End of an era for Daily Variety
Lots of Hollywood honchos need to change their reading habits: The Tuesday edition is Daily Variety’s last.
Daily Variety has been a print publication for almost 80 years. Above, a Studio City newsstand has issues for sale. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / March 18, 2013)
By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times
Leslie Moonves has had the same morning routine for decades.
“The first thing I do after getting out of the shower is pick up Daily Variety and have a cup of coffee,” the CBS Corp. chief executive said. “It’s a 30-year habit.”
That habit is ending for Moonves and lots of other Hollywood power players, movie and television stars, producers and publicists and thousands of wannabes: Daily Variety is ceasing as a print publication after almost 80 years. Tuesday’s edition is its last.
The decision shows that Daily Variety has had to grapple with the forces reshaping the industry it covers. Just as the entertainment business has had to adapt to changing media consumption habits, so have the outlets that cover it.
“They’re getting out of the buggy whip business,” said Stan Rosenfield, a veteran Hollywood publicist whose client list includes George Clooney and Robert De Niro.