Author:  Stuart Kemp UK Bureau Chief, Hollywood Reporter

Background on the Trade Press

There are three main film industry trade newspapers: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Screen International. All three cover the whole world of entertainment with Screen International focusing heavily on film. The Hollywood Reporter had an average paid circulation of just over 38,000 for its weekly edition in 2002, with more than 25,000 subscribers to its daily edition. Most of the top industry professionals subscribe to at least one, and in most cases both of the Los Angeles' based Hollywood Reporter and Variety and many subscribe to all three. The Hollywood Reporter, like its competition, is also available online and has a subscription e-mail alert service for breaking news.

Where Do Their Stories Come From?

Many of the papers' stories are derived from personal contacts that their journalists have with people in all areas of the industry. Some also come from releases issued by the Studios and other film makers, or their PR companies. Some companies have very good relationships with the press which they maintain by supplying a steady flow of interesting information, facts and figures. These relationships can chop and change over time. The Hollywood Reporter will always look for corroboration of a story from another source, and check its sources thoroughly before a story hits print.

The papers send reporters to major industry events and the main film festivals around the globe to find out at first hand what deals are being done and anything else that might be of interest to their readership. At the major festivals, the trade papers will produce daily editions covering breaking news, and giving reviews of films that have been screened at the festival the previous day. Increasingly, the trade papers are moving into longer, more analytical features, including more investigative journalism rather than being essentially reactive to outside events.

Generally, the trade papers do not lift stories that have already been covered by their competitors - if a major story is breaking it is important to be the first to carry the news, not ride in on the coattails of another paper that has got there first. The film trade press is a highly competitive sector when dealing with news. The trade press only become interested in a story when it is genuine news, not simply advertising puff, or relating to a speculative project that has not yet been green-lit.

Dealing with the Trade Press

It is important for industry professionals to establish and nurture good relationships with the trade press. The papers are more likely to run stories from people they know and trust and will avoid those who have given them erroneous information, or just been too difficult to deal with, in the past.

The role of the trade press is to inform knowledgeable people within the industry about current and forthcoming events. Unlike elements of the national press, they are not looking to spin stories or create controversies in an attempt to sell more papers - their circulation would almost certainly fall if they published stories that did not stand-up to close scrutiny. Film industry professionals should use the trade press both as a source of accurate information and as a way of reaching those people who they want to keep informed about what they are doing. A story printed in the trade press is more likely to raise one's industry profile than a similar story in the national press which may not catch the attention of people in the industry.

Journalists working for the trade papers tend to have an in-depth knowledge of the film industry, its key players and the processes involved in financing, developing, producing and distributing films. They are therefore well placed to talk to industry professionals about what they are doing and to interpret this for their readership. As a rule journalists will not check their copy with the people that they have spoken to before printing the story, so it is important to make sure that the journalist has understood what they are being told at the time of the interview. Anyone speaking to journalists should also be absolutely clear what they mean if they want to have an "off-the-record" discussion - often this will simply mean that any information will be used in a non-attributable way rather than kept out of the paper altogether. That will be entirely down to the relationship the journalist has with the source.

Top Tips

• All top industry professionals subscribe to one or more of the top trade papers.
• It is important for industry professionals to establish and nurture good relationships with the trade press.
• Industry professionals should use the trade press as a source of accurate information and to tell people about what they are doing.
• Be clear what journalists mean by an "off-the-record" discussion.