American Media, Inc.

American Media, Inc.
Private
Industry Media
Founded 1936
Headquarters New York City[1]
Key people
 David J. Pecker, CEO
Roger Altman
Products Newspapers
Magazines
Number of employees
 3,160 (2006)
Website www.americanmediainc.com

American Media, Inc., is a publisher of magazines, supermarket tabloids, and books based in New York City.

History

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.

American Media is not to be confused with American Media Distribution the international news coverage firm. American Media's corporate headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, figured prominently in news headlines in late 2001, after an anthrax attack was perpetrated on the company. 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. The CEO, David J. Pecker, travels between the Boca Raton and New York offices while managing the company.

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.[2][3]

American Media also owns Distribution Services, an in-store magazine merchandising company. In fall 2002, it launched the book-publishing imprint, AMI Books.[4]

Roger Altman, through Evercore Partners, bought a controlling stake in American Media in 1999.[5] 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.[6] Its subsidiary, American Media Operations Inc., listed assets of $100 to $500 million and debt of over $1 billion.[7] 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.[8] In August 2014, American Media was acquired by Chatham Asset Management and Omega Charitable Partnership.[9]

In 2015, American Media sold Shape, Natural Health, and Fit Pregnancy to Meredith.[10]

In March 2017, American Media acquired US Weekly from Wenner Media for a reported $100 million.[11] Three months later, in June 2017, American Media also acquired Men's Journal from Wenner Media.[12]

Publications

Current

Former

Divisions

References

  1. ↑ Accessed June 30, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Joe Weider Legendary Bodybuilding and Fitness Icon Dies at 93". MarketWatch. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  3. ↑ Trounson, Rebecca. "Joe Weider dies at 93; bodybuilding pioneer and publisher". latimes.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  4. ↑ Milliot, Jim (August 4, 2003). "American Media to Expand Book Program". Publishers Weekly. United States: PWxyz LLC. 250 (31). Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  5. ↑ Smith, Ben (October 11, 2007). "The Clintonite who owns National Enquirer". The Politico newspaper. Arlington County, Virginia: Politico. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ "American Media Chapter 11 Voluntary Petition" (PDF). Pacer. San Antonio: Federal judiciary of the United States. November 17, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  7. ↑ Jeffrey, Don; Milford, Phil (November 17, 2010). "'National Enquirer' Publisher Files for Chapter 11". Bloomberg Businessweek. New York City: Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ The Associated Press (May 21, 2014). "National Enquirer leaving Florida headquarters". The Record. Woodland Park, New Jersey: North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Chatham Asset Management and Omega Charitable Partnership to Acquire American Media, Inc.
  10. ↑ http://www.foliomag.com/2015/meredith-buys-shape-ami-60-million/%7Cpublisher=American University|location=Washington, D.C.
  11. ↑ Ember, Sydney (March 15, 2017). "Us Weekly Is Sold to National Enquirer Publisher". New York Times. New York City: New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  12. ↑ "American Media Buys Wenner's 'Men's Journal' To Attract Premium Advertisers". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
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