 | |
 May 19, 2021, cover ofThe Hollywood Reporter print magazine, featuringBilly Porter | |
| Editorial Director | Nekesa Mumbi Moody |
|---|---|
| Categories | Entertainment |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Publisher | Elisabeth D. Rabishaw Victoria Gold |
| Founder | William R. Wilkerson |
| First issue | September 3, 1930; 94 years ago (1930-09-03) |
| Company | Eldridge Industries |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Language | English |
| Website | hollywoodreporter |
| ISSN | 0018-3660 |
| OCLC | 44653726 |
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on theHollywoodfilm, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a dailytrade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weeklylarge-format print magazine with a revamped website. As of 2020, the day-to-day operations of the company are handled byPenske Media Corporation through a joint venture withEldridge Industries. The magazine also sponsors and hosts major industry events.
The Hollywood Reporter was founded in 1930 byWilliam R. "Billy" Wilkerson (1890–1962) as Hollywood's first daily entertainment trade newspaper.[1] The first edition appeared on September 3, 1930, and featured Wilkerson's front-page "Tradeviews" column,[2] which became influential. The newspaper appeared Monday-to-Saturday for the first 10 years, except for a brief period, then Monday-to-Friday from 1940. Wilkerson used caustic articles and gossip to generate publicity and was noticed by the studio bosses in New York and some studio lots tried to ban the paper.[3]
In 1932,Variety suedThe Hollywood Reporter, alleging thatTHR was plagiarizing information fromVariety following its publication in New York on Tuesdays, by way of phoning or wiring the information back to Hollywood, so thatTHR could publish the information beforeVariety reached Hollywood three days later on Friday.[4] Then, in 1933,Variety started its own daily Hollywood edition,Daily Variety, to cover the film industry.[5]
Screenwriter and ardent anti-Communist[6]Jack Moffitt, who had written the scripts for dozens of films duringHollywood's Golden Age and was the father of model and actressPeggy Moffitt, wrote many reviews forTHR[7][8][9] after being hired by Wilkerson in 1955.[6]
Wilkerson became friends withHoward Hughes and the paper wrote many favorable stories about him and his film plans. In return, Hughes, in addition to advertising revenue, also provided financial assistance to the paper when necessary.[3]
Wilkerson ranThe Hollywood Reporter until his death in September 1962, although his final column appeared 18 months prior.[10] Wilkerson's wife,Tichi Wilkerson Kassel, took over as publisher and editor-in-chief when her husband died.[11]
From the late 1930s, Wilkerson usedThe Hollywood Reporter to push the view that the industry was a communist stronghold. In particular, he opposed the screenplay writers' trade union, theScreen Writers Guild, which he called the "Red Beachhead".[12][13] In 1946 the Guild considered creating an American Authors' Authority to hold copyright for writers, instead of ownership passing to the studios. Wilkerson devoted his "Tradeviews" column to the issue on July 29, 1946, headlined "A Vote forJoe Stalin." He went toconfession before publishing it, knowing the damage it would cause, but was apparently encouraged by the priest to go ahead with it.[12][14]
The column contained the first industry names, includingDalton Trumbo andHoward Koch, on what became the Hollywood blacklist, known as "Billy's list". Eight of the 11 people Wilkerson named were among the "Hollywood Ten" who wereblacklisted after hearings in 1947 by theHouse Un-American Activities Committee.[12][15] When Wilkerson died in 1962, hisTHR obituary said that he had "named names, pseudonyms and card numbers and was widely credited with being chiefly responsible for preventing communists from becoming entrenched in Hollywood production."[12]
In 1997THR reporter David Robb wrote a story about the newspaper's involvement, but the editor, Robert J. Dowling, declined to run it. For the blacklist's 65th anniversary in 2012, theTHR published a lengthy investigative piece about Wilkerson's role, by reporters Gary Baum and Daniel Miller.[12] The same edition carried an apology from Wilkerson's son W. R. Wilkerson III. He wrote that his father had been motivated by revenge for his thwarted ambition to own a studio.[16]
On April 11, 1988, Tichi Wilkerson Kassel sold the paper toBPI Communications, owned byAffiliated Publications, for $26.7 million.[17] Robert J. Dowling becameTHR president in 1988, and editor-in-chief and publisher in 1991.[10] Dowling hired Alex Ben Block as editor in 1990. Block and Teri Ritzer damped much of the sensationalism andcronyism that was prominent in the paper under the Wilkersons. In 1994, BPI Communications was sold toVerenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen (VNU) for $220 million.[18]
In March 2006 a private equity consortium led by Blackstone and KKR, both with ties to the conservative movement in the United States, acquiredTHR along with the other assets of VNU.[19] It joined those publications withAdWeek andA.C. Nielsen to formThe Nielsen Company.[20]
Matthew King, vice president for content and audience, editorial director Howard Burns, and executive editor Peter Pryor left the paper in a wave of layoffs in December 2006; editor Cynthia Littleton, widely respected throughout the industry, reported directly to Kilcullen.The Reporter absorbed another blow when Littleton left her position for an editorial job atVariety in March 2007. Web editor Glenn Abel also left after 16 years with the paper.[21]
From 1988 to 2014,Daily Variety andThe Hollywood Reporter were both located onWilshire Boulevard, alongMiracle Mile. In March 2007,The Hollywood Reporter surpassedDaily Variety to achieve the largest total distribution of any entertainment daily.[22]
In December 2009, Prometheus Global Media, a newly formed company formed by Pluribus Capital Management andGuggenheim Partners, and chaired byJimmy Finkelstein, CEO of News Communications, parent of political journalThe Hill, acquiredTHR from Nielsen Business Media. It pledged to invest in the brand and grow the company.[23]Richard Beckman, formerly ofCondé Nast, was appointed as CEO.[24]
In 2010, Beckman recruitedJanice Min, the former editor-in-chief ofUs Weekly, as editorial director to "eviscerate" the existing daily trade paper and reinvent it as a glossy, large-format weekly magazine.[25][26]The Hollywood Reporter relaunched with a weekly print edition and a revamped website that enabled it to break news. Eight months after its initial report,The New York Times took note of the many scoopsTHR had generated, adding that the new glossy format seemed to be succeeding with its "rarefied demographic", stating: "They managed to change the subject by going weekly... The large photos, lush paper stock and great design are a kind of narcotic here."[27]
In 2011,Deadline Hollywood, a property ofPenske Media Corporation, suedThe Hollywood Reporter for more than $5 million, allegingcopyright infringement. In 2013,THR's parent company settled the suit. According toThe Wall Street Journal, "The lawsuit [was] widely viewed in Hollywood as a proxy for the bitter war for readers and advertising dollars... The two sides agreed on a statement reading in part: 'Prometheus admits thatThe Hollywood Reporter copied source code from Penske Media Corporation's Web sitewww.tvline.com; Prometheus andThe Hollywood Reporter have apologized to Penske Media.'"[28]
By February 2013 theTimes returned toTHR, filing a report on a party forAcademy Award nominees the magazine had hosted at the Los Angeles restaurantSpago. Noting the crowd of top celebrities in attendance, theTimes alluded to the fact that manyHollywood insiders were now referring toTHR as "the newVanity Fair". Ad sales since Min's hiring were up more than 50%, while traffic to the magazine's website had grown by 800%.[29]
In January 2014, Janice Min was promoted to President/Chief Creative Officer of the Entertainment Group of Guggenheim Media, giving her oversight ofTHR and its sister brandBillboard.[30] Min is joined by co-president John Amato, who is responsible for business initiatives.[31][32]
Guggenheim Partners announced on December 17, 2015, that it would sell the Prometheus media properties to its executive Todd Boehly.[33][34][35] The company was sold toEldridge Industries in February 2017.[36][37] On February 1, 2018, Eldridge Industries announced the merger of its media properties withMedia Rights Capital to form Valence Media (later rebranded in 2020 as simply MRC).[38][39][40]
In February 2017, Min announced she was stepping down from her role as President/Chief Creative Officer overseeingThe Hollywood Reporter andBillboard to take on a new role at its parent company. Simultaneously, it was announced that longtime executive editorMatthew Belloni would take over as editorial director.[41]
In April 2020, Belloni announced he was stepping down after 14 years at the publication in the wake of recent clashes with the company's leadership over editorial issues.[42] At the end of April 2020,The Hollywood Reporter (THR) namedNekesa Mumbi Moody as the editorial director who was expected to begin on June 15, 2020.[43]
In September 2020, Penske Media assumed the day-to-day operations ofBillboard andThe Hollywood Reporter through a joint venture with MRC known as PMRC. The agreement also included opportunities for MRC to develop content based on PMC's publications.[40]
Established in 2020, PMRC is the parent company of THR,Variety,Rolling Stone,Billboard,Vibe,Music Business Worldwide, the annualLife is Beautiful music festival and an investment in theSXSW festival franchise that is expanding beyond its Austin, Texas roots next year with an edition in Sydney, Australia.[44]
In April 2020, at least 20 staffers were laid off, including executive vice president and group publisher Lynne Segall.[45]
On August 5, 2022, Boehly pulled out of the MRC joint venture, and bought back the assets he had contributed to it, includingThe Hollywood Reporter.[44]
In June 2023, digital media writer J. Clara Chan and at least two other staffers were laid off.[46] A year laterThe Hollywood Reporter laid off a small number of editorial workers, including senior editor of diversity and inclusion Rebecca Sun and longtime TV editor Lesley Goldberg, who has been with the outlet since 2003.[47]
FounderBilly Wilkerson served as the publisher ofTHR until his death in September 1962.[10] Wilkerson's wife,Tichi Wilkerson Kassel, took over as publisher and editor-in-chief when her husband died.[11]
Robert J. Dowling, who was named president ofTHR when Kassel sold the company, became editor-in-chief and publisher in 1991.[10]
Tony Uphoff assumed the publisher position in November 2005.[48]
John Kilcullen replaced Uphoff in October 2006, as publisher ofBillboard.[49][50][51] Kilcullen was a defendant inBillboard's infamous "dildo" lawsuit, in which he was accused of race discrimination and sexual harassment.[19] VNU settled the suit on the courthouse steps.[52] Kilcullen "exited" Nielsen in February 2008 "to pursue his passion as an entrepreneur."[53]
In April 2010, Lori Burgess was named as publisher. Burgess had been publisher ofOK! magazine since October 2008. Michaela Apruzzese was named associate publisher, entertainment in May 2010.[54] Apruzzese previously served as the director of movie advertising forLos Angeles Times Media Group.
Lynne Segall, former vice president and associate publisher, was named publisher and senior vice president in June 2011.[55]
The weekly print edition ofThe Hollywood Reporter includes profiles, original photography and interviews with entertainment figures; articles about major upcoming releases and product launches; film reviews andfilm festival previews; coverage of the latest industry deals, TV ratings, box-office figures and analysis of global entertainment business trends and indicators; photos essays and reports from premieres and other red-carpet events; and the latest on Hollywood fashion and lifestyle.[citation needed]
TheReporter published a primitive "satellite"digital edition in the late 1980s. It became the first daily entertainment trade paper to start a website in 1995.[56] Initially, the site offered free news briefs with complete coverage firewalled as a premium paid service. In later years, the website became mostly free as it became more reliant on ad sales and less on subscribers. The website had already gone through a redesign by the time competitorVariety took to the web in 1998. In 2002 theReporter's website won the Jesse H. Neal Award for business journalism. In November 2013,The Hollywood Reporter launched the style site Pret-a-Reporter.[57]
THR.com,The Hollywood Reporter's website, re-launched in 2010, offers breaking entertainment news, reviews and blogs; original video content (and film and TV clips) and photo galleries; plus in-depth movie, television, music, awards, style, technology and business coverage. The website includes a blog calledHeat Vision, which covers comic books, science fiction, and horror content.[58] As of August 2013, Comscore measured 12 million unique visitors per month to the site.[59]
THR's editors have includedJanice Min (2010–2017), Elizabeth Guider (2007–2010), Cynthia Littleton (2005–2007), Howard Burns (2001–2006), Anita Busch (1999–2001), and Alex Ben Block (1990–1999).
Alex Ben Block was hired as editor for special issues in 1990, and was promoted to editor of the daily edition in 1992.[60] After Block left, formerVariety film editor, Anita Busch, became editor between 1999 and 2001. Busch was credited with making the paper competitive withVariety.
In March 2006, Cynthia Littleton, former broadcast television editor and deputy editor, was named editor, but left the role a year later for an editorial job atVariety.[21] In July 2007THR named Elizabeth Guider as its new editor. An 18-year veteran ofVariety, where she served as Executive Editor, Guider assumed responsibility for the editorial vision and strategic direction ofThe Hollywood Reporter's daily and weekly editions, digital content offerings and executive conferences. Guider leftThe Hollywood Reporter in early 2010.[61]
In addition to hiring Eric Mika, Rose Eintstein and Elizabeth Guider, theReporter hired the following staff in 2007:
However, staffing levels began to drop again in 2008. In April, Nielsen Business Media eliminated between 40 and 50 editorial staff positions atThe Hollywood Reporter and its sister publications:Adweek,Brandweek,Editor & Publisher andMediaweek.[62] In December, another 12 editorial positions were cut at the trade paper.[63] In addition, 2008 saw substantial turnover in the online department: THR.com Editor Melissa Grego left her position in July to become executive editor ofBroadcasting & Cable,[64] and Managing Editor Scott McKim left to become a new media manager atKnox College. With the entertainment industry as a whole shrinking, "Hollywood studios have cut more than $20 million from the Motion Picture Association of America budget this year. The resulting staff and program reductions are expected to permanently shrink the scope and size of the six-studio trade and advocacy group."[65]
Staffing atTHR in 2008 saw even further cutbacks with "names from today's tragic bloodletting ofThe Hollywood Reporter's staff" adding up quickly in the hard economic times at the end of 2008.[66] "The trade has not only been thin, but only publishing digital version 19 days this holiday season. Film writers Leslie Simmons, Carolyn Giardina, Gregg Goldstein, plus lead TV critic Barry Garron and TV reporter Kimberly Nordyke, also special issues editor Randee Dawn Cohen out of New York and managing editor Harley Lond and international department editorHy Hollinger, plus Dan Evans, Lesley Goldberg, Michelle Belaski, James Gonzalez were among those chopped from the masthead."[66]
Gossip bloggerRoger Friedman joinedThe Hollywood Reporter as a senior correspondent in May 2009, a year after being fired byFox News for writing an article reviewing an illegally bootlegged copy of the movie "Wolverine".[67][68]Business Insider described it as a surprising and risky move.[69] In March 2010, Friedman's employment agreement was not renewed byThe Hollywood Reporter.[70]
WhenJanice Min and Lori Burgess came on board in 2010, the editorial and sales staff increased nearly 50%, respectively. Min hired various recognized journalists in the entertainment industry, most notablyVariety film criticTodd McCarthy[71] after his firing fromVariety in March 2010, as well asKim Masters of NPR, Tim Goodman of theSan Francisco Chronicle, Lacey Rose ofForbes, Pamela McClintock ofVariety and Eriq Gardner of American Lawyer.[citation needed]
The Hollywood Reporter sponsors and hosts a number of major industry events and awards ceremonies. It hosted 13 such events in 2012, including the Women in Entertainment Breakfast, where it announced its annualPower 100 list of the industry's most powerful women;[72] theKey Art Awards (for achievement in entertainment advertising and communications); Power Lawyers Breakfast; Next Gen (honoring the industry's 50 fastest-rising stars and executives age 35 and under); Nominees Night; and the 25 Most Powerful Stylists Luncheon.
The Hollywood Reporter has produced the group interview showsClose Up with The Hollywood Reporter andOff Script with The Hollywood Reporter.[73][74]
Since 2013,The Hollywood Reporter has published an annual feature called "Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot" where anonymous members of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences explain their voting choices for theAcademy Awards (Oscars). The feature was first published in February 2013 as a single interview with an anonymous director titled "An Oscar Voter's Brutally Honest Ballot".[75] The magazine typically publishes three to four interviews each year.The Washington Post called the feature "the best part of Oscar season".[76]
In April 2023, the Academy introduced a rule change aimed at curtailing the feature, saying that Academy voters "may not discuss [their] voting preferences and other members' voting preferences in a public forum. This includes comparing or ranking motion pictures, performances, or achievements in relation to voting. This also includes speaking with press anonymously."[77]
The Hollywood Reporter Japan was launched in February 2023 inJapan as the first international edition ofThe Hollywood Reporter.[78]The Hollywood Reporter Japan is published byHersey Shiga Global under license from The Hollywood Reporter, LLC.[79] It covers film, TV and entertainment news with a special focus on the Japanese Film and TV market, which includes Japan's vast anime industry and talent agencies. Its chairman isTsukasa Shiga.[80]
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The Hollywood Reporter Roma was launched in April 2023 inItaly as the first European edition ofThe Hollywood Reporter.[81][82]The Hollywood Reporter Roma is published byBrainstore Media under license from The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. It is a multimedia platform covering local, national and European events aimed at the global market, with a focus on the Italian film, TV industry and culture.[82]Concita De Gregorio was appointed as the magazine's first chairman,[82][83] and served in the role until February 2024,[84][85] being subsequently replaced byBoris Sollazzo.[86] Since March of the same year, the writing staff ofThe Hollywood Reporter Roma publicly denounced the state of financial crisis affecting the magazine, with journalists, translators and external contributors reportedly not getting paid for months; anIl Post inquiry revealed a significant discrepancy between Brainstore Media's declared budget and the original financial plan presented by the company to PMRC in thedue diligence phase.[87] On 1 July, Sollazzo and the rest of the writing staff officially resigned from their jobs at the magazine.[88]
The Hollywood Reporter India was launched in 2024 inIndia. The Indian edition of The Hollywood Reporter has been launched under a licensing agreement between Penske Media Corporation and RPSG Lifestyle Media.[89][90]Anupama Chopra has been appointed as the Editor of The Hollywood Reporter India.[91]
With a passion for 'pictures' and a larger-than-life persona, The Reporter's founding publisher and editor-in-chief, William R. Wilkerson, gave life to an industry institution.
