Famous and notorious Hollywood writer dies
Controversial Hollywood journalist Nikki Finke has died after a long illness. She was 68.
Finke worked at several outlets, including The Associated Press, Newsweek, New York Magazine, New York Observer and the Los Angeles Times. In 2006, she founded the website Deadline, based on her LA Weekly column called “Deadline Hollywood.”
Deadline’s Erik Pedersen wrote, “She posted firsthand accounts of how she saw the entertainment business and was unfazed about dressing down its biggest players. Her often biting, acerbic posts called out wrongdoing and wrongdoers as she saw fit — making her a hero to many assistants and below-the-liners while irking many in the C-suites who were not used to anything less than praise.”
Some were a little more pointed in their descriptions of Finke. Puck’s Matthew Belloni wrote about Finke and the subhead said, “Finke presented herself as a no-(bull) reporter who kept Hollywood moguls honest, and we all found her copy completely irresistible. But she perverted the profession by blackmailing sources, often targeting the weak, and weaponizing the internet to push her bile — and her own agenda.”
The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman, who was once a friend of Finke, wrote that before starting Deadline, “… Nikki had an enormous chip on her shoulder that drove her infamous mean streak. She was angry at how her life was turning out. She was exhausted from battling diabetes. Angry that she no longer had the alluring looks of her youth while battling serious weight problems. Her life revolved around her and her cat and her computer, which she wielded with a vengeance. And she believed she should have been working at the top of her field, given her talent.”
Then came the internet and Deadline. Waxman wrote, “Finally she could write at her own pace, be her own boss and set her own agenda. Deadline Hollywood was born. The constraints that might have softened her tone, acted as a check on immediately writing up the last source she talked to, were also gone. She wrote whatever she wanted, and if it wasn’t always exactly accurate, it was always colorful, juicy and very well-informed. Every mogul and agency head — especially Ari Emanuel — had her on speed dial, and didn’t dare ignore her phone call. In the schadenfreude world of Hollywood, Nikki was a must-read. And she felt every inch of that power.”
Famously reclusive, Finke rarely schmoozed with Hollywood types and worked almost exclusively from her home.
Hollywood journalist Richard Rushfield wrote, “This is the story of a very troubled writer who used the megaphone of ‘journalism’ to work out her insecurities and issues in a hellstorm of performative rage, all while hiding — ailing, agoraphobic, sick — behind an online persona. An OG troll. And this is the story of the industry that enabled that, elevated it and created a monster in its own image. I’d argue no other ‘real’ industry would ever have given such a person oxygen.”
In a statement, Jay Penske, founder, chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation, which acquired Finke’s blog in 2009, said, “At her best, Nikki Finke embodied the spirit of journalism, and was never afraid to tell the hard truths with an incisive style and an enigmatic spark. She was brash and true. It was never easy with Nikki, but she will always remain one of the most memorable people in my life.”
Sullivan’s thoughts
Veteran journalist Margaret Sullivan has a new book coming out later this month called “Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life.” Sullivan recently left The Washington Post as its media columnist to do some teaching at Duke University and work on other projects, including books. Before the Post, Sullivan also was the editor of The Buffalo News and the public editor at The New York Times.
She is the latest guest on Mediaite’s “The Interview” podcast. She told host and Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin, “I actually can say, and I think without any hyperbole, that I think the United States is on the brink of losing our democracy. The core tenet, which is free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power after elections, is threatened.”
Sullivan believes journalists need to do their part to stand up for democracy, saying, “They need to rethink their practices and rethink all kinds of ways they go about their jobs and not just do it the same old way.”
Sullivan takes aim at Fox News, and tells McLaughlin that, no, Fox News isn’t just the opposite of, say, MSNBC or CNN.
“Because while it is true that people go to cable news to get their outrage on, and that’s somewhat true across the board, Fox is different in that it so often is unhinged from reality,” Sullivan said. “And if you’re looking at somebody like Tucker Carlson’s show, I mean, this is someone who basically has signed on to anti-democratic and even fascistic beliefs. This is a very destructive force. He’s got a big audience. He’s really influential. He’s also out of control. It doesn’t seem like the brass at Fox or the Murdochs have any interest in reining him in. That’s true to a lesser extent with others of the prime-time stars. So, no, I don’t think these are equal. There are different politics, different political points of view on CNN and on MSNBC. But you can’t really compare them to Fox because they’re nowhere near as extreme in their direction or as unhinged from the truth as Fox is on the right.”
Sullivan has plenty more interesting things to say, so give the podcast a listen.
Answer: Did their first joint interview.
