Throwback Thursday: AMI

Throwback Thursday: Here we are, the copydesk editors of Globe magazine and National Examiner magazine, in our office in Boca Raton, Florida, during our holiday lunch on December 23, 2010. Of course, that's me on the far right, looking a bit awkward because I was trying to maintain the proper distance from all of my female co-workers. LOL

The other magazines produced in our office were the National Enquirer, Sun, Weekly World New, and the British version of Globe. At one time, we had 117 people working in that one large room. There were no walls between any of the desks, so the buzz in that room was sometimes overwhelming, especially during our four weekly deadlines: two soft and two hard.

I worked for American Media Inc. (AMI) from 2002 to 2011 as a freelancer for one year before I was hired as a full-time employee. While there, I edited stories and photos, and designed and produced computer-generated pages. When I started, I worked in that capacity for Star magazine. I had the good fortune of helping with the transition from matte paper to glossy, which also involved a change in the magazine's size.

When Star eventually moved to New York City, I was switched to Globe. Soon, the Globe staff was given National Examiner to produce in addition to Globe. It meant more work for me, but I didn't mind, mainly because National Examiner was easier to produce than Globe.

I also worked one day as an editor for National Enquirer when someone was on vacation.

Several years after I left the company, the Boca Raton office closed, and the whole operation was moved to New York City.

Also, while I was with AMI, I edited two of their full-length biographies (Johnny Cash and Whitney Houston) to earn a little extra money. I also "earned" an extra $25 by allowing my face to be used in a Weekly World News story. I was a limbless man who earned lots of money as a conversational table centerpiece at high-class dinner parties.

I'll tell you something: During my first week of working there way back in 2002, I was seated at my desk and saw from across the room a woman dressed in a bridal gown walk by followed by someone dressed in a gorilla costume. I immediately thought: "This is exactly where I need to be." LOL