Global InformationA360media information
 | This article needs to be updated. (August 2021) |
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Trade name | a360media |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S.[1] |
Key people | Anthony Melchiorre (owner) Roger Altman |
| Products | Newspapers Magazines |
| Owner | Chatham Asset Management Omega Charitable Partnership, L.P. |
Number of employees | 3,160 (2006) |
| Website | americanmediainc |
A360 Media, LLC (branded a360media), formerly American Media, Inc. (AMI), is an American publisher of magazines, supermarket tabloids, and books based in New York City. Originally affiliated with only the National Enquirer, the media company's holdings expanded considerably in the 1990s and 2000s. In November 2010, American Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to debts of nearly $1 billion, but has continued to buy and sell magazine brands since then.
AMI has been in the news affiliated with accusations of catch and kill operations. On December 12, 2018, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported that AMI admitted to paying $150,000 to Karen McDougal in concert with Donald Trump's presidential campaign for the sole purpose of preventing damaging allegations prior to the 2016 US presidential election.[2][3]
According to its September 2018 non-prosecution agreement with Southern District of New York federal prosecutors, AMI "shall commit no crimes whatsoever" for three years, otherwise "A.M.I. shall thereafter be subject to prosecution for any federal criminal violation of which this office has knowledge."[4]
On April 10, 2019, Chatham Asset Management, which controls 80 percent of AMI's stock, forced AMI to sell the National Enquirer.[5][6] This came after Chatham owner Anthony Melchiorre, who AMI has also relied on for survival, expressed dismay over the tabloid magazine's recent scandals involving hush money assistance to U.S. president Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and blackmail of Jeff Bezos.[5][6] On April 18, 2019, AMI agreed to sell not only the National Enquirer, but two of its other publications, Globe and National Examiner, to Hudson News Distributors.[7][8]
In August 2020, Chatham Asset Management, AMI's owning holding company, announced it would merge AMI with Accelerate 360, a wholesale distribution company it also owned. As part of the merger, AMI was officially renamed A360 on October 1.[9]
In February 2023, A360media agreed to sell the National Enquirer to VVIP Ventures, a joint venture of the digital media company Vinco Ventures and a new company set up for the purchase, Icon Publishing.[10] As of July 7th, 2023 the deal has collapsed as reported by The Wall Street Journal.[11]
- ^ "Contact Us - American Media Inc". americanmediainc.com. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McIntire, Mike; Savage, Charlie; Rutenberg, Jim (2018-12-12). "Tabloid Publisher's Deal in Hush-Money Inquiry Adds to Trump's Danger". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
- ^ Jim Rutenberg; Karen Weise (February 7, 2019). "Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of 'Extortion and Blackmail'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Wang, Christine (April 10, 2019). "National Enquirer's parent company says it's likely to sell the tabloid 'in the near future'". CNBC.
- ^ a b Post, The Washington (April 11, 2019). "National Enquirer expected to be sold imminently as parent company faces pressure". Bangor Daily News.
- ^ Paris, Francesca (19 April 2019). "'National Enquirer' To Be Sold To Hudson News Heir James Cohen". NPR.org.
- ^ "Hudson Media buys National Enquirer for $100 million in wake of Trump, Bezos scandals". ABC News.
- ^ "Parent company shutters Bike magazine". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
- ^ Robertson, Katie (2023-02-06). "National Enquirer, Scandal-Plagued Tabloid, Is Sold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ Bruell, Alexandra. "Deal to Sell National Enquirer Collapses". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-05-07.