HitFix

HitFix, Inc.
Type Private
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States
Area served Worldwide
Slogan(s) "What's Next In Entertainment"
Website www.hitfix.com
Alexa rank positive decrease 7,555 (April 2014)[1]
Type of site Entertainment News
Registration Optional
Available in English
Launched December 2008
Current status Online

HitFix, or HitFix.com, is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television.[2] In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,000,000 unique users per month milestone.[3] As of April 2013, HitFix was ranked 17th among all entertainment news websites by Alexa.[4] HitFix has been cited as a source by such publications as TIME, The L.A. Times, The Huffington Post, E! Online, and The Daily Herald.[5][6][7][8][9]

Founders

HitFix was founded by ex-Reed Business Information Development executive, Jen Sargent, and former L.A. Times and MSN.com film editor, Gregory Ellwood. Sargent and Ellwood's goal was to create a site that fit into the gap between trade publications and gossip- or celebrity scandal-driven sites, such as TMZ, and to target an audience slightly skewed towards males – a unique approach in a female-driven industry[10] - while catering to 18-34 year olds.[11]

Angel Investment

HitFix received its first funding from Golden Seeds, the fourth largest angel investment group in the United States, in 2009. Founded by Stephanie Newby, fka Stephanie Hanbury-Brown, in 2005, Golden Seeds focuses on women-owned and managed start-up investments. Since then, HitFix has twice benefited from investment from the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel investment networks in Southern California.[12] The first such investment came in February 2009 in the amount of $850,000. In June 2010, the Angels added to their commitment investing an additional $1,600,000.[2] In addition to Golden Seeds and Tech Coast Angels, HitFix is proud to acknowledge HBS Angels, Liquid Capital, and Gordon Crawford as investors.

Contributors

Gregory Ellwood

In addition to being one of its co-founders, Ellwood reports on movies and awards for HitFix.[10]

Daniel Fienberg

Fienberg is known for his blog “The Fien Print” and covers TV for HitFix.[2]

Katie Hasty

Hasty is a former associate editor for Billboard.com and columnist for Billboard Magazine. In addition to covering music for HitFix, she is the site's managing editor.[13]

Drew McWeeny

See also: Drew McWeeny

Formerly known as “Moriarty”, McWeeny previously wrote for Ain't It Cool News. In addition to being a screenwriter and movie critic, McWeeny now covers the movie industry for HitFix. McWeeny announced his move to HitFix in 2008 in a review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.[14]

Melinda Newman

Newman is the former West Coast Bureau chief of Billboard Magazine and covers music for HitFix.[15] In the past, Newman has written for such publications as The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, MSN, AOL, Performing Songwriter, and Variety.[16]

Alan Sepinwall

See also: Alan Sepinwall

After 14 years at the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Sepinwall—also known for his blog, "What's Alan Watching"—moved to HitFix full-time in April 2010. Last spring, NBC executives went so far as to credit Sepinwall by name for his role in earning a renewal for Chuck.[17] Slate Magazine credited Sepinwall with having "changed the nature of television criticism".[18]

Kris Tapley

In September 2011, the "In Contention" blog formed a strategic partnership with HitFix, bringing lead author Kris Tapley and fellow contributors Guy Lodge and Gerard Kennedy under the HitFix umbrella. "In Contention" was founded in 2005 and provides in-depth coverage of the film awards season.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Hitfix.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Hitfix.com - HitFix - Entertainment News, Events, Exclusives & Reviews for Movies, Film, Television, Music". Site Info Tool. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Jones, Deborah (June 28, 2010). "TECH COAST ANGELS JOINS $1.6M INVESTMENT IN HITFIX, UNIQUE CONTENT-DRIVEN ENTERTAINMENT WEBSITE". Tech Coast Angels. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Top Sites by Category: Arts/Entertainment/News and Media". Alexa Internet. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ Carbone, Nick (August 14, 2011). "Groovy, Baby! Mike Myers Will Return for ‘Austin Powers 4′". TIME. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  6. ↑ Boucher, Geoff (December 13, 2009). "‘Avatar’ weekend roundup and fearless predictions". Lost Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "'Austin Powers 4': Mike Myers Signs For New Sequel". The Huffington Post. August 13, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ Malkin, Marc (July 14, 2010). "The Hulk: Is Mark Ruffalo Replacing Ed Norton?". E!. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Contestants? It's TV talent judges basking in fame, cash". The Daily Herald. May 17, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Article on Variety.com
  11. ↑ socaltech.com
  12. ↑ "Venture Capital Totals $603.2M In Southern California In Q3". socaltech.com. October 18, 2011.
  13. ↑ "katie hasty is convenient". kidatchristmas.com. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  14. ↑ McWeeny, Drew (7 December 2008). "Moriarty Has Seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Interviews - Melinda Newman | The Way The Music Died". PBS. May 27, 2004. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Melinda Newman – The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Hollywood Reporter, msn.com, M-Life, People’s Grammy Daily". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  17. ↑ Georgian, Laura (April 26, 2010). "The Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall Moves to HitFix.Com". Business Wire. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  18. ↑ Levin, Josh (February 14, 2011). "The TV Guide". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  19. ↑ Schepman, Kourtney; Der, Irving (September 14, 2011). "Influential InContention.com Film Blog Now Powered by HitFix.com". PR Newswire. Retrieved April 15, 2013.

External links