Yeah, well, tell me you did not see this coming last month when Army Archerd got his watch and golden handshake announced his retirement: It looks like Variety might be tweaking the balance of its industry coverage from veeps to VIPs.

The trade titan announced yesterday that it is getting into bed with Tribune Media to start a new entertainment wire on Sept. 26. Because, of course, in a world of carnivorous celebrity glossies, the public simply will not stand for anything but the latest Ralph Macchio scoop:

The Variety Entertainment News Service will provide editors with access to a wide range of breaking-news stories and analyses; feature articles; newsmaker profiles; opinion columns; movie, TV, music and theater reviews; box office reports; photographs and more. Newspapers may publish the Variety material in both their print and online editions.

"We believe that new readers of Variety content will come to enjoy a daily insider's view into the world of entertainment," said Charlie Koones, president and publisher of the Variety Group. "With the world's largest entertainment news-gathering staff, Variety is the first source for industry professionals. Our new partnership with Tribune Media Services makes this 'insider' information available to a whole new audience."

No worries, Charlie—100 years is long enough for any publication to stick strictly to one formula, and a brief survey of the media landscape leaves no mistaking that the time is right for you to thrust your special brand of dry, obscure, jargon-heavy trade news (that I could not live without, lest there be any confusion) on an unsuspecting public.

Unless, that is, you plan on a gradual overhaul of Variety's mission and coverage. In that case, I hear there is a market these days for something a little more homogenized--assuming people would read about Scarlett Johansson's or Jennifer Aniston's next film before just gawking at their pictures. But you will get there soon enough!