Who’s the bitch now? Taking a page from her reign at Us
Weekly, Janice Min has been making her presence felt on the Hollywood Reporter website.
Many inside the industry were shocked at a lead story on Tuesday that felt like a broadside against the generally liked Jennifer Aniston:
“’Switch’ a Bitch for Jennifer Aniston” read the headline, above a story that criticized the movie’s underperformance, but then backtracked to say it “wasn’t necessarily a setback” to her career.
That came on the heels of a scandalous -- and little substantiated -- story about ABC chief Steve McPherson's alleged incidents of sexual harassment on the job, and threats by debt-encumbered financier David Bergstein, who was angered by the coverage of his situation and has also promised to sue.
Much of this is jarring to an industry accustomed to a softer, friendlier (though not widely read) trade paper.
“They’re in areas that are very dicey for a trade publication,” said one prominent publicist, who would not speak for the record and has had a run-in with the publication over a client.
He wasn’t the only one. Aniston’s publicist, Stephen Huvane, acidly wrote TheWrap that THR’s new tone “is not going over well with me but I can't say it's unexpected. Janice Min doesn't know anything other than tabloid journalism so of course THR will start to look just like the other trash that's out there.”
Min did not return calls or an email for this story.
If the aggressive headlines are meant to spark attention, other August headlines are focusing on warmer, fuzzier celebrity fare, including such articles as: “Emma Thompson deals with ‘mild depression'" and “Mary Kate Olsen opens up about early career.”
The flip tone and celebrity focus of THR is a noticeable change since the arrival of Min, the former editor of the celebrity scandal-sheet Us Weekly, where she successfully made the magazine a saucy read. In an interview with TheWrap at the time of her hire, Min said the focus would not be on celebrities: "I will leave the Lindsay Lohan drama to Us Weekly," she said. "If I had wanted to continue to do that I would have done it at Us Weekly."
Clearly she's shifted her thinking. But the question is: Will that approach work in a clubby industry like Hollywood?
For one thing, celeb-slapping doesn't bode well for the back-scratching favors that fuel industry relationships.
THR may have trouble seeking the cooperation of Huvane’s celebrity-rich Slate PR for news tips or cover stories or to get its participation in roundtables, like those THR is attempting to organize for the Toronto Film Festival.
Indeed, Huvane’s reaction was echoed by numerous executives and publicists around the industry. Meanwhile, many still are questioning what the Hollywood Reporter now is -- a trade news publication, or a consumer sheet?
“The big question for me is how the Hollywood Reporter brand remains similar in magazine form if it becomes star-driven, not information-driven,” said Tony Angellotti, a veteran publicist.
