UPDATE 1-American Media looking to sell tabloid National Enquirer

American Media Inc on Wednesday said it is looking at strategic options for its U.S. tabloid newspaper the National Enquirer and may sell the publication.

AMI said in a statement https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-media-llc-is-exploring-strategic-options-for-its-newsprint-tabloids-including-national-enquirer-300830361.html that after a strategic operational review it began in August, it decided to explore "strategic options" for the National Enquirer in the United States and United Kingdom, as well as for the Globe and the National Examiner brands. "We feel the future opportunities with the tabloids can be best exploited by a different ownership," the company said in a statement. An AMI spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

National Enquirer has been embroiled in a battle with Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive and founder Jeff Bezos, who is also the owner of the Washington Post. The world's richest man, who has frequently been a target of ire from Trump, has accused the publication of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing intimate photos. AMI has defended its reporting on Bezos' affair.

In addition, the National Enquirer's reporting practices have come under scrutiny in the past year amid media reports that the tabloid engaged in a practice called "catch and kill" to protect U.S. President Donald Trump, in which it would pay for potentially damaging stories to prevent them from being published. (Reporting by Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru and Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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