Thanks to a (front page?) article on Nikki Finke and Deadline Hollywood Daily in today’s New York Times, the much-derided, much-feared entertainment journalist is getting quite a lot of exposure, just in time for her transition to her new home at Mail.com Media. Also courtesy of the profile, written by David “Carpetbagger” Carr, we now learn that Finke’s deal with Mail.com is closer to $5-10 million rather than the $14-15 million being reported last month.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for female film journalists today, we also found out that Anne Thompson, formerly of Variety, will now park her Thompson on Hollywood blog at indieWIRE (an official announcement is forthcoming). Meanwhile, though less film-related than the other two women, gossip magazine editor Bonnie Fuller is set to head Mail.com’s Hollywood Life. I don’t think we’ve seen this much girl power in one industry since the Spice Girls took the music world by storm.

Anyway, all I can say is that I wish them all luck and look forward to continuing to read their stuff (okay, this statement only includes Finke and Thompson) at their new homes. Now, let’s see what the rest of the film blogosphere has to say about the ladies after the jump:

• Nikki Finke responds to Carr’s profile of her by announcing another long weekend:
  

  It claims I’m “thuggish”. So thug this: I’ll be back to work on Monday.

• Lane Brown at Vulture determines what country’s GNP is equivalent to Finke’s paycheck:
  

  So, optimistically, this would put Penske’s total payout for DHD in the ballpark of the GNP of Niue (population: 1,398), another Polynesian island nation, this one 100 square miles and self-governing under free-association with New Zealand, so therefore lacking sovereignty. It’s nice, we guess, but you know what they say — it’s no Tuvalu.

• Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere shares his favorite part of the Finke profile and shows concern for Carr’s word choice:
  

  I love the following passage at the end of Carr’s piece, by the way: “If the deal works out, Ms. Finke’s probing phone calls will continue to panic the suits in Hollywood for some time to come. Without saying who it was, she gave a recent example of someone who ended up as a pelt on her wall. ‘I implored him to talk to me, and he did a little, but not enough,’ she explained. ‘He should have protected himself.’”

  “If” the deal works out?

• Rafat Ali at paidContent.org wonders if Thompson’s own deal will work out:
  

  Meanwhile, the question to ask is: are their enough endemic advertisers in the Hollywood trade category to support them all? It is not as if the studios and networks are flush in cash these days. All of them are hoping for the vanity for your consideration ad category, which has been artificially inflated this year by Oscars’ decision to bump up the number of nominees for each category to 10. But is there enough to support 10 different sites, all covering the same sector?

• Sharon Waxman at TheWrap compares Thompson’s potential financial success to Finke’s:
  

  If Thompson can build her blog to half the size of Finke’s — something more than 100,000 uniques per month — and that is monetized at a $6 cpm, at two ads per page and sold-out inventory, that would mean $1,200 per month. Presuming she shares that revenue 50-50 with Allen, that’s still only $600 a month.  (All you folks should check my math. And it should be noted that Oscar-season bloggers such as David Poland currently garner a small fraction of Finke’s traffic.)

  Still, if Thompson gets ads for the Oscar season, those would be sold at premium prices. And there may be green in them thar hills.

• Chris Thilk at Movie Marketing Madness offers congratulations to Thompson and recognizes that she’s a good fit for indieWIRE:
  

  Where some of those that are talking about this are focusing on the math – ad sales are going to drive this and the studios aren’t spending like they used to, even with the newly expanded Best Picture field – I think in terms of content it’s a great fit. Where other top-line blog writers are all about the gossip and therefore have gone to outlets that embrace that and are seeking that audience, Thompson I think will be a great fit at IndieWire, one of the smartest online outlets and one that focuses on an intelligent discussion of movies rather than the latest leaks about studio executive moves.

  This is the kind of consolidation that I think we’re going to see more of. The best former mainstream media publication writers, instead of striking out on their own, will fall at the best of the established niche websites where their contributions will be appreciated by the existing audience.

• Kristopher Tapley at In Contention also recognizes the fit:
  

  My thoughts are that this is a real coup for Eugene Hernandez and the indieWIRE team.  And, it’s the best fit.  Thompson was always a bit too media savvy for Variety and certainly would have been a great fixture at any of the outlets that were angling to lure her in (including The Wrap), but she’ll bring a fierce independent spirit to her new digs that I personally think will prove refreshing for her.

  So, a big congrats to Anne.  Break a leg.

• Craig Kennedy at Living in Cinema wishes Thompson luck:
  

  We’re fans of Thompson and we like her style much more than many of the other pros who’ve detached from old-media gigs and ventured out into the wilds of the internet.

  Good luck, Anne. We hope your classy voice is heard through the clamor of the Polands, Wells, Waxmans and Finkes of the world.

• Sasha Stone at Awards Daily notes that it’s a good year for women in journalism:
  

  This is a stellar move for Indiewire, and Thompson’s solid industry standing should get them many-a-scoop, adding to their already great team of writers, Eugene Hernandez and Peter Knegt among them.  It’s a good fit for Thompson, who is really one of the few true journos who are making the transition to the blog-dominated media universe.  It’s been an interesting year for women in journalism in total, with Nikki Finke’s success, Sharon Waxman starting The Wrap, and now Anne Thompson’s move to Indiewire.  It’s no longer a boyman’s game.  Sorry, just had to get one in.  “Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto.”

• David Poland at The Hot Blog speculates on how the Fuller hire will affect our friends at Movieline:
  

  This is probably very good news for the guys at Movieline, who will probably be given room - if not a lot more money - to build their niche within the organization. And Nikki will be given room to continue working in her niche. As Fuller indicated to David Carr, as he broke the news hours before Nikki posted a press release and a defensive note, her target will be female and very much based on the US Magazine/National Enquirer profile.