Anne Thompson to Expand indieWIRE Role

Reacting to loss of founder Eugene Hernandez, site names longtime blogger editor-at-large

The independent film website indieWIRE has taken its first steps to react to the departure of founder and editor-in-chief Eugene Hernandez, naming its “Thompson on Hollywood” blogger Anne Thompson editor-at-large and giving her greater editorial responsibilities at the site.

Anne ThompsonThompson will continue to write her blog for indieWIRE in addition to her expanded responsibilities, which in the short term are expected to include aiding SnagFilms/indieWIRE CEO Rick Allen in the search for a replacement for Hernandez.

The news comes as indieWIRE critic Todd McCarthy leaves his post to take a full-time position as the lead movie critic at the Hollywood Reporter.

CEO Rick Allen would not disclose traffic figures for indieWIRE. He told theWrap that the site's traffic is more than five times as large as it was when SnagFilms bought the site a little more than two years ago, and that he did not expect the number to change when McCarthy leaves.

He also said that indieWIRE would announce "a major expansion" next week.

The independent tracking service Quantcast places traffic for the entire SnagFilms Network at 654,000 visitors per month, but says that data for indieWIRE itself has been "hidden by the owner." SnagFilms has shown a slight rise in traffic over the past year.

Alexa, another service, also shows a gradual increase in indieWIRE traffic over the past 12 months, with a peak around the Oscars.

Thompson, a former editor at Premiere magazine who also spent time at Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, characterized her decision to take on an expanded role as “doubling down on indieWIRE,” adding in her blog, “I believe in indieWIRE and its vital mission to support ‘filmmakers, biz, fans,’ which will continue under managing editor and ten-year indieWIRE vet Brian Brooks and his staff. I look forward to helping to take indieWIRE into the future.”

Hernandez will end his tenure at indieWIRE at the end of the month, and will start his new position as director of digital strategy for the Film Society of Lincoln Center on November 1.

(Photo by Joe Corrigan/Getty Images)

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