Overview
Variety is an American entertainment trade publication that chronicles the business, craft and culture of film, television, theater and related media. Founded in 1905 by Sime Silverman in New York, it began as a specialist publication serving performers, producers and exhibitors, and over more than a century it expanded into daily reporting and a large online presence.
History and development
Variety started as a weekly newspaper focused on theatrical entertainment and the then-vibrant vaudeville circuit. As the motion picture industry grew and moved west, a Los Angeles edition known as Daily Variety was launched in 1933 to provide closer, more immediate coverage of Hollywood. Over ensuing decades the brand adapted its format several times: from print weeklies and daylies to a multimedia publisher with a continuously updated website and searchable archives.
Content, sections and tools
Modern coverage combines news reporting, critical reviews, box-office analysis and feature journalism. Variety produces industry-oriented pieces such as production and development charts, a credits database used by professionals to track personnel, festival and release calendars, and gallery and video packages. Its online edition includes searchable archives that reach back to the magazine's founding, allowing researchers to trace historical trends in entertainment.
Typical features
- Industry news and trade announcements
- Film, television and theater reviews
- Box office tallies and market analysis
- Profiles, cover stories and interviews with creative leaders
- Databases and production schedules for professionals
Importance and distinctions
Variety is regarded as one of the principal trade publications in entertainment, often cited by studios, agencies and other media. Unlike general-interest entertainment magazines, its emphasis is on the business and professional side of the industry: development deals, box-office performance, personnel moves and behind-the-scenes economics. The coexistence of long-form journalism and practical industry tools helps maintain its relevance to both practitioners and scholars.
Access and formats
Readers encounter Variety in multiple formats: historical print issues and special editions, a daily online news site with multimedia elements, and databases that support research and industry workflows. The publication's archives and continuing coverage create a resource for anyone studying the evolution of American and global entertainment industries.