About Nikki Finke

In a July 2009 Page One profile of her, The New York Times wrote, "Right now, there’s a good chance a Hollywood executive is leaning into a colleague’s office and quietly asking, 'Did you see what Nikki just wrote?'” In an earlier 2009 article on Hollywood business coverage, the Financial Times called Nikki Finke "the reigning queen of Hollywood news" because of her "unrivalled network of high-level industry contacts. Since launching her Deadline Hollywood site in March 2006, she has earned a reputation as the best connected reporter in the industry." The New York Times opined that the 2007/2008 writers’ strike “solidified her position as a Hollywood power broker. Executive producers, writers and agents attest to her influence." The New York Observer named her its "2008 Media Mensch Of The Year” and said “she’s demonstrated that one determined reporter — with none of the support or backing of a media outfit, but also none of the entangling alliances — can, in fact, beat the big guys at their own game.” Elle magazine placed her on its list of the 25 most influential women in Hollywood, after writing, "Out West, where movies, moguls, and millions are made, Nikki Finke is the sheriff in town."

The native New Yorker and Wellesley College graduate has been reporting from Los Angeles since 1986. Nikki Finke’s journalism career has included years as an AP foreign correspondent in Moscow and London, Newsweek correspondent in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Times staff writer covering entertainment and features. From 1995 through 2000, she was West Coast Editor and Hollywood columnist first for the New York Observer and then for New York Magazine. She joined LA Weekly as its "Deadline Hollywood" columnist in 2002, writing about the business, politics and culture of the infotainment industry.

Finke started DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com on March 3, 2006 as the 24/7 version of her must-read column. It immediately became a uniquely candid, informed and authoritative source for breaking news in the entertainment industry before anybody else in town, often as the story was still unfolding, and often to the very people she was writing about. Instead of the “show”, Finke was more interested in the “business” – in the story behind the story, in the truth beyond the press release, in the details that the people in power don’t want journalists to know and which only she can uncover and deliver with speed, accuracy, and regularity. She owned the site and created what's been described as "her own badass niche" in entertainment reporting. In 2007-2008, Finke won first place in almost every major entertainment reporting award, both online and print, as well as several column-writing and media reporting/criticism contests, including the Southern California Journalism Awards' Entertainment Journalist Of The Year, the Best Of The West journalism competition, and National Entertainment Journalism Awards in which she swept every online category. She was named among "100 Leaders You Can Learn From On Twitter" in the journalists category, and included among the 2008 Time Magazine ”Time 100” finalists.

On June 23, 2009, Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), the Los Angeles-based digital media company that owns and operates the Mail.com portal and email service, as well as a growing portfolio of lifestyle brands, including HollywoodLife.com, MovieLine.com and OnCars.com, announced its acquisition of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com. MMC also began a long-term partnership with Finke, Since then, her site has been renamed Deadline.com, and Finke is General Manager, Editor in Chief, and Founder. She continues to report and write DeadlineHollywood.com. Finke and MMC unveiled the site's new branding and new look on September 4, 2009. Email her at Nikki@deadline.com.

About Mike Fleming

Mike Fleming came to Deadline.com after 20 years as a Variety reporter, writer, columnist, and blogger. A native of New York City and now resident of Long Island, he started in journalism as editor of the well-known Media Industry Newsletter (MIN), then joined New York Newsday as a columnist and reviewer and entertainment writer in 1986. He was hired by Weekly Variety in 2000 to write the "Buzz" column about all things infotainment. Later, he took over Weekly Variety's "Dish" column where he regularly broke news and provided analysis about all things Hollywood. After the column was discontinued, Fleming became even more recognized as the trade's No. 1 film reporter whose major talents include working sources and writing with flair and accuracy. That's why his original content receives international attention and acclaim. In Summer 2009, he began the "BFD" blog with his longtime mentor Peter Bart. Fleming joined Deadline.com in January 2010. Fleming also is an author. In 1999, Doubleday published his non-fiction book about The Three Stooges, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons, which ABC turned into a telepic executive produced by Mel Gibson (who wrote a forward to the book) and Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Fleming also has freelanced for many national magazines, including Playboy, Details,TV Guide, and Esquire.

About Nellie Andreeva

Los Angeles-based Nellie Andreeva has been the TV Editor for The Hollywood Reporter online and print edition since June 2004 and has moderated panels and conducted Q&As at NATPE and the Paley Center for Media. She joined the daily trade paper in 2000 as a TV reporter. Before that, she worked as a reporter at Investor's Business Daily where she tracked both television and radio, and interned as a science news reporter for Business Week magazine after receiving a fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement in Science while a master's degree candidate in the Department of Physics at the University of Maine. But her interest in the television industry extends back to her homeland of Bulgaria where she became a journalist and then spent six years as a producer, writer, and director for Bulgarian National Television. Her work helming a popular skit comedy show akin to Saturday Night Live earned her two awards, including the Bulgarian equivalent of an Emmy. Andreeva has masters degrees in journalism and physics from the University of Sofia in Bulgaria.

About Tim Adler

Starting in 1996, Tim Adler became Deputy Editor of the influential UK biweekly trade magazine Screen Finance, covering film and television funding when it was then owned by the Financial Times Group. In 2000, Informa Telecoms & Media purchased all of the Financial Times Group's business-to-business publications, and appointed Adler as Editor of its New Media Markets trade. In 2001, Adler returned toScreen Finance as Editor where he remained until mid-December 2009 to join Deadline.com.

Adler also has written two non-fiction books about the movie industry and is working on a third. In 2007, Bloomsbury published his exposé, Hollywood and The Mob, which was named one UK newspaper’s “Book of the Week”, and another’s “Critic’s Choice”. In 2004, Methuen put out his first book, The Producers: Money, Movies and Who Really Calls the Shots. Adler is currently writing a biography of Oscar-winning film and theatre director Tony Richardson.

Adler also has written about the entertainment business for the Financial Times, the Guardian and The Times, among others. Adler was the only business journalist asked to give evidence at the most recent Parliamentary investigation into the British film industry. He was recently recalled to give evidence before the House of Lords’ communications committee. He regularly comments for UK media on film and television, including BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, BBC World Service, and Sky News.

About Deadline.com

Deadline.com first began in March 2006 as Deadline Hollywood Daily, the 24/7 Internet version of Nikki Finke's long-running LA Weekly “Deadline Hollywood” print column. DHD is regularly included on lists of top entertainment websites. Her site was purchased by Mail.com (MMC) on June 23, 2009. Influential industry leaders and key decision-makers across many fields track Nikki Finke’s site many times a day. Deadline/Hollywood postings regularly receive more reader comments than all of the entertainment industry news sites combined.

Nikki Finke's journalism career has included years as an AP foreign correspondent in Moscow and London, Newsweek correspondent in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Times staff writer covering entertainment and features. From 1995 through 2000, she was West Coast Editor and Hollywood columnist first for the New York Observer and then for New York Magazine. She joined LA Weekly as its Hollywood columnist in 2002. Her many reporting honors include Entertainment Journalist Of The Year in the National Entertainment Journalism Awards, one of "100 Leaders You Can Learn From On Twitter" in the journalists category, New Media’s ‘Top 10 Entertainment Game Changers’ by The Huffington Post, Time Magazine’s ”Time 100” finalists. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and Esquire. Email the site at Nikki@Deadline.com.

About Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC)

Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC) is a leading digital media company founded by Jay Penske in 2004. The company owns and operates the Mail.com portal, a global multi-media platform. In addition, MMC owns a unique portfolio of lifestyle brands that provide the web's best original content in categories including entertainment, sports, news, finance, health, shopping, fashion, and automotive. Mail.com, HollywoodLife.com, OnCars.com, MovieLine.com, DeadlineHollywood.com, Fan.com, Young Hollywood Awards, and Style Awards, are all part of the expanding MMC portfolio.

When the sale of Deadline Hollywood to MMC was announced, both parties noted how MMC's global digital reach was a perfect platform to scale the impact of Finke's singular editorial voice. The addition of DHD to MMC's expanding portfolio of lifestyle brands strengthened the company's position as an important player in the entertainment space. With more than 10 million unique visitors per month prior to this acquisition, MMC will continue its rapid growth as one of the most dynamic companies to watch in the digital media arena.

“We're thrilled to be working with Nikki. As a world-class journalist, she is unequivocally recognized by the entertainment and business community as a unique voice and leading authority on news coverage of major media, especially Hollywood. With this acquisition and partnership now complete, her DeadlineHollyoodDaily.com can continue to extend its reach and influence and finally have the web platform it deserves,” said Jay Penske, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MMC. "Ever since the first scoop of Nikki’s that I read, I quickly realized that she has raised the bar on – if not changed the game of – entertainment journalism; and her work perfectly embodies our mission at MMC: to provide the most original and most authoritative content on the web.”

"I was fortunate to have had much interest and many offers from major corporations and media companies to consider over the past 18 months,” said Finke. "First, I had to ensure that my DeadlineHollywood.com would continue to be an independent editorial voice – and I would retain complete control over everything reported on the website -- so that its credibility with its readers could remain intact. Second, I needed to make certain that an advanced infrastructure and capable team were in place, to bring the site to the next level. FinaIly, I wanted to join a major Internet player that was ambitious, up-and-coming, and far-sighted. Jay Penske and MMC gave me all those assurances and more. This deal was worth waiting for.”

For more information about MMC, please visit http://corp.mail.com.