The Hollywood Reporter's New Top Editor

It look likes the Hollywood Reporter's new hire might also be a little payback to its number-one rival. Variety lured big guns Anne Thompson and Cynthia Littleton away from the Reporter a while back and now the Reporter has hired Variety editor-at-large Elizabeth Guider as their top editor. Guider has spent 18 years at Variety as a reporter, columnist, managing editor and executive editor. I worked with her years ago and found her to be a tough, no-nonsense editor. I wish her the best of luck.

There had been a lot of speculation about who was going to take over the top position at the town's second-place trade paper. Headhunters had cast the net for candidates far and wide (I too received a call. So did most experienced journos/editors I know). While Guider is a fine hire for the HR (she has a strong background in international TV), the move hardly seems revolutionary. Personally, I had expected them to go with someone with more digital experience. Dana Harris at Variety has really done an incredible job overhauling Variety's website and the HR's pales in comparison. If I were Guider, investing in website would be one of my top priorities.

Here's what Guider had to say in the announcement in the HR:

Guider said, "It's a true honor to be leading the editorial team at The Hollywood Reporter, one of entertainment media's strongest franchises and a world-renowned brand. I am delighted to now be working with this group whose standards of journalistic excellence have constantly kept me on my toes these past 18 years. Most of all, I look forward to carrying on the long and storied tradition of reporting that has made The Hollywood Reporter the go-to source for the business of the global entertainment and media industries for more than 76 years."

As both DeadlineHollywoodDaily and HollywoodWireTap point out, that "global" part of her statement is important, as international business seems the focus for the HR. Guider will report to the Reporter's VP and publishing director Eric Mika, another Variety veteran who ran Variety's international operations. "Thus, it follows he'd want to steer the company towards his strong suit," writes HollywoodWireTap.