Richard Rushfield
{{short description|American Journalist, author, and editor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Richard Rushfield
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
|alt=Amanpour smiling
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| birthname = Richard Rushfield
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| birth_place = Washington D.C., USA
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| employer =
| education = Hampshire College
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| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Journalist
- Editor
- Author}}
| credits = {{indented plainlist|
- Ankler Media Founder, co-owner, Editorial Director (2017{{nbnd}}{{nbnd}}present)
- Los Angeles Times Entertainment Editor (2005{{nbnd}}2009)
- Vanity Fair Co-creator, Author "The Intelligence Report" (1996{{nbnd}}{{nbnd}}present)
}}
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Richard Rushfield is an American entertainment journalist, editor, and author. He has won two SoCal Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club and has been a contributing writer for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Vanity Fair, among others.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/23/movies/it-all-depends-what-you-mean-by-independent.html|title=It All Depends What You Mean by 'Independent'|publisher=NY Times|date=January 23, 2005|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/10/31/todays-episode-was-brought-to-you-by-the-four-letters-span-classbankheadmuppets-pop-up-in-unauthorized-indelicate-web-parodiesspan/db2f4c63-2d9b-462e-9326-518282de6681/|title=Today's Episode Was Brought To You by the Four Letters . . .|publisher=The Washington Post|date=October 30, 2006|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} As entertainment web editor for the LA Times, he covered American Idol extensively which led him to authoring, "American Idol: The Untold Story," which received favorable reviews by Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.{{cite web|url=https://search.library.ucla.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9966244903606533&context=L&vid=01UCS_LAL:UCLA&lang=en&search_scope=ArticlesBooksMore&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Articles_books_more_slot&query=genre,exact,Television%20programs%20United%20States.,AND&mode=advanced&offset=0|title= American idol : the untold story / Richard Rushfield. |publisher=UCLA Library|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/american-idol-richard-rushfield/1100318007|title=American Idol: The Untold Story|publisher=Barns & Noble|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} He is the editorial director, chief columnist, and co-owner of Ankler Media. "The Ankler," its Hollywood newsletter about the entertainment industry, earned him two Webby Award nominations in 2023 and 2024.{{cite web|url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/2023/websites-and-mobile-sites/email-newsletters/independent-publishers/257558/the-ankler
|title=Honoring the Best of the Internet 2023|publisher=Webby Awards|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/2024/websites-and-mobile-sites/email-newsletters/independent-publishers/281311/the-ankler
|title=Honoring the Best of the Internet 2024|publisher=Webby Awards|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
Early life and education
Richard Rushfield was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpress/buzzfeed-announces-los-angeles-bureau|title=BuzzFeed Announces Los Angeles Bureau|publisher=BuzzFeed|date=October 22, 2012|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} He attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, CA and attended Hampshire College. In 2010, Rushfield wrote an article about child actor Gary Coleman, who also attended Crossroads in the 1980s, sharing a retrospective view of young Coleman's struggles.{{cite web|url=https://boingboing.net/2010/05/29/gary-as-i-knew-him-r.html|title=Gary as I knew him: Richard Rushfield|publisher=Boing Boing|date=May 29, 2010|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} In 1992, Rushfield worked as a political grassroots organizer on various Democratic campaigns including Bill Clinton's Presidential campaign where he shared an office with Noah Shachtman.
Career
Rushfield began his career in journalism as a reporter for Los Angeles magazine in the mid-1990s. In 1996, he became a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and authored its long-running column, the "Intelligence Report".{{cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/richard-rushfield-blames-jay-for-the-end-of-show-business/id1711124234?i=1000668184876|title=Richard Rushfield Blames Jay For The End of Show Business|publisher=Don't Be Alone with Jay Kogen|date=September 3, 2024|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} In 2005, Rushfield won a SoCal Journalism Award from the LA Press Club for "Best Entertainment Feature in a Magazine" for his article titled, "Inside an Agent's Mind," in Variety's VLife magazine.{{cite web|url=https://5499fe.p3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2005-Southern-California-Journalism-Award-Winners.pdf|title=2005 Southern California Journalism Award Winners|publisher=Los Angeles Press Club|date=|accessdate=}}
He co-founded "LA Innuendo" magazine (2003 - 2005) and was an entertainment features web editor for the LA Times (2005 - 2009). He has provided investigative journalism and written feature articles for the New York Post, the New York Times, the Daily Beast, Slate, LA Weekly, and CMJ, among others.{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2011/06/17/alien-concept/|title=Alien concept|publisher=New York Post|date=June 17, 2011|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/author/richard-rushfield|title=Richard Rushfield|publisher=Daily Beast|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/10/adventures-of-a-political-poseur.html|title=Political Poseur - Pretending to be a Republican in Blue California BY RICHARD RUSHFIELD|publisher=Slate Magazine|date=October 22, 2004|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.laweekly.com/guest-author/richard-rushfield/|title=Richard Rushfield|publisher=LA Weekly|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.celebritarian.co.uk/interview2.php|title=CMJ NEW MUSIC - THE ANTICHRIST'S CROSS|publisher=Celebritarian|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
During Rushfield's career in journalism, he has served as Editor at Gawker, Los Angeles Bureau Chief at BuzzFeed, Features Editor at Yahoo News, and editor-in-chief at HitFix.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/richard-rushfield-tapped-gawkers-west-coast-editor-4620/|title=Richard Rushfield Tapped as Gawker’s West Coast Editor by Lucas Shaw|publisher=The Wrap|date=July 27, 2009|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/richard-rushfield-buzzfeed-yahoo-alan-citron-scott-robson/|title=Richard Rushfield Joins Yahoo Entertainment by Richard Horgan|publisher=Adweek|date=June 10, 2013|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2014/11/18/hitfix-names-yahoo-s-rushfield-editor-in-chief.html|title=HitFix names Yahoo’s Rushfield editor-in-chief|publisher=Biz Journals|date=November 18, 2014|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} He has also served as a Forbes Celebrity Awards judge.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/01/03/forbes-celebrity-awards-2020-the-year-of-the-sell-out/|title=Forbes Celebrity Awards 2020: The Year Of The Sell-Out|publisher=Forbes|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
- Books
In 2000, Rushfield wrote his first novel, On Spec: A Novel of Young Hollywood.{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/02/bib/000402.rv135520.html|title=The Treatment by Eden Ross Lispon|publisher=The Millions|date=April 2, 2000|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} The NY Times called it a "scabrously funny first novel" and Booklist wrote, "The Alice-in-Wonderland world of Hollywood is dissected with sardonic wit in Rushfield's delightful first novel."{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Spec-Novel-Young-Hollywood/dp/B000HWYWS2|title=On Spec: A Novel of Young Hollywood|publisher=Amazon|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} In 2009, Rushfield wrote a memoir about his time at Hampshire College, titled, Don't Follow me, I'm Lost - a memoir. The Millions wrote "Occasionally, God reaches down and places the right book in the right reader's hands."{{cite web|url=https://themillions.com/2009/12/off-campus-housing-richard-rushfields-dont-follow-me-im-lost.html|title=Off Campus Housing: Richard Rushfield’s Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost by Patrick Brown|publisher=The Millions|date=December 28, 2009|accessdate=October 10, 2024}} In 2011, Rushfield wrote, American Idol: The Untold Story. Kirkus called it "A generous bird's-eye viewpoint of the competition from past to present—supreme fodder for Idol buffs" and Publishers Weekly called it "A comprehensive, unfettered history of one of the most popular shows in TV history."
- LA Innuendo (2003 - 2005)
In 2003, Rushfield and the Daily Show's Stacey Grenrock Woods, co-founded, "'LA Innuendo", a quarterly satire on Los Angeles culture. The publication was free and neither Rushfield, Woods, nor any of its writers, were paid. United Press International wrote, "L.A. Innuendo is both scolding and addictively funny, with an alienated insider's sensibility that usually hits the mark." Contributing writers included Margaret Cho, Robert Greene, Andy Kindler, Mark Ebner, and Paul F. Tompkins, among others."The Roast of the town" by Deboerah Netburn" LA Times, Page 129, August 8, 2003{{cite web|url=http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2003/07/welcome_to_la_i.php
|title=Welcome to 'L.A. Innuendo' By Kevin Roderick|publisher=LA Observed|date=July 24, 2003|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2003/08/more_on_la_innu.php
|title=More on LA Innuendo|publisher=LA Observed|date=August 6, 2003|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2003/11/17/Has-LA-gotten-the-mag-it-deserves/10161069107773/|title=Has L.A. gotten the mag it deserves? by Catherine Seipp|publisher=UPI|date=November 17, 2003|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
- Los Angeles Times (2005 - 2009)
Rushfield began working at the LA Times in 2005 as Senior Editor and shortly after became its Entertainment Web Editor where he reported on American Idol in "Show Tracker" and "American Idol Beat."{{cite web|url=https://hearinla.com/he-knows-the-hollywood-you-mean-when-you-say-hollywood-d91488afe54d|title=He knows the Hollywood you mean when you say Hollywood - Richard Rushfield has covered the biggest names, the biggest shows, and sat in the worst seats… for you by Tony Pierce|publisher=Hear in LA|date=August 9, 2021|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/author/richard-rushfield|title=Richard Rushfield|publisher=Business Insider|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}"The sleeping giant awakens for Season 6" LA Times, Page 260, January 18, 2007"Goths could invade Idol" LA Times, Page 67, February 7, 2008"Getting Set for Idol" LA Times, Page 69, March 9, 2009 After years of extensive reporting on American Idol, Rushfield wrote, "American Idol: The Untold Story."{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/american-idol-farewell-pundits-bloggers-reflect-15-years-7318827/|title=‘American Idol’ Farewell: Pundits and Bloggers Reflect on 15 Years of Covering the Show|publisher=Billboard|date=April 3, 2016|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
In 2006, Rushfield began reporting on lonelygirl15, one of the first viral video series on YouTube. The series consisted of confessional video blogs, supposedly made by a home-schooled 15-year-old girl named Bree. When viewers and the press began to suspect that it was a hoax or a publicity stunt Rushfield teamed up with other researchers online and through extensive investigative work, they were able to solve the mystery. Rushfield was the first journalist to reveal in an article on September 13, 2006, that Bree, was in reality Los Angeles actress Jessica Lee Rose, and that lonelygirl15 had been created by three filmmakers.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-13-me-lonelygir13-story.html|title=Lonelygirl15 Video Blog Is Brainchild of 3 Filmmakers |publisher=LA Times|date=September 13, 2006|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/16/lonelygirl15-bree-video-blog-youtube|title=Lonelygirl15: how one mysterious vlogger changed the internet by Elena Cresci|publisher=the Guardian|date=June 16, 2016|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-goXKtd6cPo|title=First Blog - Dorkiness Prevails|publisher=lonelygirl15|date=June 16, 2006|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-lonelygirl15-story.html|title=MysteryFuels Huge Popularity of Web's Lonelygirl15|publisher=LA Times|date=September 8, 2006|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
Rushfield won a SoCal Journalism Award from the LA Press Club for his LA Times article titled, "Mystery Fuels Huge Popularity of Web's Lonelygirl15" in 2007.{{cite web|url=https://lapressclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2007-Southern-California-Journalism-Award-Winners.pdf|title=2007 SoCal Journalism Awards|publisher=LA Press Club|date=|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-08-et-lonelygirl8-story.html|title=Mystery Fuels Huge Popularity of Web's Lonelygirl15|publisher=LA Times|date=September 8, 2006|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}
- Ankler Media
In 2017, Rushfield founded The Ankler, a Hollywood newsletter about the entertainment industry. In 2021, it was listed as one of the top three business publications on Substack.{{cite web|url=https://substack.com/top/business
|title=Top Business Substacks|publisher=Substack|date=2006|accessdate=October 10, 2024}}{{Cite magazine |date=February 22, 2023 |title=How Richard Rushfield's The Ankler Took on Hollywood |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/how-richard-rushfields-the-ankler-took-on-hollywood |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222145937/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/how-richard-rushfields-the-ankler-took-on-hollywood |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |magazine=Vanity Fair}}
In January 2021, Janice Min joined the company to form Ankler Media.{{Cite web |title=Entertainment Trade 'The Ankler' Teams With Janice Min On Expansion Plans |url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/369481/entertainment-trade-the-ankler-teams-with-janice.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330113235/https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/369481/entertainment-trade-the-ankler-teams-with-janice.html |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=mediapost.com}} Min joined as co-owner and CEO, with Rushfield taking the role of editorial director.{{Cite web |last=Hopkins |first=Kathryn |date=February 19, 2022 |title=Five New Media Launches |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/media/five-media-launches-cnn-puck-grid-ankler-the-smiths-1235069533/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819233031/https://wwd.com/business-news/media/five-media-launches-cnn-puck-grid-ankler-the-smiths-1235069533/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022}}{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2021 |title=The Ankler, a Hit Hollywood Newsletter, Charts an Expansion |url=https://www.adweek.com/morning-media-newsfeed/the-ankler-a-hit-hollywood-newsletter-charts-an-expansion/ |website=Adweek}}{{Cite web |last=Wagmeister |first=Elizabeth |date=December 17, 2021 |title=Janice Min Loses First Hire at Ankler Newsletter to Rolling Stone (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/janice-min-the-ankler-tatiana-siegel-rolling-stone-1235134593/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808204920/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/janice-min-the-ankler-tatiana-siegel-rolling-stone-1235134593/ |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022}} In June 2022, the company raised $1.5 million at a $20 million valuation through Y Combinator.{{Cite web |last=Dickey |first=Josh |date=June 21, 2022 |title=The Ankler Raises $1.5 Million at $20 Million Valuation |url=https://www.thewrap.com/the-ankler-raises-1-5-million-at-20-million-valuation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819233031/https://www.thewrap.com/the-ankler-raises-1-5-million-at-20-million-valuation/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022}} In 2024, The Ankler signed a radio deal with NPR's LAist.{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=June 21, 2022 |title=Exclusive: The Ankler raises $1.5M seed at $20M valuation |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/06/21/the-ankler-seed-funding-valuation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814180034/https://www.axios.com/2022/06/21/the-ankler-seed-funding-valuation |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=Axios}}
Rushfield was nominated for a Webby Award for "Best Independent Publisher" for "Websites and Mobile Sites" in 2023 and 2024 for The Ankler. Subscribers have included David Zaslav, Patrick Whitesell, Kathleen Kennedy, Donna Langley, and Maureen Dowd.
Personal life
References
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Category:American male writers