After a protracted illness, Nikki Finke, a seasoned entertainment writer who started Deadline in 2006 and made it become a significant player among Hollywood trades, passed away on Sunday morning in Boca Raton, Florida. She was 68.
The 24/7 online extension of her long-running print column “Deadline Hollywood” for LA Weekly, launched by the notoriously secretive Finke, She published first-person stories of what she observed in the entertainment industry and showed no remorse when criticising the industry’s greatest names. Her often biting, acerbic posts called out wrongdoing and wrongdoers as she saw fit — making her a hero to many assistants and below-the-liners while irking many in the C-suites who were not used to anything less than praise.
But they generally answered their phones when she called.
Many of showbiz’s major players were incensed by Finke’s no-holds-barred attitude, while others were enthralled. When significant exclusives were confirmed by comms teams or publicists, Finke would update her narrative with her trademark “TOLDJA” and credit the new information.
Her “live-snarking” of Hollywood award shows including the Oscars, Emmys, and Golden Globes was one of Finke’s most well-known — or infamous — tasks. She added disclaimers like “Come for the cynicism… stay for the subversion” and “Not for the easily offended or ridiculously naive” to many of those live blogs. No executive, celebrity, producer, or subject was beyond limits back then — or in any other Deadline piece.
“At her finest, Nikki Finke personified the spirit of journalism and was never hesitant to speak the truth in a blunt manner with a mystifying edge. Jay Penske, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Penske Media Corporation, which bought Finke’s blog in 2009, described Finke as “brash and honest.” “Nikki was never easy, but she will always be one of the most remarkable persons in my life,” the speaker said.
Finke, a native of Long Island, New York, held positions with some of the most powerful and influential media organisations before Deadline, including those as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press in Moscow and London, a Newsweek correspondent in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment and features. She worked for the New York Observer and New York Magazine as the West Coast Editor and a Hollywood columnist. Additionally, she was a Southern California public radio host for a programme on the entertainment industry.
In 2002, she started working for LA Weekly as a “Deadline Hollywood” journalist, where she covered the politics, business, and culture of the media and entertainment sector. Finke bought the domain name for $14 and began Deadline Hollywood Daily in March 2006 as a quicker means to report breaking entertainment news than her weekly newspaper column.
Finke was referred to as a “must-read” by Dow Jones’ MarketWatch, Los Angeles magazine, “important reading for those who follow the business,” and New York Observer as the “Media Mensch of the Year.”
Because to Finke’s extensive coverage of and numerous insider scoops regarding the 2007–2008 writers strike, Deadline and, by extension, she, were indelibly etched into the media consciousness of Hollywood.
Finke joined the publication’s Editor-in-Chief and General Manager after Penske’s PMC (then known as Mail.com Media Corporation) acquired Deadline Hollywood in 2009. Later, Deadline would establish itself as the reliable source for industry insider insight and breaking news. All three of the biggest trade journals in Hollywood—Deadline, Variety, and THR—were eventually under PMC’s control.
On Forbes’ list of the 79 most powerful women in the world in 2010, Finke was rated 79th.
The same year, HBO ordered Tilda, a pilot starring Diane Keaton as a reclusive Hollywood blogger like to Finke. Finke was not involved with the ideation, writing, or development of the project. It was co-created by Bill Condon, who also co-wrote the pilot’s story and directed it. Elliot Page and Jason Patric also starred in it. Alongside Alan Poul, Alexa Junge, and John Hoffman, he also served as executive producer. HBO eventually passed on the pilot in early 2011, after a rough production and post-production cycle marked by creative disagreements.
Finke left Deadline in 2013 after occasionally clashing with PMC founder and chairman Penske.
Finke created HollywoodDementia.com in 2015 as a website devoted to made-up Hollywood stories (read an excerpt here). With HBO, she engaged into a first-look production agreement for content from the website.
She served as a judge for the Mirror Awards, which honour superior reporting in the media business, from 2011 to 21. The awards were given by the S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communication at Syracuse University.
Finke, a graduate of Wellesley College, has supported the institution for many years and has spoken to its students.
Terry Finke Dreyfus, her sister, her brother-in-law James Dreyfus, and her nieces Sarah Greenhill and Diana Leighton survive her.
Private memorial services will be held.
