AMI Holiday Lunch

December 23, 2023, at home

(13 years ago today)

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 Friday, 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.

I worked for American Media Inc. (AMI) from 2002 to 2011 as an editor and page producer. I was a freelancer for one year before I was hired as a full-time employee. While there, I edited stories, and produced computer-generated pages using articles and photographs.

During my first week of working there, 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."

When I started, I worked 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 us, but I didn't mind, mainly because National Examiner was easier to construct 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 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.

Also, to earn a bit more money in 2009, I served as an editor and page producer for two tribute magazines: Michael Jackson and those who passed away that year.

The magazines produced in our office were Star, Globe, National Examiner, National Enquirer, Sun, Weekly World New, and the British version of Globe. At one time, we had 117 people working in 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.

In different locations at that time, AMI also published the magazines: Shape, Country Music Weekly, Men's Fitness, Flex, Muscle & Fitness, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Fit Pregnancy, and Natural Health.