(CelebNMusic247-News) Nikki Finke Cuts Ties with Deadline
We have some mouth dropping news that the woman once known as the dragon lady of Hollywood, Nikki Finke, founder or Dealine.com has cut all ties with the site she started.
This is NOT the end for Nikki Finke because she is on to do a new publication after she severed ties with the entertainment industry news site after repeated clashes with its current owner.
According to a story posted on Deadline.com, which has become a must-read site for entertainment industry executives since it was founded in 2006.
The story states:
“Despite attempts by all to have it go otherwise, Nikki Finke will no longer be leading Deadline Hollywood, and she will not be writing weekend box office or filing stories going forward. This is an emotional and painful parting of the ways for us.”
“Businesses evolve and change, and we’ve learned that no one is indispensable.”
Here’s the drop:
The story, co-written by senior editors Mike Fleming Jr. and Nellie Andreeva, said the site will “imminently” hire staffers. “Though we will never completely replace Nikki’s unique voice, we will continue ahead, charging hard, breaking every story possible,” they wrote.
Finke’s dispute with Jay Penske, who bought Deadline in 2009, has been brewing for several months. Last year, Penske’s company, Penske Media Corp., bought entertainment industry trade publication Variety and poured more resources to the newly acquired operation. Finke wanted a role in running Variety, but Penske reportedly denied her overture.
She subsequently sought to buy back Deadline and be let out of her contract that ran through 2016, according to The Wall Street Journal in September.
The dispute escalated in recent weeks as Finke openly wrote about her displeasure with her employer through her Twitter account and the stories she posted on Deadline. She complained of being locked out of the site, which prompted a denial story from Fleming in October. “For the past few months, she has unfortunately turned an internal matter, her dissatisfaction, into a public spectacle,” Fleming wrote.
Finke, who’s built a reputation in Hollywood for her tough-as-nails dealings with sources and studio executives, told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday that she was “happy” with the outcome. In walking away from the contract, she left “money on the table,” she told the paper.
Nikki Finke has announced that she has plans to start a new website that will compete with Deadline, Variety and other entertainment industry publications!
Nikki is a beast when it comes to success and making must read news, so her competition best beware. Congrats on the move to start a new Nikki Finke.
