How Richard Rushfield founded one of Hollywood’s most influential newsletters
Richard wrote the newsletter in a raw, unfiltered voice; he was an insider who wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers.
By the time Richard Rushfield launched his newsletter The Ankler in 2017, he had held journalism jobs at several major media companies that included The Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, and Gawker. But because he served as a behind-the-scenes editor in most of these roles, he didn’t have much of a personal brand to speak of, which meant he needed to build his newsletter readership from the ground up.
Despite these headwinds, Richard managed to replace his full-time salary within about two years, and The Ankler is now a must-read for virtually every Hollywood studio executive. In our interview, he explained how he built his audience and why he prefers his life as an independent writer much more than his past career as a traditional journalist.
Let’s jump into my findings…
His introduction to Hollywood reporting
Long before he founded his newsletter, Richard covered the entertainment industry as both a reporter and editor, starting with the LA Times. “This was in the early 2000s, I think about 2002. They had had a very rudimentary website, but it had been largely behind a paywall.” He was hired as a part of a team charged with building editorial products for the website, and he eventually migrated to writing about Hollywood. “At the time American Idol was in its sixth season, so it was the biggest show on TV. Through the LA Times. I was able to go and attend the tapings and hang around the set and talk to people. And I became very interested in just seeing what went into producing two live shows a week for a giant audience. I spent three years going to every taping of it. I did profiles of the makeup artist, the lighting guy, the lawyers, the producers, the stage manager. And I just got to learn about all the elements that go into creating such a production, and it really made me appreciate the craftsmanship and the decisions that go into something like that.”