Now I’m feeling all nostalgic for the Weekly World News. I miss it. snif
I have the final issue on my nightstand right now and was just leafing through it the other evening.
I never saw any hint the WWN acknowledged printing anything but literal truth. Some people bought it for the hilarity - I certainly did. The ads always seemed to target gullible people, though. Before we make too much fun about that, ask yourself how many ads elsewhere don’t. Certainly some stories had a kernel of truth, and it always made me wonder whether they all might. At least a couple of times, I read a story in WWN before reading it in the legitimate press.
Bat Boy gives me the creeps, though. I don’t like having his stupid damn picture laying around.
I used to read it every Monday over lunch. Got lots of laughs from it. I especially liked the psychic (whose name changed toward the end).
Bob
In addition:
As usual, the ‘Bat Boy’ reference makes it.
The Weekly World News began to take off when the traditional tabloids went mainstream. The National Enquirer, The Star, and other cheaper rags had traditionally carried the alien and monster stories. As they went full time into celebrity scandal the majority of the whack and woo was in short supply. The Weekly World News was obviously a tongue in cheek version of the older style tabloid, but it seemed to have buyers at the grocery checkout line. I used to purchase the Enquirer for the entertainment value, but it also had important journalism. After all, the New York Times didn’t even bother to cover that two headed baby.