THE END MAY BE NEAR FOR THE “HOLLYWOOD REPORTER”

Richard Beckman, the head of e5 Global Media, whose assets include the Hollywood trade publication The Hollywood Reporter, informed the THR staff late Tuesday that publisher Eric Mika was stepping down as publisher. Mika’s ouster has been rumored for weeks, and Beckman’s “official” announcement was first reported by Nikki Finke on the Deadline Hollywood blog. Finke said that Mika has been telling “people outside the trade” that e5 is planning to make massive staff cuts, abandon the trade format, and become a small online showbiz news aggregator, and a glossy magazine, and a cable TV programmer. One person commenting on Finke’s blog — presumably a THR employee — commented on Finke’s blog that Mika probably saw his ouster coming. “He’s been packing up his desk since last Thursday. Nobody expected him to be back after that. Good riddance. All he did was fly around the world with his girlfriend on “business”, all the while, letting this once-fab publication go down the toilet.”