The tawdry history of “catch-and-kill” journalism

“MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL” is how David Pecker, the first witness in , described a deal the struck with the former president. Mr Pecker, a former chief executive of A360 Media, which publishes the tabloid, described how the magazine often paid for stories—including some it never intended to publish, a ruse known as “catch and kill”. In the run-up to in 2016 the used that ploy to bury stories that might have hurt Mr Trump’s chances, he said.Many publications (including ) do not pay for interviews. But some have made exceptions. The forked out $1,000 in 1912 (around $30,000 today) for an account from a survivor of the . In 1975, after the , CBS News paid President Richard Nixon’s former chief of staff $25,000 ($150,000 in today’s money) for two interviews. Tabloids practise chequebook journalism openly. “Sell a story to the —and keep 100% of the cash,” the British newspaper promises. TMZ, an American celebrity news site, pays tipsters amounts ranging from $50 to tens of thousands of dollars. Mr Pecker told the court that his editors were authorised to spend $10,000 per article; higher sums required his approval.