want to sue the tabloids and don't 557 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: actually bring a suit because things have changed now now 558 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:13,560 Speaker 1: the tabloids have these reputations for being extremely fearsome litigators, 559 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,440 Speaker 1: where like, if you want to sue them you thought 560 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,480 Speaker 1: that story that ticked you off was bad, They're gonna 561 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:21,560 Speaker 1: get anything they can and they're going to do it 562 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 1: through the court. So like when Aretha Franklin or no, um, oh, 563 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Taylor, Yes, when she tried to sue I think 564 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: the Inquirer, or when she did see the Inquirer. The 565 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: Inquirer's lawyers tried to subpoena all of her medical records 566 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: for the past thirty years. So they go after everything. 567 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: They tried to drag your life into the spotlight to 568 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: make it like really not worth your while to sue them. Yet, 569 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 1: the celebrity attorney that was interviewed for this awesome New 570 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: York Times article, h Vincent Cfo Everyone's italian Um. Everybody 571 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:57,680 Speaker 1: has Italian said that it's basically he calls it the 572 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: scorpion defense, which is you don't attack a scorpion because 573 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:06,040 Speaker 1: you will get stung um. Aside from not the not 574 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: the most complex analogy, I like it. No, it's pretty straightforward. 575 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,680 Speaker 1: I guess that do they need to be complex, but 576 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: you can call it. That's the snake analogy, that's the 577 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:18,719 Speaker 1: spider analogy, that's the two year old analogy. Oh, like, 578 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,560 Speaker 1: don't mess with the two year old. You'll get thrown 579 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:26,160 Speaker 1: up on or been pooped on on. The scorpion can 580 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:29,040 Speaker 1: only do one thing to your all can humiliate you 581 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: in a number of ways. Have you ever heard so 582 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,400 Speaker 1: there's this whole thing that like, scorpions commit suicide if 583 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:38,239 Speaker 1: you set them on fire by stinging themselves. Really and 584 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:40,839 Speaker 1: apparently there's a lot of like YouTube videos out there 585 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,520 Speaker 1: people like doing this with scorpions, like them on fire, 586 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: and then the scorpion will like jump about and like 587 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:47,840 Speaker 1: sting itself and eventually die. Well, I'll be trying to 588 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 1: put the fire up. They found that this. They found 589 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:56,960 Speaker 1: that that scorpions are almost entirely immune to their own venom, 590 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,200 Speaker 1: and that really all this is just the reaction of 591 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,880 Speaker 1: being burned alive. They're like trying to like they're flailing about, 592 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,400 Speaker 1: and one of the flails is like they're they're stingers 593 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 1: moving and sometimes it stings itself. So it appears to 594 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,280 Speaker 1: dumb kids who set scorpions on fire that scorpions committing 595 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 1: suicide terrible and that awful. That's a great tangent though, thanks, 596 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:20,320 Speaker 1: all right, don't burn animals or insects of any kind, kids, 597 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:25,520 Speaker 1: It's just means setting yourself up for being a sociopath 598 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:29,399 Speaker 1: later in life. Also, legally, speaking with tabloids, um, you 599 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:32,680 Speaker 1: have to prove malice. Yeah, that's the big one. Not 600 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:35,759 Speaker 1: only that what they printed was false, but that they 601 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:40,359 Speaker 1: knowingly printed information they knew was false, because it's got 602 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:43,440 Speaker 1: to be libelous. It can't just be maliciously libelous. They 603 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:45,480 Speaker 1: just printed a rumor about me that wasn't true. It's 604 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:50,280 Speaker 1: got to have malice behind it. Libel is printed. Slanders stated, 605 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 1: with your mouth, there's are the two differences, or I 606 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:59,359 Speaker 1: guess you could blink it out with your eyes. That's true. Um, So, 607 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:04,200 Speaker 1: basically the scorpion defense and then the delays. The first 608 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,240 Speaker 1: thing they're gonna do is start filing motions to delay, 609 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 1: to delay to You spend a lot of money, a 610 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,400 Speaker 1: lot of money, so and if you think about it, 611 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,520 Speaker 1: there's nothing to really gain here necessarily. Well, yeah, it's 612 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:17,960 Speaker 1: your reputation. So a star who has a bunch of 613 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 1: money says, I have a bunch of money, and I'm 614 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:21,479 Speaker 1: really mad at these guys, and i want to teach 615 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,359 Speaker 1: them a lesson. So I'm going to soothe them, and 616 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 1: that they Basically the first tactic is the tabloids try 617 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: to make it not worth your while, that you'll drop 618 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: it because you don't really need this money. You're looking 619 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 1: for a judgment, and hopefully you'll get bored. Well in 620 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,680 Speaker 1: the tabloids don't care even if they drag this thing 621 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:45,239 Speaker 1: out in print a retraction six months later, no one remembers. 622 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:48,520 Speaker 1: No one reads retractions or cares about retractions. Well six 623 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,480 Speaker 1: months later, that's a it's a well put because apparently 624 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:53,719 Speaker 1: part of the judgment of some of these and in 625 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 1: successful suits is that you can't write about um this 626 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,279 Speaker 1: star for a said amount of time. Yeah, they're like, 627 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 1: cut a deal so times and say, you know what, 628 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,400 Speaker 1: I'll drop the lawsuit, just give me a break for 629 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:06,920 Speaker 1: the next year. And then they put on their calendar 630 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:12,280 Speaker 1: Tom Cruise one year from now, set reminder to start 631 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:17,000 Speaker 1: effing with him again and um. Another way that tabloid 632 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 1: stay out of court is most of their UM articles 633 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 1: are read screened by an attorney or attorneys they have 634 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,319 Speaker 1: a retainer. So each article it's printed kind of comes 635 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:36,960 Speaker 1: with this this implicit um stamp of approval from a 636 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:41,600 Speaker 1: legal expert. You you really don't have a case if 637 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,600 Speaker 1: you want to sue against this. Yeah, they want to. 638 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:45,360 Speaker 1: They want to walk right up to the line of 639 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,279 Speaker 1: libel and stop there. And they're pretty good. And you're 640 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,319 Speaker 1: in aiate on it, and you're in aid on it, 641 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:52,279 Speaker 1: and I imagine the writers are really good at it, 642 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,840 Speaker 1: and then as backup, they have their own attorneys that 643 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:58,479 Speaker 1: are even better at it, and so they're like, yeah, 644 00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:01,920 Speaker 1: this is not libelous, prove it and spend half a 645 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 1: million dollars trying to prove this. And some people do, 646 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:09,440 Speaker 1: like Aretha Franklin, I think settled Tom Cruise, Schwarzenegger and 647 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:15,760 Speaker 1: Katie Cruise. And one did she win because Katie Holmes 648 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 1: just filed in March. She is she settled for a 649 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 1: donation to her charity unless she has done it twice. 650 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:27,160 Speaker 1: She did it just this past March. She filed suit 651 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:31,160 Speaker 1: against him for this one cover. Um like yeah, bags 652 00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:33,560 Speaker 1: under her eyes and they're like Katie's drug problem? Why 653 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 1: she won't leave Tom? All this? And I also the 654 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:44,320 Speaker 1: article kind of goes after Scientology and um, well, based 655 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,359 Speaker 1: on that list Nicole kid meant Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes. 656 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:50,879 Speaker 1: It makes you wonder, like, huh, I wonder how how 657 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:56,160 Speaker 1: much Scientology encourages suing for defamation and articles that also 658 00:38:56,239 --> 00:39:00,080 Speaker 1: include you know, stuff against Scientology because you both that 659 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:07,680 Speaker 1: just had the big little supposed Taudrey affairs here in Georgia. 660 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: And then I guess another homework that's not really in UM. 661 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:17,560 Speaker 1: It's not really in the article, but I think you 662 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:23,120 Speaker 1: can make a pretty strong case is that sometimes a 663 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:28,240 Speaker 1: lot of times the tabloid gets things right, but the 664 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:30,879 Speaker 1: the way that they do it often is very much 665 00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:35,400 Speaker 1: unethical and immoral as far as UM the standards of 666 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:38,759 Speaker 1: the press is concerned. And that's what Rupert what's been 667 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:42,360 Speaker 1: going on with Rupert Murdoch, like UM Parliament, like a 668 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:47,399 Speaker 1: parliamentary UM panel basically said you're not fit to run 669 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:50,720 Speaker 1: news corps any longer because this scandal is so huge, 670 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:54,960 Speaker 1: with the phone hacking scandal UM where we I can't 671 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:56,920 Speaker 1: remember what episode we talked about in it, but there 672 00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,400 Speaker 1: was the girl who was kidnapped and like the News 673 00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:04,719 Speaker 1: of the World, writers were hacking into her UM voicemail 674 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,440 Speaker 1: and then deleting them and so the police thought she 675 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:09,880 Speaker 1: was still alive and it was possibly affecting the course 676 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:16,279 Speaker 1: of the investigation. They they identified four thousand celebrities, athletes, politicians, 677 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:20,960 Speaker 1: people of note UM who were whose emails were hacked 678 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:24,640 Speaker 1: four thousand, and then another thousand that had likely been hacked. 679 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:27,760 Speaker 1: Some people have already sued in one like CNA Miller 680 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:36,399 Speaker 1: Steve Coogan of Our Party people and Tristan Shandy. Um, 681 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:38,479 Speaker 1: some people have already won. But for the most part 682 00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:43,160 Speaker 1: it's um. These people aren't gonna get any any damages awarded. 683 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:45,399 Speaker 1: It's basically just no news of the world is shut 684 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:49,359 Speaker 1: down now. But it was out of hand. And now 685 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,040 Speaker 1: they're they're showing that they were also hacking email, which 686 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:55,640 Speaker 1: great Britain has this kind of um. This this computer 687 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:59,920 Speaker 1: theft law now, which makes email hacking way worse than 688 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,000 Speaker 1: phoen hacking. So if that opens up to be a 689 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,560 Speaker 1: big thing, there's people are actually gonna start doing time 690 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,200 Speaker 1: for it. Yeah, that's what I say. But like I 691 00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:10,719 Speaker 1: was saying, sometimes they get things right. They do um. 692 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:14,000 Speaker 1: Over the years, we'll mention a few O. J. Simpson 693 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:17,320 Speaker 1: case the National Enquiry, and it seems like it's generally 694 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:21,919 Speaker 1: the Inquirer that that sort of scoops the legit ones. 695 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:25,800 Speaker 1: It's never like the Star. Yes, you know, so the 696 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:31,200 Speaker 1: National Enquirer scooped in the O J. Trial, the story 697 00:41:31,239 --> 00:41:34,600 Speaker 1: about his shoes, the Bruno Molly's. Yeah, they scooped the 698 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:37,920 Speaker 1: story of the dealer that sold him a knife similar 699 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:41,399 Speaker 1: to the murder weapon. I guess knife dealers the way 700 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:44,319 Speaker 1: they scooped the shoes story. Remember there were bloody footprints. 701 00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:46,840 Speaker 1: I thought this was awesome. They really went to town 702 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,480 Speaker 1: because there was a Bruno Molly bloody footprint at the 703 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:53,759 Speaker 1: scene and O. J. Simpson said, I don't, I don't. 704 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,000 Speaker 1: I've never owned a pair of shoes like that. And 705 00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 1: they went back and found footage of him from like 706 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:08,000 Speaker 1: wearing them on the field, like reporting yeah, and proved 707 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,480 Speaker 1: that yes, indeed he did have those shoes. And he's like, 708 00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:14,640 Speaker 1: oh those shoes right, yeah. Uh. Bill Cosby's kid n's 709 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,720 Speaker 1: remember when he was killed, the inquiry offered a hundred 710 00:42:17,719 --> 00:42:21,359 Speaker 1: thousand dollar reward for information and that actually led to 711 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,960 Speaker 1: somebody coming forward and giving the information that led to 712 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:30,879 Speaker 1: the capturing of the killer. That's right, Jesse Jackson's illegitimate child. Yeah. 713 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:36,239 Speaker 1: In two thousand one, he Um came out and was like, oh, yeah, 714 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:41,319 Speaker 1: I guess he found out it's true. Yes, Gary Hart 715 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:44,480 Speaker 1: when he was running for president, I remember this well. 716 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:47,279 Speaker 1: He was on the monkey business down in Miami with 717 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:51,920 Speaker 1: what was her name, Donna Rice Um. When you look 718 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,560 Speaker 1: at it now, he h, I haven't seen it. I 719 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,640 Speaker 1: don't think she's just like sitting on his lap and 720 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:58,239 Speaker 1: he's just got a big grin on his face and 721 00:42:58,239 --> 00:43:00,680 Speaker 1: he's got a T shirt that says Monk Shines grew 722 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:03,799 Speaker 1: And it was it was all over the place at 723 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:05,759 Speaker 1: the time, but he dropped out of the race. It 724 00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,840 Speaker 1: was because of this this um picture in the inquiry. 725 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:14,120 Speaker 1: They scooped everybody on it and Russia Limbaugh, Yeah, my 726 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:18,759 Speaker 1: favorite drug addict that was exposed, Russia Limball. Yeah. I 727 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:21,840 Speaker 1: remember he was buying oxy cotton from his maid. He 728 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:24,400 Speaker 1: was on like how many pills a day he bought, well, 729 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:25,839 Speaker 1: I don't know how many a day, but he bought 730 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:29,120 Speaker 1: apparently thirty thousand pills from her. I think he was 731 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:31,960 Speaker 1: on like some ungodly amount like twenty or sixty or 732 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,680 Speaker 1: eighty pills a day. Just so I remember hearing it 733 00:43:35,719 --> 00:43:39,520 Speaker 1: was like, how is he alive or even not a 734 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:43,359 Speaker 1: standing up? Yeah, but that was the inquirer that did that. 735 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:46,759 Speaker 1: But again, so there there could be it could have 736 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 1: come from a tip, right, Yeah, it could have come 737 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:54,279 Speaker 1: from um. Yeah, they could have um. They could have 738 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:58,680 Speaker 1: gotten this information from wire tapping, from whatever. It doesn't 739 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:00,960 Speaker 1: mean it's wrong, but just one of the hallmarks of 740 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:05,120 Speaker 1: the tabloid is that the they'll follow sometimes looser ethics 741 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:10,439 Speaker 1: than maybe. Again, a New York Times reporter um said, 742 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:13,280 Speaker 1: tabloids today, Josh, like you mentioned Um, at the peak, 743 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:18,800 Speaker 1: the National Choir was on about five million copies in circulation. Now, 744 00:44:19,040 --> 00:44:21,480 Speaker 1: all of the leading ones in the United States combined 745 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:25,520 Speaker 1: sell about five point four million. So they've really gone down. 746 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:28,680 Speaker 1: And one of the reasons why is because they were 747 00:44:28,719 --> 00:44:33,520 Speaker 1: so successful that mainstream media became much more tabloid e 748 00:44:34,239 --> 00:44:41,880 Speaker 1: and tabloids became much less, much less different. The field 749 00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:44,840 Speaker 1: of competition increased, Yeah, and basically everyone was kind of 750 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:47,719 Speaker 1: doing similar stuff now. And they point out the article 751 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:51,160 Speaker 1: during the Lewinsky trial, sales went down because stuff you 752 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:54,760 Speaker 1: were seen on CNN and was just as salacious as 753 00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:57,000 Speaker 1: anything you would read in the Star. And again, it's 754 00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:02,000 Speaker 1: like the mainstream media kind of took a cue from tabloids, 755 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:05,759 Speaker 1: as they have so many other times, so pissful about that. 756 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:08,480 Speaker 1: With the Clinton thing, they were probably just like, let's 757 00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:11,000 Speaker 1: let's make up some stuff. Let's like what if he 758 00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:14,200 Speaker 1: used a cigar and they were like those crazy stuff 759 00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:17,960 Speaker 1: about Yeah, exactly, it was all true with Clinton, man, 760 00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:23,960 Speaker 1: those nuts looking back. Yeah, so you got anything else? Um, 761 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:29,920 Speaker 1: I got nothing else? Well, then that's tabloid's Chuck. If 762 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:32,040 Speaker 1: you want to learn more about tabloids and see a 763 00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:35,600 Speaker 1: picture of the beloved bat boy, you can type in 764 00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:38,440 Speaker 1: tabloids T A B L O I D S in 765 00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:40,439 Speaker 1: the search bar at how stuff works dot com, which 766 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:46,200 Speaker 1: means it's time. Now, it's time for listener mail. All right, Josh, 767 00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,600 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this. Uh, don't cry for me, Josh 768 00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:55,000 Speaker 1: and Chuck. Hi, guys, I'm currently working in Argentina, conducting 769 00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:59,080 Speaker 1: research and teaching English on a Fulbright scholarship. I wanted 770 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,000 Speaker 1: to let you know that your podcasts it was a 771 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:05,359 Speaker 1: great resource for English learners in other countries. Um. I've 772 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:07,879 Speaker 1: been introducing your podcast to students and adults I meet 773 00:46:08,080 --> 00:46:10,799 Speaker 1: who are interested in furthering their English and learning more 774 00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:14,840 Speaker 1: about US culture. Yeah, a little scary too, Um. The 775 00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:18,040 Speaker 1: idea of a podcast culture does not yet exist in Argentina. 776 00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:21,120 Speaker 1: When I introduce the idea in your program to people here, 777 00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:24,319 Speaker 1: they're very curious and eager to listen. They make great 778 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:28,360 Speaker 1: wine too, by the way, Argentina, Okay, that's good stuff. 779 00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:31,280 Speaker 1: Your podcast is providing a fun, informative way for students 780 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:35,640 Speaker 1: here to practice listening to different English accents, um, to 781 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:39,440 Speaker 1: try and pick up on some colloquialisms and jokes, to 782 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,239 Speaker 1: learn new vocabulary why I feel a lot of heat 783 00:46:42,239 --> 00:46:45,160 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, um, and to become more informed 784 00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:47,879 Speaker 1: on the various issues you discuss. The idea of people 785 00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:50,799 Speaker 1: listening to podcasts purely to further their own knowledge is 786 00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,160 Speaker 1: part is a part of us culture that I am 787 00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:55,799 Speaker 1: proud to share and thank you very much for that. 788 00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:59,920 Speaker 1: Spreading your fan base in Argentina, Angela part it's scaring. 789 00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:03,160 Speaker 1: Thank you very much for that. We're becoming a cult 790 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:09,360 Speaker 1: like figures like Rodriguez, who there's this like singer songwriter 791 00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:11,640 Speaker 1: from I think the late sixties early seventies, and he 792 00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:14,239 Speaker 1: just went by the name Rodriguez and released a couple 793 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:17,800 Speaker 1: of albums that it's totally flopped here and um, he 794 00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:21,880 Speaker 1: just went the way of obscurity. Didn't realize that in 795 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:26,600 Speaker 1: South Africa, these two albums are achieved like just incredible 796 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:29,839 Speaker 1: status over there, and everyone wondered what happened to him, 797 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:31,920 Speaker 1: And finally years later he found out like he's like 798 00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:36,200 Speaker 1: a mythical figure in South Africa. You know, there's a 799 00:47:36,239 --> 00:47:38,239 Speaker 1: documentary that just came out about the whole time it 800 00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:40,839 Speaker 1: sounds like a movie or something. There's a documentary. Well, 801 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:44,560 Speaker 1: it sounds like that feature film, like something someone would 802 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:47,480 Speaker 1: make up. I saw a movie like that. You mean, 803 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:51,759 Speaker 1: I went to Silver Docks and saw The Impostor and 804 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:55,000 Speaker 1: it was very much like that. Where the one of 805 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:58,480 Speaker 1: the producers afterwards the Q and it was like he 806 00:47:58,520 --> 00:48:00,000 Speaker 1: was asked if they were going to turn it into 807 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:02,200 Speaker 1: like a feature film, and he's like, we can't, Like 808 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:06,040 Speaker 1: there's just too many it's too outlandish that if you 809 00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:08,600 Speaker 1: fictionalized it, people would be like, this is stupid. Why 810 00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:10,480 Speaker 1: did you Why did you make these choices? Do I 811 00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:14,400 Speaker 1: want to see it? Yeah? You should. It's very good, awesome. UM, 812 00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:19,640 Speaker 1: okay if you have a doc recommendary documentary recommendation, so 813 00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:24,359 Speaker 1: I guess it'd be a documentary recommendation, a DOCU wreck. 814 00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:28,600 Speaker 1: Thank thank you. Um, we're always looking for that. Um 815 00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:30,799 Speaker 1: is that correct? Doc you wreck? Because I think I've 816 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:35,160 Speaker 1: seen that written before. Yeah, I just made it up. Um. 817 00:48:35,239 --> 00:48:39,080 Speaker 1: You can tweet to us at s Y s K podcast. 818 00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,720 Speaker 1: You can join us on Facebook dot com slash Stuff 819 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:43,800 Speaker 1: you Should Know, and you can email us your rex 820 00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:53,640 Speaker 1: too Stuff podcast at Discovery dot com For more on 821 00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,120 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff 822 00:48:56,160 --> 00:49:05,040 Speaker 1: works dot com? Yeah h. Brought to you by the 823 00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:08,359 Speaker 1: reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you