Fake News and Failed Friendships : An Analysis of Trump , Pecker , and the National Enquirer
by further cooperation with the Courts and Congress or incur further criminal liability is open to conjecture .
CONCLUSION
The history of the Enquirer showed the development of a highly skilled specialized magazine that developed a market for their product in supermarkets . Their long time practice of paying for tips tarnished their journalistic reputation from its beginning as a New York tabloid . Presently , their profits and circulation are declining as a result of the increased price of the magazine and competition from television programs like TMZ . This , as charged in Dr . Phil McGraw ’ s suit , forces the writers of the magazine to write sensationalistic articles that increasingly skirt the edge of libel ( McGraw ).
David Pecker understands these market dynamics . He uses a computer program that details which celebrities sell magazines and the design of the all-important front page . Pecker has taken advantage of the decline in the tabloid market to consolidate celebrity and fitness magazines under the control of American Media Incorporated ( AMI ). President Trump thought Pecker was the most likely candidate to take over Time magazine .
The friendship between Pecker and Trump continued over decades . It involved convenience , style , and mutual interests . The messages of both are short , easy to read , and designed to elicit an emotional response . Both men are brash and utilize name-calling , conflict , and division . Both employ the argot of the streets of New York . Their friendship blossomed at boozy parties featuring Playboy bunnies once AMI took over distribution of that magazine . That friendship solidified into a verbal agreement made at Trump Tower in which Pecker promised the Enquirer would support Trump ’ s candidacy for
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