hollywoodreporter.com
Making the decision of which website to visit for information about entertainment, film, television, and music news can be difficult. There are so many options available, it can be hard to decide which one to choose.
Some people believe that it is best to keep up with several different entertainment news sources simultaneously in order to get the latest information. For example, subscribing to updates and newsletters from a few of them might be the best way to go.
That being said, there is something to the idea of having a main go-to resource. Why not worry about juggling 5, 6, 7 (or more) different news sites when you could, in theory find the best one on the web - the one that is the most dependable, contains the best-written content and skews towards the mediums and celebrities that you care about?
There are some entertainment news junkies out there who will say that the only news outlets worth keeping up with- especially given the over-saturation of entertainment news that has come with the opening of the floodgates of information that the social media age has resulted in - are the ones that have passed the test of time? The ones that are tried and true. There is something to this, for sure- a longer-running publication is, in a very empirical sense, much more likely to have higher-quality writing and content. After all, they have longstanding reputations to uphold.
Those who value longevity as a measure of quality in a news outlet might point to publications that have dominated the 20th century as well as maintained their status throughout the shift to digital news of the 21st. If this is something that you tend to value in a news outlet, you might be prone to favoring publications such as Rolling Stone, People magazine, or Entertainment Weekly. All of these publications have been in business (and consistently publishing quality content) for at least 40 years now.
Despite its flaws, I think The Hollywood Reporter is an important publication that deserves more attention from the entertainment news world.
History
In 1945, The Hollywood Reporter was purchased by the Gilmore family and became their flagship trade newspaper. It was during this time that the paper began to focus on covering the film industry more extensively and began to be known as ?The Hollywood Reporter?s Bible.? In 1985, The Hollywood Reporter merged with Star magazine, creating a media conglomerate called TRW Productions.
The Hollywood Reporter originally existed as a daily trade newspaper in 1930. It was created by Las Vegas real estate developer, William R. ?Billy? Wilkerson and it featured his front-page column, ?Trade Views.? Trade Views would become one of the most influential formats in the Hollywood trade newspaper format. The paper would continue to be put out every day, from Monday to Saturday until 1945 when it was purchased by the Gilmore family and became their flagship trade newspaper. In 1985, The Hollywood Reporter merged with Star magazine creating TRW Productions.
Billy Wilkerson started The Hollywood Reporter in October of 1950, and he served as its publisher until his death in September of 1962. His wife Tichi Wilkerson Kassel served as editor-in-chief until her death in January of 1984. The Hollywood Reporter has remained under the family's ownership and operational control for most of its run, with a dedication to journalistic quality seldom seen in the world of entertainment journalism.
The Hollywood Reporter, though not without its problems, has a sordid history of identifying potential communists during the days of McCarthyism in the United States. Wilkerson infamously, according to his obituary in The Hollywood Reporter, "named names, pseudonyms and card numbers" and was widely credited with being chiefly responsible for preventing communists from becoming entrenched in Hollywood production.
world.
This resulted in the arrests, imprisonments, and largely unjust trials of numerous Hollywood actors, writers, and producers. The list known as "Billy's List" led to the arrests of Dalton Trumbo and Howard Koch for allegedly holding communist ideologies. Wilkerson and The Hollywood Reporter have held a great deal of pride over this. Today, though, it appears as if The Hollywood Reporter - rather wisely, in my opinion - has, for the most part, kept their noses out of politics and instead where it belongs: covering the latest stories in the Hollywood film world.
Design
I think the overall look and feel of The Hollywood Reporter is really nice. They've taken the essence of a trade paper and put it into the digital space, which is admirable. I always respect publications that are able to keep some of their classic design elements in their web designs. As far as news sites go, I think The Hollywood Reporter looks very professional and crisp.
Unlike many clickbait junk-sites, The Hollywood Reporter is not cluttered with content, flashy or sophomoric in the way that it presents itself. Frankly, it looks more like The New York Times than it does, say Pop Sugar or something like that. Which I love. I don't know where this idea came from that entertainment news is to be held to a lower standard of journalism than any other kind of news. I definitely appreciate that The Hollywood Reporter takes themselves seriously as a journalistic enterprise regardless of the kind of content that they tend to report on.
Content
Perhaps the best way to show you what The Hollywood Reporter has to offer would be to take you on a tour of the menu bar, which is conveniently and clearly located at the top of the page. This bar is easily navigated without bleeding too much into the actual design of the website proper. Here, you will find a slender and sharply designed portal to everything that The Hollywood Reporter has to offer. I think you will be pleased with the breadth of content that this site covers.
The Hollywood Reporter offers a diverse range of content, including movies, TV, business, style, tech, awards, culture, politics, and video. Readers of all walks of life will likely find something of interest on the site.
Mobile and Desktop Experience
As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoy the desktop experience of the website. And, as you can see from the optimization for mobile devices, the site is very well-crafted for navigating on small screens. You will have to deal with a few more pop-ups and ads, but that is to be expected for most news sites.
I worry that The Hollywood Reporter has made a glaring omission by not creating an app. This seems like a very 2017-less move and it doesn't reflect well on them in the year 2020. A mobile app would make for a much better reading experience, and could potentially put them at the top of the entertainment news heap.
Pricing and Plans
one-year subscription, three-year subscription, and six-month subscription.
The Hollywood Reporter does not offer a monthly subscription option the way that many news outlets are wont to do. Instead, they offer three-yearly subscription options. The options are the following: one-year subscription, three-year subscription, and six-month subscription. The one-year option costs $19.99 per month and the three-, four-, and five-year options cost $39.99, $59.98, and $89.97 per month respectively.
-The All Access membership provides access to our archive, weekly print and digital publication, and daily publication. It also includes exclusive access to our events.
-Digital All Access: A yearly subscription that includes all digital content as well as print copies of the journal.
-Print/Digital: Just the weekly publication, digital and print; free shipping
The print/digital option costs $99 per year and includes access to the weekly publication, as well as all of our digital content. Plus, we offer free shipping on all orders.
Suggestions that I have for The Hollywood Reporter
I think that it would be great if The Hollywood Reporter offered an accompanying app. This would make the site even more user-friendly, and it would provide even more information for readers.
Conclusion
If The Hollywood Reporter created an app that was as well-designed as their website, and reduced their yearly subscription fee, I think it could have the potential to be the perfect entertainment news outlet. As it stands currently, though, it is definitely one that is worth your time.