So silence-buying gets less contentious and Karen McDougal gets some of her life back in terms of rights to her story which may have been an example of a ‘catch and kill’ media story functioning as a de facto hush action.
This may allow greater opportunities for her in the media, aside from a cap on profit shares to the publisher.
This leaves one less Michael Cohen related issue to the numerous ones more focused on materials seized in the recent FBI raid on Cohen’s office.
Maxine Page, who worked at A.M.I. on and off from 2002 to 2012, including as an executive editor at one of the company’s Web sites, said that David Pecker also used the unpublished stories as “leverage” over some celebrities in order to pressure them to pose for his magazines or feed him stories.
A White House spokesperson said in a statement that Trump denies having had an affair with McDougal: “This is an old story that is just more fake news. The President says he never had a relationship with McDougal.” A.M.I. said that an amendment to McDougal’s contract—signed after Trump won the election—allowed her to “respond to legitimate press inquiries” regarding the affair. The company said that it did not print the story because it did not find it credible.
[...]
“In theory, you would think that Trump has all the power in that relationship, but in fact (David) Pecker has the power—he has the power to run these stories. He knows where the bodies are buried.”
(Ronan) Farrow's report highlights a tactic called "catch and kill" -- where a publication buys the rights to a story and then buries the story as a favor to someone.
The Enquirer allegedly did this to conceal an extramarital affair by Trump, according to Farrow's report.
David Pecker, publisher of the Enquirer's parent company, American Media and chief content officer Dylan Howard did not respond to requests for comment from CNN. In a statement, the company said, "The New Yorker and Ronan Farrow's suggestion that AMI engages in any practice that would allow it to hold influence over the President of the United States is laughable."
money.cnn.com/...