The Penske Media Corporation-owned trade outlet The Hollywood Reporter (THR) announced last week that Elisabeth Rabishaw, an industry veteran and current THR executive VP and publisher, is leaving after spending 14 years at the outlet. According to a story announcing the move, she will stay on at the company in a consulting role. This follows the recent round of layoffs at THR, which included TV editor Lesley Goldberg, who had been with the outlet since 2003. Other layoffs included senior editor of diversity and inclusion Rebecca Sun, THR’s vice president of business development and consumer partnerships Cathy Field, and what was described to me as a "handful" of other editorial and business employees.
According to a person familiar with the situation, THR has lost 11 full and part-time employees since September 2023, while adding 15 full and part-time employees over the same period. Although I think it's also fair to point out that the exits have included some long-time employees at the outlet. And many of the hires don't appear to have that level of career experience as the employees exiting the company.
The Hollywood Reporter had an earlier round of layoffs in June 2023, which affected less than five employees.
The layoffs are interesting to me in the context of something I have heard from multiple people: executives at PMC have been quietly telling some studios, advertisers, and other interested figures that they are considering shifting the focus of THR to a more entertainment lifestyle direction.
In the past, THR has covered much of the same editorial ground as sister trade publications Deadline and Variety. According to several people I've spoken with in recent days, one plan under consideration within PMC is to make moves to further differentiate the three top titles. Deadline is already seen as more consumer-facing than the other sites, with Variety being seen as more industry-oriented (especially given efforts such as the subscription-based Variety+).
THR would shift to what was described to me by multiple sources as a "Rolling Stone of the TV and movie industry." Additional shopping and sponsored product pages have been rolled out over the past few months and sources tell me that while THR would still include a TV and movie industry bent, there would be an increase in entertainment lifestyle coverage. One person who works in the marketing arm of a major studio told me on Wednesday that the potential shift had been described to them as seeking to frame THR as being the home for "aspirational Hollywood."
No, I'm not quite sure what that means, either.
Many of the changes at THR seem to lead back to last August when Maer Roshan was named co-editor of the outlet. He had previously been editor in chief at Los Angeles Magazine and before that was an editor at New York Magazine, Interview, Talk, and 429.
As you might notice from that list, none of the outlets Roshan worked for are traditional entertainment news outlets and several of the people I spoke with told me they don't feel Roshan particularly understood or cared about the nuts and bolts of Hollywood and that lack of interest translated to a shift in focus in coverage.
Roshan's hiring began with an awkward introduction to the THR staff, many of whom had a loyalty to the then-current editor Nekesa Mumbi Moody. I've heard several stories similar to one I heard from a former THR employee, who said the hiring came as a surprise to much of the staff: "I've never quite experienced a mood shift like the one that happened when Maer came on board. The news of his hire was about to be leaked (I always assume to The Wrap), so we all found out like everyone did: by reading about it on THR."
Maer was described to me by multiple sources as having a management style that is "equal parts chaos and missed opportunities." One source still working at the publication told me that Maer's stint at the outlet has been marked by the sense THR's corporate owners wanted a change. But what that change might look like and how to move in that direction was never made clear in direct conversations.
Other sources - both current employees as well as former ones - described an editorial process that has become increasingly rudderless and chaotic. "He (Maer) disrupted workflow so immensely that it felt like every weekly issue was in danger of not making it to the printer on time. He is overspending at a time when there is no money to pay freelancers and the masthead is extremely top heavy."
There is an overriding concern from people both inside and outside the company about The Hollywood Reporter's ability to continue to produce high-quality reporting on a frequent basis. "I have certainly noticed a change in the quality of their stories, especially since the exit of Lesley (Goldberg)," I was told by a marketing VP at one of the major studios. This person spends a lot of time looking at the news coverage across the industry and helps determine where ad money is placed. "I usually scan through the Penske trades early in the morning when I first get to work," I was told. "It's not uncommon to see almost nothing new on the Hollywood Reporter site since the night before. They do have a really solid European reporter (Scott Roxborough), who frequently posts stories early L.A. time."
The perception that fewer stories were being published throughout the day was a common complaint I heard from people I spoke with on the studio side of the industry, particularly from people who were responsible for marking marketing decisions. "I don't have any real numbers I can point to, but just from watching THR in recent months, it feels as if the stories billed as 'new' are often things are fairly lightweight," one brand manager told me last week. "Interviews done days in advance, articles promoting new trailers and casting information. It's not that the journalism is bad. But it certainly makes THR a less vital daily read for me."
Penske Media Corporation is a private company, so it's not clear how the ongoing changes in the industry have affected the outlet (or any of the other trades also owned by PMC). But given the soft ad market (aside from FYC ads and the various event-related revenue) and changes in search that have impacted traffic across the board, it's likely that THR has been hit with the same challenges as other news organizations inside and outside Hollywood.
One indication that digital revenue might be a problem is the steady increase in intrusive advertising units across PMC Hollywood trade sites.
Another indication there might be revenue challenges at The Hollywood Reporter is the apparent internal pressure from PMC executives to hit pageview targets and increased post numbers. A number of the conversations that took place around increased engagement would sound familiar to any journalist who has worked in digital news at any point in the past twenty years.
One reporter I spoke with at another Penske outlet highlighted the political news-related posts on all of the Hollywood trade sites as an indication that relevance was being swapped for cheap page views. "If I write a 'Trump did this crazy-ass thing today' story, it will get traffic," I was told. "But I can't help but think that most of those readers jump into the site, read the story, and leave. And I hear from readers who wonder why we're doing it."
All of which makes a possible shift to a more lifestyle/entertainment news mix feel a lot more likely. Based on what the Hollywood Reporter is doing now, it feels like that's where this is headed. Although no one I spoke with for this story - and I talked to more than twenty people - seemed to have much confidence the transition would be drama-free.
I did reach out to Penske Media Corporation, which declined to speak to me about the issues raised in this story.
And one last note. When I was doing financial news, I had a very prominent VC tell me that one of the ways he judged a team's ability to execute was by looking at the small things. Because if they can't manage the little details, they likely will struggle with the larger issues.
On that note, I'll mention that the "About Us" page on The Hollywood Reporter website still lists several employees who have left the company, including former West Coast TV Editor Lesley Goldberg.
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