Is the National Inquirer in legal trouble?

And what is the case of Michael Cohen and the Inquirer mean?

What does it tell us about the pro-Trump media?

I'm Brian Stelter, this is the Reliable Sources Podcast, our chance to go in depth

with media leaders and newsmakers. We are taping this on Wednesday, August 22nd as the news of Michael Cohen's guilty plea is starting

to sink in.

Of course, the country has been captivated by the news both in theord trial and in the Cohen case.

And there's a lot of interesting detail in the Cohen guilty plea

about the National Inquirer and its owner American Media Inc.

Specifically, it's Chairman and CEO David Pecker.

Cohen says he worked closely with Pecker to catch and kill stories that would have

hurt Donald Trump before election day.

So let's get caught up on the case with Jim Rudenberg, media economists for the New York

Times, who has been covering this subject for the better part of a year.

Jim, thanks for joining me.

Thanks for having me.

I'm hoping you can catch the rest of us up to speed

on this case.

But first, take me into Tuesday,

so Tuesday, August 21st, there's news of a Cohen plea deal.

Newsrooms across the country are a buzz.

And someone tweeted out that you ran across the New York Times newsroom.

...