UFO Sightings

History

S.J. Publications Inc. launched UFO Sightings as a bimonthly newsstand magazine in July 1980 at a cover price of $1.95 (yearly subscription $10.00). Myron Fass published, Irving Fass served as Associate Publisher, and Russell Wiener edited. The production team included Stafford Bucknall (Production Director), Kelly Doge and Duke Douglass (Associate Editors), Fred Assa (Designer), and Mel Lenny (Advertising Director). Philippa Mongiello handled public relations. The magazine operated from 2470 Lemoine Avenue, Fort Lee, New Jersey 07624.

The content mixed loosely sourced sighting reports with speculative features designed for newsstand appeal. The first issue's table of contents gives the flavour: "Alien Dictionary Discovered," "Camper Killed in Michigan: Were Aliens Responsible?," "Time Travel Solved," "Is There an Alien President in the Making?," "Aliens Fought in the Russian Revolution," "At Last! The Truth About Dinosaurs," and "Was H.G. Wells an Alien?" These were not investigative articles in the MUFON or NICAP tradition; they were entertainment pieces crafted to sell copies alongside other Fass publications on the newsstand rack.

The archive holds eight issues spanning Volume 1 (1980, three issues) and Volume 2 (1981, five issues). The magazine appears to have ceased publication after 1981, likely due to commercial rather than editorial factors: the late-1970s UFO wave had subsided, and newsstand competition in the paranormal space was fierce.