Hollywood Reporter’s Chief Resigns

Robert J. Dowling, editor in chief and publisher of the Hollywood Reporter, said Tuesday he would leave Dec. 31 after 17 years of running the daily trade newspaper.

Dowling’s departure to become a consultant comes amid upheavals at the newspaper’s parent company, VNU, the Dutch media conglomerate that also owns Nielsen Media Research and Billboard magazine.

Last month, VNU Chief Executive Rob van den Bergh announced his resignation after activist shareholders scuttled plans to buy IMS Health Inc.

“Changes at the top of VNU have rocked the whole company and may have been a precipitating factor,” said Alex Ben Block, who worked under Dowling as an editor for eight years. “And I don’t think he was that far away from retirement anyway.”

Dowling, 66, said his leaving had been in the works during the last month. “During planning for the next five years, they looked around the room and when they got to me it wasn’t quite so clear,” he said. “Nobody was the catalyst; it just kind of got to that spot.”

Tony Uphoff, the newspaper’s general manager, is expected to replace Dowling as publisher. Matthew King, who heads editorial strategic planning, is expected to expand his role, with Editor Howard Burns remaining.

The shake-ups at VNU prompted speculation about the future of its publications.

“VNU is going through a lot of rethinking of their magazine businesses,” said consultant Martin S. Walker.

Dowling oversaw the growth of the 75-year-old showbiz trade publication amid an explosion in media coverage of Hollywood, helping reshape it into a formidable rival to the industry’s other trade, Variety.

“He took a publication that was second-rate and he leaves it first-rate,” Block said. “Bob is a very powerful individual who really drove the growth of that company.”

The Hollywood Reporter’s paid circulation is 28,377 every day but Tuesday, when its weekly edition goes out to 41,075 subscribers, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Dowling had weathered accusations of blurring his dual roles as businessman and journalist.

He once killed a proposed story on “The 100 Worst Movies of All Time,” a move that some former employees said was prompted by complaints from studio advertisers. Dowling confirmed that he killed the story but said it was for philosophical, not economic, reasons.

In 2001, longtime party columnist George Christy resigned amid accusations of unethical journalistic behavior. Dowling was criticized for being slow to react.

Dowling, a New York native, moved to Los Angeles from Connecticut, where he had started two magazines. He took over his position at the Hollywood Reporter from Tichi Wilkerson, widow of the newspaper’s founder, William R. Wilkerson, after she sold the company.

Despite having no experience in the entertainment industry, Dowling immersed himself in Hollywood. He hopes to use his expertise in his consulting business, which signed a three-year agreement with VNU.

Dowling said leaving was bittersweet.

“I didn’t hear a standing ovation for me walking out the door,” he said. “But I think they’re disappointed.”