The New York Times has launched Watching, its long-planned TV and film recommendation website. The site offers consumers a curated list of films and programs based on qualifiers such as “binge-worthy,” “joke heavy,” “brainteasing,” “family-friendly” and “strong female lead” to name a few. The idea is to help readers…

And now for something completely different: Gustavo Dudamel, the photogenic, tennis-playing globe-trotting music director of the L.A. Philharmonic brought a touch of levity to Cosi Fan Tutte this weekend by proving his chops as a baritone, singing just one line — all that was needed to win raves for what Los Angeles Ti…

The time is rapidly coming when Hollywood studios can forget buying all those 6-page spreads advertising their awards movies in The New York Times. Because NYT Chairman & Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr, told the WAN-IFRA 9th International Newsroom Summit in London that there won’t be a newspaper soon. Asked about his…

The New York Times and Politico report that the Washington Post Co will sell Newsweek to Dr. Sidney Harman, a 91-year old stereo equipment  magnate, philanthropist, and husband of U.S. Rep Jane Harman (D-Calif.). The NYT reports that Harman began selling FM radios in the 1950s. Now, he’ll have to prove that a print…

UPDATE: Bizarrely, LA Times entertainment chief Sallie Hofmeister didn’t bother to even mention that Julie Makinen, formerly Julie Bowles, worked at The Hollywood Reporter briefly. Very briefly. Previous: Earlier this week, I pointed out that both the new Movie Editor and TV Editor for The New York Times…

Both editors are veterans of The New York Times but have zero showbiz expertise. Because we all know that it takes no special knowledge to cover Hollywood, right? As a result, Mary Jo Murphy leaves the Week In Review to take charge of the Hollywood and publishing beats. And Craig Hunter moves from the science desk…

It’s one of newsosaur journalism’s most coveted gigs, and always influential in terms of Hollywood coverage. Now the Grey Lady is expected to announce by next week that Gerry Marzorati will exit his post as editor of The New York Times Magazine before the end of the summer. Already, names of his replacement are…

This morning I read in The New York Times that “CBS shook up the upfront week on Wednesday with the most startling moves of any network for the coming season.” But then I read the Wall Street Journal, whose parent company News Corp also owns CBS’ rival Fox, and its headline “Playing It Safe” for a story that said “CBS…

Conan O'Brien is returning to TV via CBS’ 60 Minutes whose Steve Kroft has landed the first interview with the former Tonight Show host. It’s already been taped and will air on Sunday, May 2. That's a day after O'Brien's ban on giving interviews under his exit deal with NBC is lifted. He still won't be able to…

While the Sean Penn-Naomi Watts drama Fair Game doesn’t officially premiere until its Cannes debut in competition on May 20, the finished film screened yesterday in Hollywood to a packed house of distributors. The Doug Liman-directed film tells the story of Valerie Plame, whose status with the CIA was compromised by…

John Grisham’s decision to let Random House release his 23-book backlist in E-book format means one of the last big holdout authors has taken the digital plunge. Is it another symbolic nail in the coffin of indie bookstores and chains? “It’s too late for that, because there already was a corpse in the coffin, and…

An oft-asked question — do reviewers matter anymore? — was the subject of lunchtime chatter today in theater circles, after the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies was pummeled by The New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley. Some wondered if the blows were enough to impact plans for a November Broadway bow of the…