Nikki Finke, founder of Deadline and pioneer of digital journalism, dead at 68

Nikki Finke, the longtime entertainment journalist who reshaped Hollywood's reporting business, has died aged 68 after a long battle with an undisclosed illness. The news was confirmed by Deadline, the publication she founded.

After working for the Associated Press, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Observer, Finke rose to prominence when he launched his Deadline Hollywood column for LA Weekly in 2002. The column was notable for the distinctive voice Finke's, unwavering coverage of Hollywood's most powerful personalities and a drive to shatter industry norms. Finke eventually turned the column into a blog first known as Deadline Hollywood Daily, then truncated to Deadline Hollywood, which allowed him to publish articles without the rigidity of a scheduled column.

Deadline quickly became one of Hollywood's most widely read publications, with readers relying on Finke's well-placed sources and sarcastic comments. Finke was one of the most prominent voices covering the 2008 WGA strike; his extensive coverage, willingness to critique senior executives, and relationships with notable writers have all led to increased visibility for Deadline.

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“I never set out to be mean,” Finke wrote in 2016. “It just went through my typing fingers, my laptop keyboard, the website. the powerless, which had been a recurring theme in my long career as a journalist as an international and national correspondent, so I had no interest in becoming an extension of the Hollywood publicity machine."

Deadline was acquired by Penske Media Corporation, IndieWire's parent company, in 2009. Finke remained with Deadline until 2013. In 2015, she launched HollywoodDementia.com, a site dedicated to fictional stories about the film industry written by various entertainment journalists and insiders. She returned to Penske Media Corporation in 2017.

“At her best, Nikki Finke embodied the spirit of journalism and was never afraid to speak the hard truths with an incisive style and an enigmatic spark,” said Jay Penske, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation. “She was brash and real. It was never easy with Nikki, but she will always be one of the most memorable people in my life."

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