Veteran entertainment journalist Nikki Finke, who was the founder of Deadline Hollywood, one of Hollywood’s most followed entertainment websites, passed away on October 9, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida. Nikki was 68 years old. Nikki Finke was affected by an illness for quite some time and that is said to be the reason behind her demise.
She is regarded as one of the best showbiz journalists and her website. She was known for her honest comments and reports on events. She was not afraid to call-out people on issues that she deemed wrong, which made her liked by many, at the same time not-so-liked by many too. In all senses, she was a journalist who embodied the true spirit of journalism.
Nikki Finke was not just limited to the title of a journalist. She has also provided her talents as a blogger, writer, and publisher. Born on December 16, 1953, and brought up in Sands Point, Nassau County, New York, Nikki was the daughter of Jewish parents Mr. and Mrs. Robert Finke.
Nikki Finke completed her graduation from Wesley College. The roots of her career sprouted there, where Nikki was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. What started from there took her to be one of Hollywood;’s most popular entertainment journalists.
Nikki started her journalism career at Associated Press(AP) which is a non-profit news agency headquartered in New York. From there, throughout her career, Nikki worked for some of the top names in the field of journalism, After leaving AP, Nikki worked for the Dallas Morning News.
From there she went on to work for Newsweek as a correspondent in Washington and Los Angeles and later moved to the Los Angeles Times where she landed the position of staff writer covering entertainment and features. Nikki Finke has also worked for some major publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle.
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Finke wrote ‘Deadline Hollywood’ for LA weekly from the year 2002 to 2009. It was in March 2006 that Nikki Finke began her blog, which was the online version of her weekly column. According to Niki, It was a forum to break news about the infotainment industry.
Nikki’s column became very popular among the readers and she was highly appreciated for her writing style. The New York Times compared her style of writing with Walter Winchell, who was one of the best American newspaper gossip columnists. Nikki was referred to as the ‘digital-age Walter Winchell’ with an ‘in-your-face’ writing style. It was said that she was feared by many Hollywood executives for brutally honest and open writing.
In 2008, Nikki Finke was named of Elle magazine’s 25 most influential women in Hollywood and in 2010, Finke ranked 79 on Forbes’ list of the ‘World’s Most Powerful Women’. It was in 2009 that Nikki decided to sell Deadline to Jay Penske’s Mail.com Media Corporation.
The contract is estimated to be around $14 Million which also included the clause that Nikki will continue to be the editor-in-chief and resident of the website which would feature her writing d and reports as well. In 2013, Nikki’s departure from Deadline was announced. She later rejoined the company in the year 2017.
During her break from the company, Nikki started a venture of her own where she started to write at HollywoodDemntia.com, a venture started by herself where she told fiction tales from Hollywood.
Upon asking about the website and its contents Nikki replied that there was a lot of truth in fiction and that she will be able to tell many stories in fiction which she could not say through journalism at that time. Top media like The New York Times wondered whether Nikki’s new website will be short fiction tales or will it be truths that are disguised under the cloak of fiction.
Among the most famous works done by Nikki, the one that gained a massive audience was her ‘live-snarking’ of some of the most prestigious award shows in Hollywood like the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Golden Globes. Many of the live blogs came with warnings like ‘not for the easily offended or ridiculously naive’ and ‘ come for the cynicism …stay for the subversion’. Nikki has also received many accolades for her contribution to the field of entertainment reporting. In 2007, Nikki won the ‘Entertainment Journalist of the Year Award’ for the South California Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club.
Nikki Finke got engaged to Jeffrey W. Greenberg in 1974. Jeffrey was an American Lawyer and business executive. He was the chairman and CEO of the Marsh & McLennan Company from 1999 to 2004. The couple got married in 1980. After a long 14 years of living together, the couple got divorced in 1982.
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