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As you know, I responded early yesterday to some inaccurate showbiz website's rumor-mongering. I revealed that, in early December, the new owners of The Hollywood Reporter approached me about becoming editor-in-chief. And that, in January, they made me a very lucrative financial offer. But last night, Richard Beckman, formerly Condé Nast's Fairchild Fashion Group CEO who's now CEO of THR's parent company e5 Global Media, told the trade "there is no truth to the report" that I'd been offered THR's editor-in-chief.
Huh? I've gone over my notes, and let me reaffirm that the offer was real and detailed and made to me by one of Beckman's bosses during a phone conversation on the night of January 13th. It consisted of: $450,000 annual salary for becoming editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter. Plus a $1 million Malibu home which, I was told, "you can keep whether you stay 5 minutes or 5 years" in the job. (Why this? Because I had said that some day I want to buy a Malibu condo with an ocean view.) Plus a sum "roughly estimated" at $650,000 a year for my share of several cable TV deals which e5 anticipated making for THR. And so on. Other people know about this offer, too.
Let me reiterate that I did not negotiate. Instead, I set in motion a dialogue about mutually beneficial business between my parent company MMC and the new THR owners. That discussion continues.
Now let me add this: at the time, I thought this a lucrative offer but also a ludicrous one, considering how many THR journalists are going to lose their jobs when e5 Global Media transitions the trade from a weekday paper to a monthly glossy magazine, and website operation filled with syndicated content, and cable TV programmer. THR needs a miracle worker. But to justify this money, that person must walk on water.
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Shoulda taken it for that 5 minutes as it doesn’t hurt the resume and then you’d have had the $ 1 million dollar house… which you could have sold on the spot and pocketed the quan, were it not the house of your dreams/desire etc.
Take the condo and run.
More like take the condo and flip it. Who in their right mind would want to live anywhere in The ‘Bu when the entire region will burn down the next time a car backfires?
Thank You…
Too honor and clear soul ! Yes, we live in this world… but there’s more…. believe !!!
Huh. If I’m reading this right, THR is deliberately publishing things they know not to be true.
No really, buy Variety and turn it into an agency and you run it. PLEASE. Represent us all, like you rep your self. Save us! LOL. People are so old school when it comes to the money part, money can’t make shit happen, only ideas can. Wake up already folks. No wonder Sharon Waxman can’t even cover this story right, she keeps thinking how she would do it and that’s why no one is bothering her in the first place and she is running around with her head off spreading rumors about the election of the high school president and she didn’t even vote and she flunked out of school so now she bitches on the web like all the other myspace cyberbullies. You don’t have to leave your house everyday to be who you are. You are who you are the moment you wake up and speak your mind and fuck what anyone else thinks. Rock on Nikki
My mind just exploded, but in a good way I can assure.
Just curious if comments are really as censored as others claim? I guess I will know if this gets posted or not.
It’s one thing to assert you got an offer that others deny. It’s another to asset you turned down THAT offer.
But anytime a blogger gets too meta or busy writing about themselves, it gets ugly. Keep up the good reporting, let the rest sort out the rest.
There’s a difference between “censored” and “moderated.”
“Censored” is an onerous word that implies government restrictions on free speech.
“Moderated” is how people keep their blogs from filling up with hate, spam, and dumb.
Dumb is not a noun, Dan
One post on this subject was enough. Not sure why two were required.
I’ve had plenty of my comments/criticisms removed. In many instances, I wrote them knowing they’d get aced, but at least she read them.
Interesting though, my aaced comments in the past were very much in the vein of what you wrote Chris. I just think she gets sick of people how and what to report. And fuck it, it’s her site, she can run pictures of puppies if she wants to and we’d all stomach it.
Doesn’t stop me from trying to keep on point….
Kudos to you Nikki! Sounds like a dreadfully boring job:).
Who cares Nikke. How about “reporting” on the business?
What Nikki just adroitly reported was the dishonesty this business foments; not to mention dispelling an attempt to smear her journalistic integrity by saying her reporting of the offer wasn’t true.
Kudos, Nikki.
You continue to amaze me, which I appreciate endlessly.
This is her site, Dickhole. Anything she writes here is her “business”.
$ 1 million dollar Malibu house/condo? Come on, you aint gonna find Malibu property under $10 million.
Typical old school Conde Nast play coming from a Conde Nast hasbeen.
No joke. For 1M you’re looking at a timeshared hammock behind the kitchen at Neptune’s Net.
Ummmm, Nikki your a shrewd business woman… there are no $1milion dollar houses in Malibu?? That should have been your first clue that this was a bogus offer!! If you look at the fine print you’ll see that is says Mar Vista!
At what point does trying to discredit Nikki by knowingly publishing false reports about her become slanderous?
This is not a rhetorical question. I’m actually curious.
Would not a “$1 million Malibu home” be the equivalent of a “starter house” somewhere else?
I think a $1 million Malibu house qualifies for section 8 housing for the area.
Call me old fashioned, but I like the olden days when agents and managers were behind the scenes and not in the stories written about Hollywood. THOSE times have changed, I know… But can we keep the reporters/writers OUT of the press. Why do I need to read about the lucrative deal that was made to you by THR and read about how parent of THR is denying such a deal was made. YOU and your friends might care, but I just don’t think it’s appropriate to either whine or gloat like in this child/parent-like fight AND turn this “incident” into a story on your own world wide web site. Just an opinion of a guy who reads you EVERY DAY and really enjoys the reporting.
Best-
Paul
I agree. Shows a profound lack of professionalism to spill the details. Doesn’t surprise me, though. No such thing as ethical behavior today, anywhere.
A reporter merely published facts that disproved a third party’s claim. I believe this is called “journalism.”
I’m really on the fence about this.
I’ve seen the arguments for and against, and I think to defend her reputation against (allegedly) brazenly false accusations, it’s reasonable to publish this kind of detail.
But at the same time, I think the detail is unprofessional and unnecessary on a site like this. Too self-referential to be appropriate for the focus of this site.
Do you know what a million dollar home in Malibu looks like? A tenement near Hollywood Park.
why would they deny it? i would have said, “hell yes we tried to get her! you’d have to be insane not to give it a shot!”
fuck those guys.
I wish their were people in the world who told it like it is. Refreshing rarity. Thank you.
A Malibu home with ocean views for $1 million. If they believe that exists, that explains why they think their plan for a monthly magazine will work.
Um, I gotta get me an offer like that. My company is taking pay away from me. I want a Malibu house too.
Everything plus the kitchen sink and you still held out! Good on ya.
Nikki,
I think it is time (past time actually) for you to hand this story off to someone else to report. Once a journalist becomes part of the story, their integrity hangs in the balance. This is a story that needs to be reported and the one reporting it needs to be totally unbiased, something you cannot be because you are the story.
Nikki, I’ve been telling people you’re the best for years. You couldn’t stand doing that job. You’d cut out the Hollywoodies who send in fake press releases about projects they’re supposedly doing, just to see how the town reacts. You’d last with those corporate satraps about five days, if that, because they can’t stand the truth.
Write on, your way.
Aren’t you afraid of the impact this revelation might have on the parent company negotiations you have set it motion? Seems like an embarrassment that can only muck up things.
Glad you are sticking around
Who Cares?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is Deadline now going to be all about you? So disappointed.
Why is the self-meta a turn off for some? Does your own meta suck? I think Nikki Finke is treating her own business news story exactly like any other on the site. Though it would’ve come off better if she had Mike Fleming “interview” her and write the piece to add at least a bit of distance.
Actually, unless you received an offer in writing, you didn’t receive an offer. Believe me. I’ve been through that first hand. So, yeah, unless they sent a written offer to Nikki, they can truthfully say that an offer was never made.
I think N. should offer full disclosure – this IS a story and look how THR reported it. They are losing and needed a new media shot in the arm. Clearly the time of the Blogs has not only arrived – it’s taking over! Agreed that the $$$ sounds tasty but U would be ZZZ within days.
Who the f cares? Oh that’s right, nobody.
Wow….you’re a mentor to us all!! Nice to read of someone who isn’t afraid to see the forest through the trees, and is not a sell-out. honest, direct, and clear. I wish everyone in business worked like you do! Your payoff in life w/b much bigger than a condo in Malibu….and you get to keep your integrity and values.
Am I the only one that would actually like to see some proof of an offer before just believing this on Nikki’s side? Who did you have this phone conversation with? I mean, if you are going to put down all of the details ($1 million Malibu beach house…right) why not tell who you had this conversation with? What’s with the personal grudge against THR anyway? Shouldn’t they have been a monthly magazine by now, or gone under, according to all of your reports?
THR denying it was obnoxious, but posting all the details was kind of obnoxious as well. I think perhaps it would have been better to say “I have all the details and unless they correct this mistake publicly, I would be happy to post a copy of the offer/exchange if necessary, to prove THR’s claims of no offer as unequivocally FALSE.”
This would make them potentially consider issuing a statement to correct the situation. Instead, you’ve just taken a bit of a childish approach, and it almost came off as if you were bragging and arrogant. I like you Nikki, so don’t stoop to that level.
As someone who lives in Malibu… thank you for turning down that offer.
I got a similar offer from McDonalds, sans beach house. I turned it down though. Since they got rid of trans fats, the fries just don’t taste the same anymore.
yabba dabba doo doo
seems like your calling out an offer like this to the whole world would make any other future suitors wary of doing business with you for fear of public disclosure. not an intelligent move. i wouldn’t go into business with you.
amen to that.
Nikki- This is beginning to get weird. When a “journalist” is all of a sudden writing more about herself than the news her audience depends on her to report you begin to wonder has the line been crossed. Nikki, you are terrific, we all know and agree on that but you don’t have to air your private business matters to your audience. It feels like you are stroking your ego for whatever reason when clearly some of your audience does not feel you are maintaining your professional integrity.
In what part of Malibu can you get a $1m home? I think there’s a studio apartment above Country Kitchen that $1m may cover…
Good for you Nikki for telling the truth. I can’t stand the liars out there. You’d be surprised that the ones you think are so honest and have no reason to lie ie; the A list in everything are actually little whimps.
Take to ‘em!
Thank you.
Isn’t the truth that your deal with MMC is way richer than the the THR’s offer anyway (and requires you to stay on if you want to reap the rewards)?
How about full disclosure on that deal to put this in context?
Nikki,
If you and Deadline Hollywood are doing as well as you often state, why are you bothering to lower the bar and even recognize the competition?
Leaders…lead…all the other crap is just that… bullshit!
Although Deadline Hollywood is a must read for the industry professional, let’s not forget that it essentially is a blog. The news she breaks and the accuracy of her reporting is what keeps us coming back. While you may or may not agree with the appropriateness or journalistic integrity of her personal postings, the content on her blog is not up for discussion. We’re in Nikkie’s “house” and the house rules.
hvsumrstrnt, It got you to comment didn’t it? She gets people to read what she writes – so are you mad at her for being good at marketing or for writing the way she’s always written? – sorry I’m just really confused since I don’t get feeds from the hvsumrstrnt blog.
Nikki continues to stay relevant and innovative in a constantly evolving e-industry – more power to her.
I love you Nikki, never give up what you’ve got. Deadline lets you say whatever you want, whenever you want, and it just wouldn’t be the same without you. I hope they have to pry the keyboard from your cold, dead hands…in 2065, at the earliest.
Fuck ‘em, the kid stays in the picture.
Nikki: You’re a poster child for self-invention. I miss our quiet low-key dirt days but everything changes. Way to go, kid! Love the love child of Gloria Grahame and Evelyn Keyes picture. Don’t forget to have fun with your money and fame and clout.
yeah. i live in malibu. there are no million dollar homes here. maybe agoura. which is malibu north.
enough with the stories about YOU.
great, you got an offer. a big offer.
this is not news sorry to say.
Er, having a good producer friend who lives in Malibu, and I know how much she paid for her place and what she got for that money, I can safely say a million dollars down there would get you a shoebox, if you’re lucky.
Though this is really beside the point, I have to point out that there are many, many condos on the market in Malibu listed at under $1M, some sporting “ocean views.” Either some of you are posting through a space-time wormhole from 2006, or you have wildly fantastical ideas about what the current real estate market is like.
A $1 million home in Malibu would be a 600 SF closet.
THR is in real trouble. I dont think you want that kind of a headache.
Read the tattooed fingers of the old mariner in Master & Commander: H-O-L-D-F-A-S-T — no one can withstand a self-referential media storm, better mum. You’re already shaping the media as an unseen hand, if you show your hand, Nikki, you don’t have ‘hand’ as they say. Hold fast.
Or from one of the Great Bears of America, for this current Bear Market, Jesse Lauriston Livermore: ““…it’s an aptitude for the game, a stomach for the ride, and the ability to see what
is happening without emotion. The ability to make observations that others don’t and a good
memory….Only speculate if you can make it a full-time job. Don’t take tips of any kind, no matter
where they come from.”
He was calling the shots, of course, he did call his last shot too. But you get the point. In the ideas economy you are the “engine that drives this firm” so get fired up accordingly.
Some of these comments are cracking me up! @ New Low – lol at the McDonald’s story. LMAO re the $1M Malibu home.
How can I create a gig like yours? You’re a very good crack journalist AND a smart businesswoman.
Why does this matter? Here’s one reason – if you google “Nikki Finke” the e5 Global denial is on PAGE 1 already … which means they have some amazing SEO. If Nikki didn’t respond like she has, their version of history in this ‘he said, she said’ would live to be the truth – after all, everyone only ever reads the Headlines …