Hello to our readers, advertisers, sponsors, colleagues and friends. For those of you who know me well, the closure of SHOOT will probably come as quite a surprise as you know how much I love SHOOT. I became the Publisher of SHOOT, called Backstage SHOOT then, in September 1990. In January of 2005, my partner Gerald Giannone, and I finalized the purchase of SHOOT from then owner VNU. And now, after 36 years of my loving being SHOOT’s Publisher, we have decided to cease publication as of Friday, August 28th, 2026. There’s nothing dramatic about the decision; it’s simply the right time to relax and enjoy life more without being tied to the constant responsibility of SHOOT. Taking a vacation and not simultaneously working and checking the 500 emails I receive daily is a very foreign concept and I am looking forward to what that is like. The first time to experience it will come soon on a vacation in Maui in early October. There are lots of other things to explore and I am excited to explore them. Since we have pretty much covered every new company launch and company closure in the industry, it seems appropriate to write about SHOOT.
Today will mark the last day that we will be filing new content, with business activities ending this evening when the SHOOT Dailies email newsletter goes out. The company will continue to operate through a transition period to process any refunds for prepaid SHOOT publicity wire releases and to collect outstanding advertising invoices ensuring a smooth wrap up to all business dealings.
Final Chapter or Next Chapter
You may wonder why we didn’t sell SHOOT but chose to close instead. Because our company isn’t big enough for a traditional media broker, we directly contacted some companies that could be a good fit. I had multiple conversations with one under NDA that I felt would be a great SHOOT steward for the future but a sale did not result. I had several initial conversations with others but at the time we weren’t sure we wanted to sell. Those talks were fun but we chose not to pursue them and wait until we closed when a larger and more varied pool of companies would be aware of SHOOT. We wanted to avoid any protracted talks while operating the business. Serious interested parties are welcome to get in touch.
A Look Back, The Early Days through 2004
For those who like the bare facts of a story, you have that above and may not want to read any further. SHOOT has been such a wonderful journey so I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about it and some of the people that have made the journey so special along the way.
When I started at SHOOT in September 1990, we were a weekly tabloid newspaper with no website and no technology. We were called Backstage SHOOT and after a while just SHOOT. We focused solely on Commercial Production & Post back then. When we were getting ready to go to press we pasted copy on boards, made edits with an exacto knife and mailed boards via FedEx to the printer. Only editorial staff had computers. We were the first publication at the company to get a fax machine and we had a 3/4” machine to view reels. Our one west coast editorial person was a reporter, Bob Goldrich, who worked for the independent west coast sales rep (I quickly remedied that by bringing him on staff and of course ultimately Bob became SHOOT’s editor and has been for decades.) I had come from a publishing company that focused on magazines about cable programming, television syndication and TV production. With experience helping to launch, reposition and run magazines, I did not know ad agencies and commercial production so the first order of business was to meet as many people as possible and learn the industry.
The industry was incredibly welcoming and I was lucky enough to meet key execs from the leading companies and agencies of the day. Favorite heads of production included Texas East, co-head with Lynn Roer, David Perry, Bob Nelson among many others. Texas was also related by marriage so he was an extremely helpful sounding board in those early years and spoke at all of our early events. Just a few of the industry execs I met very early on included Robert Abel, Don Block, Carol Case, Joe DiBuono, Tom Duff, Larry Chernoff, Stephen Dickstein, Morty Dubin, Bonnie Goldfarb, Jan Horowitz, Nitza From, Bob Giraldi, Robert Greenberg, LJ Jeneski, Erich Joiner, Jon Kamen, Ray Lofaro, Massimo Martinotti, Pamela Maythenyi, Liz Myers, Tom Mooney, John Palestrini, Josh Rabinowitz, Michael Romersa, Howie Schwartz, Rick Wagonheim and countless others – all so incredibly passionate about the business, it was impossible not to be inspired. While many became good friends over the years, all contributed to my early education and love for the industry. They were incredibly passionate about the business and it was impossible not to be inspired by them. Whenever I’m asked about my early days at SHOOT I always single out Robert Greenberg of R/GA. I met him during my first weeks on the job in 1990 as his office was around the corner from ours in Times Square. I expected a ½ hour meeting but left hours later with my head swimming with information. I introduced Bob at a VES Society event in 2019 where he was the recipient of the VES New York Empire Award. It provided me with the opportunity to talk about the history of R/GA and thank him personally for how much that first meeting meant to me.
The Associations and the Guild we were closest to in those early days
AICP
Our relationship with the AICP started with Backstage, which later evolved into SHOOT. Coverage started with the association’s inception in 1972, helping it to gain industry-wide exposure early on, working with the likes of such stalwarts as Barney Melsky, Jay Eisenstat, Benson Green, Dick Hall, Frank Tuttle, Dick Kerns, Ted Goetz and Patrick Collins, among assorted others. Backstage/SHOOT chronicled and helped build support for major achievements over the years including the formation of–and expansion via–regional chapters, the creation of the AICP bid form, the launch of the AICP Show (SHOOT has been a proud sponsor since the first year), other mainstay organizations like AICE and AMP becoming part of the AICP family, and the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP) born out of a collaboration between AICP and the DGA.
I met Matt during his first few weeks as head of AICP. I invited him to join me and then SHOOT editor, Peter Caranicas, for lunch. I picked the restaurant at the Paramount Hotel; Peter and I waited and waited for Matt. Eventually I checked to see if perhaps they had seated him separately which they had. We had a wonderful lunch and it has been great to work with Matt ever since. He was one of the few people who knew I was in the process of buying SHOOT when I left VNU and he sent out a lovely message to the membership which we published as a column in our first PDF issue as new owners in January 2005.
AICE
SHOOT was also in on the ground floor of AICE which was founded in 1998 when three independent groups representing editing companies in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York formed a national association to discuss issues and undertake initiatives affecting postproduction on a broader scale. Our coverage of the original indie groups, such as CAFE (Chicago Association of Film Editors), was instrumental in terms of helping lay a foundation of awareness which lent further credence to the formation of a national organization. In fact SHOOT was on hand for the first coming together of these regional groups at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas in efforts to get a national organization off the ground. In addition to editing, the full range of postproduction disciplines came to be represented by AICE. The AICP and AICE merged in 2018. SHOOT also helped get the AICE Awards off the ground, a prestigious awards competition which evolved into the AICP Post Awards.
If you knew John Held well, you may have joined him for lunch at some point at his beloved Four Seasons restaurant in NYC. I was lucky enough to be included in lunches with him, Nitza From and John Palestrini over the years where we would discuss AICE business briefly and then enjoy lunch.
AMP
SHOOT also covered AMP from the outset, playing a role in getting it firmly established in the industry. Founded in 1998 from a successful lobbying effort to raise ASCAP royalties for advertising, AMP remains a major advocate for creators of sound and music for media. SHOOT covered and supported the AMP Awards for Music & Sound from the very beginning, helping get the word out about the inaugural competition in 2013, chronicling its significance and its development into a marquee awards show.
It was always a pleasure to work with Lyle Greenfield who was president of AMP for a long time. No association head was ever more enthusiastic and fun than Lyle. The craziest thing I remember is when he came to my office in the East Village sometime around 2000. I don’t remember what he was asking us to cover but it probably had something to do with his company Bang Music. I’m sure whatever it was we were going to cover it. All of a sudden he says, “I’ll even stand on my head” and before I knew it he was standing on his head. Of course we covered all of AMP’s news over the years and Bang Music’s as well. Lyle wrote our “Ear Witness” column for several years which we greatly appreciate; it was always informative and entertaining. I can’t mention AMP without mentioning the fabulous Jan Horowitz and Liz Myers, both music & sound company co-owners and AMP execs who helped make AMP what it is today.
Covering Music & Sound was always an incredibly important part of our coverage and we regularly interviewed ad agency heads of production and heads of music & sound companies and of course produced our hugely popular top ten list for years and years.
DGA
While we’ve always been close with all Guilds, I think we’ve always been closest to the DGA. SHOOT has enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with the DGA on several notable fronts, including the opening up of the annual DGA Awards to commercial directors in 1980, with Robert Lieberman becoming the first DGA Award recipient as best spot helmer of 1979. SHOOT’s coverage helped in the launch of the DGA Awards’ commercial category. DGA has also been the lead sponsor of SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase event, at the DGA Theater in NYC playing host to the annual NDS afternoon Forum and debut of the NDS Reel for some two decades. And then there’s the aforementioned launch of the CDDP, fostering diversity and inclusion in helping to launch the careers of promising new commercial directors.
We went on to work with all major advertising and entertainment industry associations and all guilds for production, cinematography, post, VFX, Animation, Music & Sound, production design, equipment & software, locations and so much more – what a pleasure it has been working with all of them. And a pleasure to have attended hundreds if not more industry events, conventions, award shows, many of which we helped sponsor and film festivals, and what a treat it was to moderate many panels along the way.
More About The SHOOT New Directors Search (NDS) and New Directors Showcase Event
Directors have always been an important part of our coverage. I’m sure many of you remember our Directors Issues that were packed with Directors interviews and profiles (and production co ads). We always included an up-and-coming directors feature. The feature is what sparked the idea for the SHOOT New Directors Search and SHOOT New Directors Showcase Event.
We held the first and second years of the SHOOT New Directors Showcase at the Clios in Miami – we didn’t have an online Search set up yet; for those first few years, we contacted production companies and asked them to send us reels of new directors and we created a small Showcase from those Reels. I then approached the DGA, telling them about my plan to start an official New Directors Search that directors could enter and then we would build a Showcase around those selected from the Search, and would they be interested in coming in as Lead Sponsor and letting us hold it at the DGA in NYC. They were excited and supportive and we went on to hold over 20 annual events there. For most of the events, we held the after-party downstairs at the DGA which was incredibly fun but very overcrowded. We ended up moving the after-party to sponsor cos, once at The Mill and then for several years at The-Artery. Huge thanks go to Vico Sharabani and Deborah Sullivan for their support of the NDS and the fabulous parties. And of course to Vico for speaking at the NDS afternoon Forums sharing cutting edge work. (While we won’t be holding the SHOOT NDS Search or Event this year, we may bring it back in the future. If so, we’ll announce early next year and will be looking for partners)
Of all our accomplishments at SHOOT, the New Directors Search and New Directors Showcase is something I’m most proud of. Anyone who produces an event knows what an incredible amount of work it is but being the producer of the event has been a wonderful experience. Getting to know the new group of directors each year and then watching their careers progress has been very gratifying.
While countless people have contributed to the success of the SHOOT New Directors Showcase over the years, there are a few people I’d like to especially acknowledge for their support.
Bonnie Goldfarb
Co-founder of the venerable production house harvest, which too recently concluded a long and successful run–has been a progressive and supportive voice in the industry. SHOOT has felt that steadfast support over the years as she’s not only sponsored our New Directors Showcase Event but done so in a proactive manner, frequently as an attendee and speaker offering encouragement and counsel to aspiring directors. She’s been a leader in the production community with an enduring impact that has gone beyond her work at harvest. Bonnie has been a champion of reducing carbon footprint and achieving sustainability in commercial production. And she’s been a long-time friend and confidante to many in the industry–including to me. I treasure our friendship and look forward to our next get together when I think we’ll share martinis and not talk about business.
Dave Rolfe
I first met Dave at a very early SHOOT event in NYC. He approached me asking if I could introduce him to Texas East who was related to him in some way. Dave has been a steady and supportive voice, sharing his expertise in our news and feature coverage–as well as at multiple New Directors Showcase Events as a panelist. He has been generous every step of the way on his industry journey which includes having served as director of integrated production at BBDO New York, head of production for global business marketing at Facebook, and now as global head of production for WPP/Hogarth. He’s provided a cogent voice on how the industry has evolved–just as his career and for that matter SHOOT have evolved–while offering advice and encouragement to our Showcase directors. He is among those in the industry whose observations, perspective and insights have been invaluable to our readers and event participants.
Jeffrey A. Greenbaum
I met Jeff for the first time at an AICP Show long ago. We became friends early on and when I wanted to acquire SHOOT I approached Jeff and FKKS became our law firm for the acquisition. Jeff is a preeminent advertising industry attorney and is an expert on advertising and how the law relates and has adapted to the changing industry. Greenbaum, managing partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz (FKKS), has been a go-to panelist for SHOOT at New Directors Showcase discussions, shedding light on legal responsibilities, liabilities and considerations for production houses, directors, ad agencies, brands and other varied segments of the industry. FKKS has been a long-time sponsor of the New Directors Showcase Event, with Greenbaum offering an informed perspective on multiple fronts–from intellectual property to advertising regulations, rights clearance, social media, union issues and the impact of artificial intelligence and its legal ramifications. Jeffrey and his compatriots at FKKS have authored assorted installments of the “Legalease” column for SHOOT–identifying aspects of the law that are of paramount importance and relevance to the content creation community.
Visit NDS.SHOOTonline.com for past NDS directors and Showcase information.
Publishing an Issue of SHOOT on 9/11
Someone recently asked me what were some of the craziest things that happened working at SHOOT. There were a lot of crazy things relating to business over the years but of course publishing an issue on 911 tops the list. On the morning of 9/11, press day for our next issue, as I was on the train going into NYC there is a turn up in the Bronx where when you come around it you could see all the way downtown. As we turned, cell phones started to ring in every seat and into view came the first tower burning. No one knew what was going on. The majority of people on the train got off at 125th Street and went home. I wasn’t sure what to do as it was press day. So I continued on to our office in the East Village. Once there, the other tower was hit and it was not possible to leave the city. With a small staff as most people did not come in we got the issue out. Everyone was on autopilot and we somehow just did it. Being the publisher of SHOOT, “I needed a TV in my Office” so most of the company spent the day in and out of my office to watch the news. Transportation was of course closed for the day but sometime that night Grand Central Station was opened and I walked from the office to the train. There was no one on the streets except some armed military.
A Look Back, Ownership in 2005-present
This article is called “Publisher’s Parting Shot, The Last Take” because I wrote a “Publisher’s Parting Shot” in July 2004 when I resigned from SHOOT after 14 years as Sr. VP of the Media Group and Publisher of SHOOT. The company BPI Communications where I started had become larger through acquisitions and with every change came additional politics and corporate bureaucracy which did not benefit SHOOT’s plans for expansion. When I resigned I offered to purchase SHOOT and January 1, 2005 was our first day as SHOOT owners. That first day as the new owners, in a new office with a small but mighty staff was scary. Few ads had been sold for the year but as word spread, advertisers started calling in their ad schedules. Tom Duff from Optimus booked a big one, sent flowers and a beautiful note and we’ll be forever grateful to him and others who started the ball rolling. JJ at Kodak, Alec at Sony, Avid, and a slew of production and post companies followed.
It’s crazy to think of all the changes in the industry since 2005 and we’ve covered all of them, the good and the bad, always attempting to provide the facts, always adding historical context and always seeking out the thought leaders of the day. While we started out covering Commercial Production & Post, we first expanded by covering Branded Content and ultimately all forms of advertising and entertainment production and post, expanding our horizons to work with all kinds of companies, networks, streaming services, movie studios, associations and guilds involved in all of these areas while continuing our deep relationships in the world of ad agencies, commercial production and post-related companies.
In the past fifteen or so years we added regular year-round coverage of production and post of television, streaming services and movies and have loved producing our annual Road to Emmy and Road to Academy & Guild Awards series delving deep into the world of for your consideration advertising. It has been wonderful getting to know so many talented people at companies like Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, HBO, Hulu, NatGeo, DisneyTV+, Paramount, Warner Bros, Focus Features, 20th Century Fox and so many more as well as their ad agencies and pr firms.
It has been a true honor and privilege to work with the most creative, intelligent, inspiring, passionate people in all segments of the world of production and post.
About Bob Goldrich, and a word from Bob Goldrich
It will be a big adjustment not working with Bob and I will miss that very much. Not only a great editor and writer but a great human being. There literally has never been a new avenue I wanted to explore for SHOOT, even if it seemed a little crazy, that Bob hasn’t enthusiastically gotten behind and helped make happen. What a pleasure it has been and I look forward to continuing our friendship long into the future.
I asked Bob for a few comments about his years at SHOOT and the following is from Bob…
In covering the industry for the better part of five decades, I’ve been privileged to see the better part of what our industry has to offer. And over time that offering has become all the more essential as we’ve sadly seen society descend into an era of divisiveness, indifference, fear mongering and a profound lack of empathy. During my tenure at SHOOT I’ve learned about and witnessed firsthand the power of storytelling to put us in someone else’s shoes, helping us to reconnect with our humanity and with others–particularly when drawing from a diverse community of voices, enabling us to experience stories that would otherwise be out of our realm of experience.
We’ve had the honor of helping new voices gain exposure through our news reporting and feature coverage, as well as proactively via our annual SHOOT New Directors Showcase, lending visibility to deserving talent early on in their careers. We’ve seen a growing number of commercial production companies place greater value on the perspectives of filmmakers from different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and walks of life.
I remember covering the DGA Awards back in 2018 when Greta Gerwig went on stage to accept her nomination medallion for “Lady Bird,” which marked her solo feature film directorial debut. Gerwig said to her peers in the audience, “Storytellers are healers and I am so honored to be included among you.”
Storytelling can indeed be healing–by raising awareness of injustices, fostering empathy for others, even helping us to look at ourselves and our beliefs differently. With my career chapter at SHOOT coming to its conclusion, I will selfishly take a little time to take it easy, seizing the opportunity to take a deep breath and relax for a stretch, and spend more time with family and friends. I’m not sure how or if I will eventually get back into the fray but hope that it will be in a way that I can contribute to the healing process for us all, perhaps through writing or teaching, learning, sharing and volunteering–paths which ideally I can pursue and navigate without too much help from AI.
For sure, I can be thankful without AI–and I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to Roberta Griefer and Gerald Giannone, who set the tone and spirit at SHOOT and have always been so supportive. And, my deepest gratitude to our readership over the years and best wishes for your continued success as you grapple with art, commerce and the stewardship of our industry.
The SHOOT Publicity Wire | Gerald Giannone
It was Gerald’s idea to start The SHOOT Publicity Wire and he has run it since the start. He launched our weekly and daily email newsletters and has also overseen production all these years and because he is technically gifted has brought all of our wonderful promotions to life, improved our website, launched the NDS site and so much more. He’s been a great partner and I greatly appreciate his support all these years.
I’d also like to thank James Theodorou who has put together our print, PDF issues, and online forms for the last several years.
It’s A Wrap
I didn’t set out to write something so long but once I started it kind of wrote itself. In closing, I’d like to thank all of the readers, advertisers, sponsors and of course the amazing staff throughout the decades who have made this wonderful SHOOT Magazine/SHOOTonline journey possible. I’d like to list them all but there are so many it isn’t possible. Many past staffers that I had the pleasure to work with since 1990 went on to wonderful careers, outside of publishing, in the production industry, including Lauri Aloi, Ray Ecke, Carolyn Hill, Mary Knox and Kristin Wilcha.
I send a huge Thank You to all the executives, artisans, companies, agencies, associations, guilds, studios, networks, streaming services, manufacturers and so many more who trusted us to share their news, milestones, insights and points of view with the industry. I thank Jerry Hobbs, John Babcock Jr and Howard Lander for hiring me back in 1990 and special thanks to Jerry and Howard who supported my wanting to acquire SHOOT. My parents are no longer with us but I’d be remiss in not mentioning my father who always said I could do anything I set my mind to and to my mother who was always frustrated with me when I couldn’t spend more time with her and said “you work like a man” meant as a negative but I chose to take as a positive.
SHOOT has been a wonderful journey. I wish all of you continued success and happiness, and hope to see you down the road!
Some links you may find of interest…
- Click Here for SHOOT’s 65th Anniversary Series, published September 2025
- Click Here to see a feature series we published in the months leading up to our 50th Anniversary Issue which includes interviews with Lee Clow, Robert Greenberg, Bob Giraldi, Larry Bridges, Rich Silverstein, Stephen Dickstein, Phil Geier, Joe Pytka, Bryan Buckley, Joe Sedelmaier, Dan Wieden, Susan Credle, Noam Murro, Tony Granger, Kevin Roddy, Kristi VandenBosch, David Lubars, Jon Kamen, Stefan Sonnenfeld, Tom Kuntz and Lance Acord.
- Click Here to see the SHOOT 50th Anniversary Issue published in Nov. 2010.
- Click Here to see SHOOT House Ads leading up to our 40th Anniversary Issue published in Nov. 2000. A big hit at the time, they are still fun to look at. The Ads featured Cheryl Berman, Alex Bogusky, Texas East, Nitza From, Lyle Greenfield, Matt Miller, Tom Mooney, Barbara Mullins, David Perry, Joe Pytka, and Scott Ross.
- Click Here to see Industry Ads from the SHOOT 40th Anniversary Issue published in Nov. 2000. Unfortunately, we can’t show you the great articles & features published in this issue as it was before we published digital/PDF issues but the Ads are a lot of fun.
- Click Here for SHOOT’s 1/21/05 PDF Issue, first as owners
- Click Here for SHOOT 1/28/05 PDF Issue with AICP President Matt Miller’s column “Change is Good” about SHOOT
- Click Here for Publisher’s Parting Shot from July 2004
