hollywoodlife.com
Bonnie Fuller is a well-known name in the world of American print media. She has made her mark in the world of digital media, where anyone working in entertainment, film, or television journalism knows her name. Fuller has held several high-power positions at some of the most popular and renowned publications in the United States.
Bonnie Fuller was born on October 24th, 1949 in Toronto, Canada to an upper-middle-class family. Her father was a real estate lawyer, and her mother an elementary school teacher. Fuller graduated from Jarvis Collegiate Institute in 1974. From there, she attended the University of Toronto where she achieved her B.A. in 1977. She then went on to pursue her M.A. at the University of British Columbia in 1978, and completed her Ph.D at Cornell University in 1984 with a dissertation on "Toward a Theory of Public Opinion Formation". After completing her schooling, Fuller worked as a research associate at the CTV Television Network from 1984 to 1987 before joining the faculty of Ryerson Polytechnic University as a professor in 1988. Bonnie has since authored or co-authored six books and over sixty journal articles on topics such as political communication, public opinion formation, and social networks.
History
Fuller rapidly made a name for herself in the world of entertainment and style reporting, landing a job at the Toronto Star one year after graduating from university. She became the editor of the sportswear section of Women's Daily two short years later, only staying in that position for three years. Fuller then became editor-in-chief at Flare magazine, where she only stayed for three years before moving on to another editorial role.
Flare magazine editor-in-chief Fuller went over to YM magazine, also as editor-in-chief. And this is when her career really started to ignite. From there, she created an American version of the popular British publication, Marie Claire magazine. Then, in 1996, Fuller became editor-in-chief at the infamous Cosmopolitan magazine. She remained with Cosmopolitan until 1998 when she was transferred over to Glamour where she served as editor-in-chief for three years. In 2001 she was transferred again to become editor-in-chief of Us Weekly where she conceived of her signature columns: ?Stars are Just Like Us,? ?The Buzzometer,? and ?Who Wore it Best?? The latter column has been emulated by nearly every entertainment publication since, whenever there is a red carpet event.
In 2003, Fuller was appointed the executive vice president and chief editorial director of American Media Inc. Here she oversaw 16 weekly, biweekly, and monthly periodicals, such as Star magazine, Shape, Natural Health, Country Weekly, and Men's Fitness. It can be said with certainty that Fuller is ambitious woman.
Her impressive resume and track record of producing high quality work tells the tale of someone who never seems to quite settle. Throughout her career, she wanted more and more, to climb higher and higher. And this resulted in her being asked by a very powerful media magnate to run her very own online publication.
In 2009, Jay Penske approached Fuller to invite her to relaunch Hollywood Life, which was then a defunct Hollywood news site. Fuller happily agreed and is, to this day, the site's president, editor and chief as well as a senior advisor to Penske Media Corporation. In addition to her duties as editor and president of the online publication, she also hosts the Hollywood Life podcast available on iTunes.
Bonnie Fuller, a frequent contributor to various media outlets, is also a frequent guest on Sirius XM Radio's Cosmo Radio. She just might be the busiest person in the entire entertainment news industry.
Design
According to Hollywood Life, I would say, it looks like a celebrity-focused entertainment news website. I do not want to mislead readers - Hollywood Life is not a tabloid. Far from it. It doesn't deal in blatant falsehoods published as truth. However, it does veer on the speculative side, gossipy. And this flashy, splashy, hot pink/white / black theme feels appropriate given that focus.
The layout, too, seems to work well for Hollywood Life. The site is not overly text-based, the way that many other news sites tend to be. Instead, the site relies heavily on images of celebrities with short and quippy headlines beneath them - very little text at all, actually, to be found on the home page. This site, at least in its current iteration, clearly caters to the ADHD generation. Even the articles are short and sweet - maybe a few paragraphs tops.
and focus on what makes it great- its content.
I do not enjoy the site's design, as it is cluttered and chaotic. The eye has no idea where to land. There is too much jam-packed color and vibrancy all over the place. I would like the site to simmer down a bit and focus on what makes it great - its content.
Content
While the content on Hollywood Life can be found across a variety of topics, the majority of it is focused on celebrity gossip and less substantive news. This is evidenced by the website's title, which is "Hollywood Life: Your source for all things Hollywood." Therefore, I do not believe that many people visit Hollywood Life for news related to current events, such as the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump.
Mobile and Desktop Experience
The videos are also nicely organized so that you can see the clips that are most relevant to your interests.
After giving my reasons for disliking the in-browser website experience, I am happy to report that there is an alternative available through the Hollywood Life mobile app. Although it is equally flashy and has a similar chaotic feel, it is at least slightly less chaotic, more soundly organized, and easier to navigate. Everything is clearly delineated into its own separate section, there is little text bleeding into the images, and videos are also nicely organized so that you can see the clips that are most relevant to your interests.
The app format seems to be better suited for Hollywood Life, as clicking on an image opens a short article with push notifications on the latest celebrity news. The app has received an average rating of 4.7 stars on the Apple App Store.
Pricing and Plans
Hollywood Life does not traffic in the subscription service game whatsoever. So, if you are a fan of Hollywood Life, I have great news for you: enjoy it whenever you want to your heart's content without ever having to pay a dime. Sure, there will be ads, but, hey, nothing is ever truly free, right?
Suggestions that I have for Hollywood Life
I would like to see Hollywood Life give their website a makeover. It is too chaotic, hard to navigate, and distracting to me. I suggest that Hollywood Life scale this back a little bit, give us a cleaner, more minimalist approach to reading up on entertainment news.
Although it is convenient that you don't have to register as a user to use Hollywood Life, maybe it wouldn't hurt to offer some sort of upgrade option. For example, exclusive content, ad-free reading, or anything else at all. I have a feeling that people who truly love Hollywood Life would probably be willing to shell out a few bucks a month in order to get some sort of VIP, "red-carpet" treatment.
Conclusion
All in all, Hollywood Life may be just the online publication you've been waiting for, so long as celebrity gossip and speculation is your wheelhouse. They have tons of articles, many of which are quick reads - this site is perfect for the celebrity news junkie who, like Bonnie Fuller herself, is always on the go. I am not a huge fan of the flashy and chaotic site design, but maybe that's just me - after all, the taste is purely subjective. I have a feeling that a lot of people will really love this site, even if it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea.
If you're looking for insider information on Hollywood life, be sure to check out the Hollywood Life podcast, hosted by Bonnie Fuller.