Deadline Hollywood Daily was bought by Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), which operates Mail.com, HollywoodLife.com, MovieLine.com and OnCars.com. From the company's announcement on her site:

MMC also begins a long-term partnership with former Newsweek and Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine writer/reporter Nikki Finke, the founder and writer of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com and one of the foremost entertainment business journalists in the world.....

“We're thrilled to be working with Nikki. As a world-class journalist, she is unequivocally recognized by the entertainment and business community as a unique voice and leading authority on news coverage of major media, especially Hollywood. With this acquisition and partnership now complete, her DeadlineHollyoodDaily.com can continue to extend its reach and influence and finally have the web platform it deserves,” said Jay Penske, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MMC. "Ever since the first scoop of Nikki’s that I read, I quickly realized that she has raised the bar on – if not changed the game of – entertainment journalism; and her work perfectly embodies our mission at MMC: to provide the most original and most authoritative content on the web.”

"I was fortunate to have had much interest and many offers from major corporations and media companies to consider over the past 18 months,” said Nikki Finke, whose title will now become General Manager, Editor in Chief, and Founder of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com. "First, I had to ensure that my DeadlineHollywood Daily.com would continue to be an independent editorial voice – and I would retain complete control over everything reported on the website -- so that DHD’s credibility with its readers could remain intact. Second, I needed to make certain that an advanced infrastructure and capable team were in place, to bring DHD to the next level. FinaIly, I wanted to join a major Internet player that was ambitious, up-and-coming, and far-sighted. Jay Penske and MMC gave me all those assurances and more. This deal was worth waiting for.”

DHD and Finke had been part of the LA Weekly and Village Voice Media.

* Updates:The Wrap says Finke got "a stunning $14 million" and plans to hire a New York reporter. Sharon Waxman and Finke had what reads like a testy conversation, and Finke posts at DHD: "know this: I did not sell out."

© 2003-2009   •  About LA Observed  •  Email the editor
LA Biz Observed
4:03 PM Fri | CBS and ABC have far bigger fish to fry - namely whether their stations can get back the auto and retail advertising that fell off a cliff in 2009.
Native Intelligence
Phil Wallace | Searching for answers after a third loss this year.
Deanne Stillman | Jihad and cash offers meet American soldiers during the Gulf War, and beyond.
Iris Schneider | After a tough year financially, the Museum of Contemporary Art put on a gala party to celebrate with 1,000 of its closest friends.
Bill Boyarsky
One of the last of Doug Ring’s many good deeds was a visit to the Los Angeles Times editorial board with members of Housing LA, an organization advocating affordable housing for the thousands of residents being forced out of the city by high rents.
Jenny Burman
Thinking more about buying less.
Here in Malibu
The close-up.
Sponsors
Jewish Journal logo
The California Wellness Foundation
Playa Vista ad
Blogads

Blogads Los Angeles network

Get RSS Feeds
of LA Observed
LA Observed publishes several Real Simple Syndication feeds for easy scanning of headlines. If you wish to subscribe to a feed, most popular RSS readers will do it for you. You can also enter the web address from the XML button below or click on a specific feed. For more help with RSS, try here or here.




Add to Google