Ink-Stained Hollywood: The Triumph of American CinemaÕs Trade Press

For the first half of the twentieth century, no American industry boasted a more motley and prolific trade press than the movie businessÑa cutthroat landscape that set the stage for battle by ink. In 1930, Martin Quigley, publisher ofÊExhibitors Herald, conspired with Hollywood studios to eliminate all competing trade papers, yet this attempt and each one thereafter collapsed. Exploring the communities of exhibitors and creative workers that constituted key subscribers,ÊInk-Stained HollywoodÊtells the story ofÊhow a heterogeneous trade press triumphed by appealing to theÊfoundational aspects of industry cultureÑtaste, vanity, partisanship, and exclusivity. In captivating detail, Eric Hoyt chronicles the histories of well-known trade papers (Variety, Motion Picture Herald) alongside important yet forgotten publications (Film Spectator,ÊFilm Mercury, andÊCamera!), and challenges the canon of film periodicals, offering new interpretative frameworks for understanding print journalismÕs relationship with the motion picture industry and its continued impact on creative industries today.