Media: Tabloid titan Pecker out at

Longtime National Enquirer chief David Pecker was removed as chief executive of the newspaper’s parent company, American Media, after a merger, said Ben Smith in The New York Times. Known for his close association with President Trump, Pecker helped to “catch and kill” former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of an affair with Trump. More recently, Pecker was accused by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos of “extortion and blackmail.” Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management, the principal owner of American Media, had pushed Pecker “to sell the Enquirer after the publication found itself under federal scrutiny.”