The Economist explains THE TAWDRY HISTORY OF “CATCH-AND-KILL” JOURNALISM TESTIMONY FROM DONALD TRUMP’S TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS A PRACTICE THAT IS NORMALLY HIDDEN “MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL” is how David

Pecker, the first witness in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, described a deal the _National Enquirer _struck with the former president. Mr Pecker, a former chief executive of A360 Media,

which publishes the tabloid, described how the magazine often paid for stories—including some it never intended to publish, a ruse known as “catch and kill”. In the run-up to America’s

presidential election in 2016 the _Enquirer _used that ploy to bury stories that might have hurt Mr Trump’s chances, he said.