Tabloid archive to be destroyed

The anthrax-laden headquarters of American Media, Inc., parent company of the National Enquirer, Star and other tabloids, has been purchased for $40,000, on the condition that all the contents within, be destroyed. The building has stood empty since it was evacuated in late 2001 after becoming contaminated with anthrax which killed an editor and sparked a nation-wide anthrax scare. Included in the contents to be destroyed is an archive of over five million photos of everything tabloid–from Bigfoot and 200 lb. babies to celebrities caught in compromising and less-than-classy situations. More here from the New York Times.

August 21, 2003 by Uncategorized 1

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1 Response

  1. stimmy says:
    August 22, 2003 at 7:49 pm

    Incineration of images from AMI
    This seems like a terrible loss, even considering the source and potential veracity of some of the images, in whatever context they might be considered.

    If the image collection could be tested and determined to be free of any anthrax spores or related contamination, the collection could be scanned and/or duplicated and saved for indexing and future reference/research.

    I recall a story recently where the photographer who took the “poignanat” image of Monica Lewinsky hugging WJC at a public appearance having been the only individual who HAD this image, largely because it had been taken with photographic film and not digitallyt and discarded as a useless image, as is frequently the case with many digitally captured images.

    Who could even beging to fathom what exists in this collection from AMI that might be of future interest? Hecksakes, the preservation of this collection might even be worth seeking an NHPRC grant for!!

    Larry

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