00:00 The Weekly World News, a tabloid newspaper known for its outrageous and fictional stories, serves as a perfect analogy for the course of tabloids over the last 20 years.

05:16 Tabloids originated as a cheaper and more accessible alternative to traditional newspapers, focusing on human interest stories and injecting more emotion into their writing style.

10:11 Yellow journalism, characterized by sensationalism and celebrity gossip, originated with William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and later evolved into the National Enquirer under Gene Pope's leadership, who recognized the potential of selling tabloids in supermarkets.

15:14 Tabloids are often picked up and thumbed through in the supermarket checkout line, but People Magazine and Us Weekly have adopted tabloid-style content to appeal to readers.

19:40 Tabloids often rely on unqualified experts and random quotes to create sensational stories, while also blowing up small stories into front-page features by adding a lot of quotes and focusing on people's opinions rather than the actual story.

24:52 Tabloids often rely on paid sources, including celebrities themselves, to obtain information and photos for their stories, and paparazzi became more aggressive and relentless in the 70s due to the obsession of tabloid owner Gene Pope with certain celebrities.

29:57 Tabloids in the 50s and 60s were able to get away with publishing false stories about celebrities because the celebrities didn't want to draw attention to the stories by suing, and even if they did sue, the tabloids didn't have the money to pay them; however, in the 80s, tabloids like the National Enquirer gained enormous circulation and deep pockets, leading to more lawsuits and larger settlements.

34:49 Tabloids now have reputations for being fearsome litigators, using tactics like the scorpion defense and delays to make it not worth a celebrity's while to sue them.

39:14 Tabloids often avoid lawsuits by cutting deals with celebrities and having their articles screened by attorneys, but they also engage in unethical practices such as phone hacking and email hacking.

44:35 Tabloids have been responsible for exposing scandals involving public figures, such as Jesse Jackson's illegitimate child and Gary Hart's affair, and have influenced mainstream media to become more tabloid-like in their reporting.

49:44 This section of the transcript is not relevant to summarizing the podcast episode "How Tabloids Work."