Star Magazine

''Star'' is an American celebrity tabloid magazine founded in 1974. The magazine is owned by American Media Inc. and overseen by AMI's Chief Content Officer, Dylan Howard.

History

''Star'' was founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1974 as competition to the tabloid ''National Enquirer'' with its headquarters in New York City. In the late 1980s, it moved its offices to Tarrytown, New York, and in 1990, Murdoch sold the magazine to the ''Enquirer''s parent company, American Media, Inc. (Murdoch now owns the ''New York Post''.) Originally an unstapled, supermarket tabloid printed on newsprint, ''Star'''s circulation declined.

In 1999, AMI was bought by investors fronted by David Pecker, who personally pledged that ''Star'' would never relocate to Florida. Less than a year later, ''Star'' was moved into AMI's headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, sharing the building with the ''Enquirer'' and AMI's other recently acquired titles, such as '' The Globe'', ''National Examiner'', and ''Sun''. Editor Phil Bunton was replaced before the move when he angered Pecker; Phil told the ''New York Post'': Four years later, Pecker appointed former ''Us Weekly'' editor Bonnie Fuller to oversee the paper and, at her demand, he moved it back to New York in the summer of 2003.

At the beginning of 2004, ''Star'' switched to a more traditional magazine format. However, its page layout remains tabloid-derived, with sections including "Worst of the Week" and "Stars Without Makeup", which compare photos of stars with and without makeup. As of 2015, ''Star'' sells for US$4.99 per issue, with reduced rate subscriptions varying from 26 to 52 issues.

Controversies

''Star'' received attention in 1991 for writing a story about KISS drummer Peter Criss, claiming that he had become homeless, was a habitual drunkard, and was living on the streets of Santa Monica, California. ''Star'' had instead interviewed and photographed a homeless man named Christopher Dickinson, who had passed himself off as Criss for years. The real Peter Criss was mourning his mother at the time and has stated that he was distressed to learn that his friends and associates believed the other story.

In 2011, actress Katie Holmes sued ''Star'' magazine for libel after the tabloid published a story about her that suggested she abused drugs. The original lawsuit was for US$50 million, but the case was settled before going into court for an undisclosed amount of money.

A ''Star'' magazine's chief editor said that people are only intrigued by the "juiciest dirt", leaving the cover page to be where the most gossip and biggest celebrity news is to be shown. Jennifer Aniston has stated that "if you cooperate with one of the magazines, their competitors become vengeful and attack clients. There is no upside to working with them… Their tactic is to make up stories that are so damaging".

References

External links

Official website
{{American Media

Celebrity magazines published in the United States
Weekly magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1974
Supermarket tabloids
Magazines published in New York City