Last Tuesday, Feburary 26, it was announced in Los Angeles that the last issue of Daily Variety would be published on March 18th. That issue, under the paper’s new management, Penske Media, which purchased Variety last October, will mark the end not only of the Hollywood sheet founded by Sime Silverman in 1933, but also of the current Weekly Variety. A new weekly, also bearing the Variety logo, will replace the current weekly. The first issue of the new publication, printed in a 13 ½ x 10 ½ inch format, will appear on March 26th. It will be run by a triumvirate of editors who will be in charge of film, TV and digital content, respectively.
In addition to the imminent scuttling of the currently-printed editions of Variety and Daily Variety, Penske has already dropped the online “paywall” on Variety’s website, meaning that access to it is now free, compared to a former official yearly fee of $349, though print subscribers obtained access for $99. In addition to Variety Penske also owns the highly successful online blog Deadline Hollywood edited by Nikki Finke.
ON MARCH 15 THE SIMESITE WILL BE POSTING A SPECIAL “OBITUARY” SECTION FOR THE DEMISE OF VARIETY, WHICH WILL INCLUDE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM A SELECTION OF EX MUGGS.
End