She Fought The Law Alert™: This week's Casey Anthony stories

Publications: National Enquirer, Globe
Date: 1 August 2011

Two of the Three Wicked Step Sister tabloids are trying to keep the outrage over the Casey Anthony verdict fueled. Here are the headlines.

• National Enquirer: Casey loses $5 mil blood money deal after bitter public backlash
  Caylee's revenge!
  Plus: her new look revealed
• Globe: Casey Anthony: Proof she got away with murder!
  Former prosecutor's bombshell charge!
  Five key piece of evidence HIDDEN from jury
  PLUS: Judge banned shocking Casey video
  

Meanest story nominee: Della Reese and missing church funds.

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 25 July 2011

Welcome to gossip hell, Miss Della Reese! The Enquirer has a story about the 80 year old singer and actress "caught up" in an IRS probe of her church, where funds have gone missing. I have found no independent confirmation of this story online, so I'm assuming they are way over the line.

Just in case anyone from the Enquirer reads this blog, let me quote The Wire to express my disapproval. You just shot the Sunday crown off of a colored lady. If you ever run into the ghost of Stringer Bell, I'm sure he'll let you know how inadvisable that is.

This is a nominee for Meanest Story of the Week.

She Fought The Law (and won) Alert™: A passel of Casey Anthony stories.

Publications: National Enquirer, National Examiner, Globe, Star, In Touch
Date: 25 July 2010

If we ignore the Sun, which is usually about the end of the world, the five meanest gossip rags are the other four published by AMI (National Enquirer, the low rent Examiner, Globe, Star) and In Touch. All five of those have Casey Anthony stories this week. Here are the headlines.

• In Touch: Casey and her lawyer: getting physical!
• National Examiner: Casey Anthony verdict: what do you think?
• Globe: Casey Anthony marked for death!
  Chilling threat targets Monster Mom
• Star: Casey Anthony ca$hing in (OUTRAGE!)
• National Enquirer: Casey Anthony Wedding Bombshell
  Secret new life of America's most hated woman
  Another baby to replace Caylee
  $50K plastic surgery makeover
  Where she'll live and more

For a little outrage overspill, the Enquirer has a picture of the judge in the case and a story from his mistress blabbing about his cheating.

This is a lot of stories, but only counts as a single week's coverage by my way of counting. We will see if she remains gossip-worthy as the year continues.

He Fought The Law Alert™: The woman who brought Whitey Bulger down.

Publication: National Examiner
Date: 18 July 2011

While most of the crime news has centered on Casey Anthony, the low rent Examiner devotes space on the front page to the arrest of Whitey Bulger, the gangster who had been missing for 16 years. His longtime girlfriend Cathy Greig was a key to his being discovered in Santa Monica, not because she ratted him but because she was still doing the same job she did before (dental hygenist) and had the same hobby (dog grooming).

She Fought The Law Alert™: Casey Anthony found not guilty.

Publication: People
Date: 18 July 2011

The verdict in the Casey Anthony trial came out on Tuesday, which makes it hard for the supermarket rags to include it in this week's edition, which needs to be ready to ship around the country on early Wednesday to hit the news stands Thursday morning. Only People did the necessary work to get the story in this week's edition.

She Fought The Law Alert™: Inside Lindsay's house arrest.

Publication: Weekly Life & Style
Date: 4 July 2011

For only the seventh time in six months, Lindsay Lohan lands on the cover of one of The Only Ten Magazines That Matter. Weekly Life & Style has exclusive interviews and photos of the star who is now under house arrest.

As much drama as Lindsay produces, the supermarket rags just barely care about her. To give you a rough idea, there are four young women from the reality TV nightmare Teen Mom that have more cover stories this year than Lindsay Lohan.

She Fought The Law Alert™: Casey Anthony may get away with murder!

Publication: People
Date: 4 July 2011

In early June, the Enquirer had a story in a week full of stories about Casey Anthony that said the mom accused of murder might walk. I considered the story far-fetched then, but now that it's in People, it has a little more weight. I also have to say that recent expert testimony about the sloppiness of the autopsy might sway the jury, and the prosecution's use of a jailhouse snitch might backfire.

This blog is not big on prediction, so we will wait and see what the verdict is. Recall that this trial is taking place in Florida, a legal cesspool of a state rivaled only by Louisiana and Texas.

Meanest Story nominee: Casey Anthony tortured Caylee before killing her.

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 27 June 2011

The dogs from the AMI kennel are still making hay at the murder trial of Casey Anthony. The actual news reported by the legitimate press is already compelling, but the Enquirer still needs to spice things up and tell us Casey Anthony tortured her daughter before killing her.

Because obviously, killing a little girl won't make us hate her enough already.

This is a nominee for Meanest Story of the Week.

She Fought The Law Alert™: Casey Anthony's drunken party!

Publication: Globe
Date: 20 June 2011

While several gossip rags have had stories about the murder trial now taking place in Florida, the Globe is by far the most invested in the story. They have photos from a drunken party they say took place just four days after the little girl was murdered.

Let's recall that the National Enquirer had a headline to the effect Casey Anthony will walk free. The trial isn't over yet, but this looks like as bad a prediction as has been made all year, and I'm including Dr. Harold Camping.

Meanest Story nominee: Jeff Conaway - it was MURDER!

Publication: Globe
Date: 20 June 2011

Last week, the Globe asked what killed Jeff Conaway. This week, they supply the answer.

Girlfriend Vicki Lizzi.

Here are the headlines.

Who fed him fatal drugs?
"I did nothing wrong" girlfriend (Vicki Lizzi)

This is a nominee for Meanest Story of the Week.

She Fought The Law Alert™:As the trial starts, the gossip rags pay attention to the Casey Anthony trial.

Publications: People, National Enquirer, OK!
Date: 13 June 2011

Fresh trash on Thursdays! Before this week, all the news about Casey Anthony, the mom on trial for her life for allegedly killing her daughter, has been in the Enquirer and Globe. Now that the trial has started, both People and OK! get in the game and the Enquirer takes a new tack. Here are the headlines.

• People: Caylee Anthony murder case
  Secrets & Lies
  Mom's shocking defense
  Bombshell testimony, new claims of sexual abuse inside accused killer Casey Anthony's trial strategy
• OK!: Casey Anthony caught in a lie
• National Enquirer: Casey Anthony will walk free!
  Killer mom's plan to escape death row!

As usual, if everyone else is saying x, the Enquirer feels duty bound to say "NOT x!"

Call it a marketing strategy.

Or lying. Whatever.

UPDATE: let's me eat some crow. The Enquirer's experts got it right. Her defense team did enough to create reasonable doubt in the jury's mind and she was found not guilty of murder.

She Fought The Law Alert™:Monster mom's defense falls apart.

Publication: Globe
Date: 30 May 2011

The story of the murder trial of Caylee Anthony continues in the AMI tabloids. Now, the mom's defense has fallen apart.

In the real world, the trial actually began this week, so all the stories in the tabloids so far have been premature.

She Fought The Law Alert™:Hidden camera nails Casey.

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 16 May 2011

The murder trial of Casey Anthony has so far been covered by the Globe, but it graduates to the Flagship this week. According to them, a surveillance video proves mom guilty of murder.

Meanest Story nominee: Bobbi Christina facing jail time!

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 16 May 2011

The low rent Examiner was not on the newsstands yesterday and I haven't been able to find it today, so we'll have to have the Meanest Story competition without them. The Enquirer has decided to go after Bobbi Christina Brown in a big way, now saying the young girl faces jail time for being busted in a gunfight.

The story may or may not be true. I have found no corroboration in a reputable source. The reason I'm nominating it for Meanest Story is that she really isn't a celebrity, and the Enquirer has decided to hate on her like she was John Edwards or a fat Scientologist.

Meanest Story nominee: "I killed Kirstie Alley's mom!"

Publication: National Enquirer
Date: 18 April 2011

For those new to the blog and to the tabloid universe in general, the National Enquirer and its parent company hate Scientologists in general, fat scientologists more than skinny ones and Kirstie Alley in particular. Since Kirstie is on Dancing With The Stars, the Flagship decided to pour a little salt in an old wound and found a woman who says she killed Kirstie Alley's mom, who died in an auto accident in 1981, which also seriously injured her dad. The sub-headlines include:

• all the shocking crime scene details
• begs Kirstie for forgiveness
  

This is a nominee for Meanest Story of the Week.