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The publisher of The Hollywood Reporter has been hit with a lawsuit claiming that the company has denied benefits and worker protections to various freelancers by misclassifying them as independent contractors. David Simpson, a four-year THR veteran who specializes in online video and social media, filed a class…

Leo Wolinsky was brought in after several rounds of layoffs at the trade, and now he was pushed out after less than a year in the job. Before coming to Variety, Wolinsky had spent many years in senior level roles at the Los Angeles Times. But, as I wrote back on December 8th, why in the world would that…

UPDATE: It’s finally official: The Hollywood Reporter announced today that Elizabeth Guider is stepping down as Editor after three years at the helm of the newsroom. Guider had been told she was out almost as soon as THR parent e5 Global Media CEO Richard Beckman took over in January, then was left twisting in the…

I hear that Steve McPherson, who resigned as ABC Entertainment Group president this week, has asked pit bull litigator Marty Singer to specifically target The Hollywood Reporter. If you haven’t noticed, the front page of THR is increasingly resembling TMZ as a Hollywood scandal sheet now that former US magazine editor…

The Hollywood Reporter has done it again. So I’m embarrassed for the trade paper and any media outlet that stoops to content theft and won’t properly credit Deadline. Back on June 25th, Mike Fleming posted within his scoop about Peter Jackson negotiating to direct both Hobbit films that “he, Fran Walsh and Philippa…

Back on July 7th and again on July 8th, I was first to report that the notorious film financier David Bergstein “was being pushed aside” and would have no role in Miramax once it was purchased from Disney by construction magnate Ron Tutor and Santa Monica-based Colony Capital. (I wrote: “As for the notorious film…

In the most recent development at The Hollywood Reporter since e5 Global Media bought it  last December and began an overhaul, former Us Magazine editor Janice Min has been appointed editorial director. THR editor Elizabeth Guider will report to Min. Nikki Finke is away for several days, but since she weighs in on…

It does seem that NBC always keeps fumbling. So I’m not sure which is funnier this morning: that NBC didn’t have any security keeping journalists away from its tech rehearsal at a NYC Hilton hotel. Or that The Hollywood Reporter just revealed bits and pieces of NBC’s upfront presentation — from the 2010-2011 schedule…

First, Todd McCarthy lands and now Derek Elley, Variety's former senior international critic who’s joining Film Business Asia. Elley, who was with Variety for 20 years, was fired in March along with McCarthy.

Hollywood will be pleased to know that longtime Variety lead film critic Todd McCarthy, who was laid off by the trade two months ago, has found an outlet for his reviews at IndieWire. He “will not be silenced,” the venue just announced. “At Todd McCarthy's Deep Focus, we will work with Todd to build an even larger…

A fashion blog called Daily Front Row just posted a long Q&A about the life and times of The Hollywood Reporter‘s new boss, e5 Global media CEO Richard Beckman (aka Mad Dog). Here are some pertinent parts: The Hollywood Reporter has seen better days. How do you plan to fix it? RICHARD BECKMAN: By turning it into the…

Like, duh. I’ve already reported that. Now MediaDailyNews analyzed Nielsen figures, and the Variety Online Group has seen page views drop more than 40%, and unique visitors fall 18% after implementing its online pay wall since December. During that month (when 9 days were free) page views for the Variety Online Group…