Founder Of Deadline Nikki Finke Has Died:
On Sunday morning, the entertainment industry lost Nikki Finke, a fearless columnist whose outspoken manner and drastic revelations helped develop Deadline. She created a trade site, “Deadline,” in 2006, which became one of Hollywood’s most crucial news sources. Obviously, Deadline was the first to break this heartbreaking news, and they also added that Finke had been sick for a long time. She was just 68.
Deadline Hollywood:
Known for being a reclusive blogger, Finke made LA Weekly’s “Deadline Hollywood” column a must-read for industry news and gossip in 2002. It took her another four years, but in 2012 she finally debuted her website, Deadline Hollywood Daily.
Finke, through her blog Deadline.com, built a brash media empire on the backs of exclusives and rumors, becoming known for her “live-snarking” award events and news updates that yelled “TOLDJA!” when one of her earlier exclusives was proven accurate.
Finke made a lot of enemies in Hollywood with her no-nonsense approach. Although the Long Islander’s significant influence with executives, agents, and publicists was demonstrated by the steady drumbeat of exclusives she received from them, She was named one of the “world’s most powerful women” by Forbes in 2010. Finke was unrepentant, refusing to tone down her standards even for the most prestigious Hollywood actors and producers.
Once Finketold The New York Times in 2015, “I mean, they play rough. I have to play rough, too.”
Finke accomplished much of her work without attending any fancy parties or walking the red carpet in Los Angeles. Finke, however, was able to viciously criticize CEOs whose decisions she disagreed with from her secluded perch. She has previously described former NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker as “one of the most kiss-ass incompetents to run an entertainment organization.”
Penske Media Corporation:
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.
said Jay Penske, founder, and chief executive of Penske Media Corp., which bought Finke’s growing site in 2009.
In 2009, Jay Penske bought Deadline Hollywood for his company, Penske Media Corporation, which also eventually bought Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Finke and Penske frequently butted heads, especially when Penske bought the Deadline rivals. After months of public vitriol, she left the site in 2013, but she was still paid as a consultant until the end of the contract. “He tried to buy my silence,” Finke recalled, writing at the time.
After leaving the industry, Finke explored other fields but never went back to covering celebrity gossip. Her contract with Penske apparently forbade her from covering Hollywood for the next decade. However, she threatened to relaunch NikkiFinke.com on her own. She instead unveiled HollywoodDementia.com, which featured made-up stories about the entertainment industry.
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Finke worked for the AP, Newsweek, the LA Times, the New York Post, and the New York Observer for many years before gaining fame with Deadline. Diane Keaton’s portrayal of journalist Tilda Watski in an HBO pilot from 2011 was based on her.