Nikki Finke

Nikki Jean Finke (December 16, 1953 – October 9, 2022) was an American blogger, journalist, publisher and writer. She also was the founder, editor-in-chief and president of Deadline Hollywood, a website with original content consisting of reporting and commentary on the business of the entertainment industry by her and other show business journalists. She founded and was the chief executive officer of Hollywood Dementia LLC and its website, HollywoodDementia.com, for showbiz short fiction.

Early life Finke was born at Doctors Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, on December 16, 1953, the younger of two daughters born to Jewish parents, Robert and Doris Finke. She was raised in the affluent village of Sands Point, New York, on Long Island.

Finke was educated at Buckley Country Day School and the Hewitt School, before attending Wellesley College, where she studied political science and was the editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. She decided to become a reporter after seeing how Koch and his staff would show deference to reporters. Baltimore, Boston, Moscow and London. Finke later worked for The Dallas Morning News. She joined the staff of Newsweek as a correspondent in Washington and Los Angeles, then at the Los Angeles Times as a staff writer, covering entertainment and features. Finke became the West Coast Editor for The New York Observer, and then New York, where she penned Hollywood business columns. She then sued Disney and the Post for $10 million, alleging the companies had colluded to suppress coverage of the story; she received an out-of-court settlement. writing style, who is "feared by [Hollywood] executives". Deadline became a key information portal during the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, tripling her readership; according to the Times: "Finke's Web site has become a critical forum for Hollywood...But it [is the] strike that may have finally solidified her position as a Hollywood power broker".

In 2008, Finke was named on Elle'''s 25 most influential women in Hollywood list, and to the Heeb 100. In 2009, she sold Deadline to Jay Penske's Mail.com Media Corp, reportedly for $14 million,

On November 5, 2013, Deadline Hollywood announced Nikki Finke's departure. On June 12, 2014, she launched NikkiFinke.com. On August 3, 2015, she launched HollywoodDementia.com

Reception In 2006, Finke's LA Weekly columns won First Place in the Alternative Weekly Awards in the category of "Media Reporting/Criticism, Circulation >50,000". In 2007, Finke won the Los Angeles Press Club's Southern California Journalism Award for "Entertainment Journalist of the Year", with the judges commenting: "Reading Nikki Finke's salaciously candid coverage of Hollywood and its inhabitants almost feels like a guilty pleasure. She mixes the news with fearless finger-wagging that's just fun to read no matter the subject. She tackles the industry monoliths without the kiddy gloves and she seems to have command of the beat." In the 2007 AltWeekly Awards, Deadline won Second Place.

A studio executive said of Finke: "She's very, very, very, accurate, extraordinarily so—you have a supposedly private conversation with two other people, and it's on her site within an hour." Charlie Koones, former Variety'' publisher, called her a "once-in-a-generation talent".

However, others questioned Finke's "harsh tone", "summary executions",

Personal life and death In 1974, Finke became engaged to Jeffrey W. Greenberg.