Munhwa Weekly
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| File:Munhwa WeeklyHeader.png | |
| File:Munhwa Weekly Magazine cover 2016-01-31.png Cover for Janaury 31, 2016, featuring the arrest of Xulia Navia, Tayneul's new single and fight between Lethal-T and Marten Sternberg. | |
| Frequency | Weekly |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ko Tae-il |
| First issue | October 22, 1973 |
| Company | Huadai Group |
| Country |  Anikatia |
| Based in | Seulbyeni City |
| Website | munhwa.co.ank |
Munhwa Weekly, (Anikatian: 문화 주간; munhwa jugan, literally Culture Weekly) is a major weekly tabloid magazine in Anikatia. Munhwa Weekly concentrates on celebrity, gossip, news and lifestyle matters and populist news. It had a reputation for exposing national or local celebrities' drug use, sexual activities, or criminal acts as well as setting up insiders in disguise to provide either video or photographic evidence. The organisation as been accused of phone hacking. Munhaw has openly acknowledged that it will pay sources for tips, a practice generally frowned upon by the mainstream press. Nonetheless, it is also a contributor to the multinational, regional journalist initiative the Pardes News Network.
History
Munhwa Weekly was founded in 1973 by Ko Tae-il a wealthy businessman in the Seulbyeni Islands. The magazine remained blacklisted and banned from the Anikatian mainland until the fall of the DSRA. In the post-Cold War opening of Seulbyeni and the mainland Munhwa Weekly brought by the newly independent chaebol Huadai Group.
Controversies
Munhwa Weekly magazine has been involved in numerous controversies:
In 1983, Munhwa Weekly ran a now infamous headline story titled "Is the Pope really Catholic?" that accused the Pope of being a undercover IBI operative and Belhavian Jew who secretly practises the Jewish faith undermining the Romulan Catholic Church. The story provoked an enormous response worldwide with Belhavian government denying the allegations as nothing more than sensational tabloid journalism. Meanwhile, in the Papal Republic the magazine was immediately banned. Existing copies were burnt in widespread public protests across Rodarion. The magazine was sued by the Papal State for gross defamation of character in a Seulbyeni Court in 1983 and won a substantial undisclosed sum, the magazine then issued an unrestricted apology, citing an 'error' in its reporting methods, the story was retracted and the magazine was allowed to be sold in Rodarion.
Munhwa Weekly has written numerous articles making sensational claims about the personal lives of Capricia usually in an unflattering and usually negative light. In 1993 they released an editorial claiming that Capricia Montefiore had sexual relations with Pope Benedict XII's after performing a song for him during his 73rd birthday. The piece claimed they had a confidential relationship that had active for years. The Ministry of Christian Culture and Guidance, the National Media Standards Authority and the State Cultural Commission all signed a moratorium on all materials featuring Munhwa Weekly, The Rodarion officials strongly condemned the magazine and banned sale of the magazine declaring it "degrading gossip magazine that is a very real threat to the harmony of the political, cultural and societal harmony of the nation." Rodarian journalists and cultural commentators welcomed the ban, claiming magazine was nothing more than a dangerous propaganda operation. The magazine settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money in compensation. They issued an apology and the editorial was retracted and a special heavily censored magazine was then again allowed to be sold in Rodarion.
Munhwa Weekly has written numerous "exposés" and feature headline articles spreading the rumours started by rival tabloid Fate that accuse Voyage keyboardist Cibrán Pais of sleeping with then 11 year old Tayneul and then maintaining a secret relationship with her over several years. Both Cibrán Pais and Tay Ha-neul have strongly denied the allegations. Pais threatened to sue the tabloid for defamation of character. However, Munhwa Weekly settled out of court and paid an undisclosed amount of money in compensation.
Paparazzi members have been reported to have harassed and stalked Tay Ha-neul and her fellow idols, Tay sued Munhwa Weekly for phone hacking, slander, stalking, and emotional distress in Anikatian court in 2014, and won a large undisclosed settlement. After the lawsuit Munhwa Weekly issued a public apology, Huadai group CEO Kim Mong-Guk said he was sorry for "serious wrongdoing" and letting the magazine's standards of journalism slip. Following the public apology, some staff were dismissed or resigned in disgrace. It was reported by DongYang Ilbo than most of the staff had joined rival tabloid Fate which has also been accused of phone hacking.