Michael Schneider has been elevated to Television Editor of Variety, overseeing TV industry coverage as well as TV awards-related news and features.
Variety is also expanding its TV presence with editor-at-large Kate Aurthur taking on new responsibilities for leading fan-focused coverage of TV content. Variety is increasing its investment in coverage of current series, from series previews and first-looks to episodic recaps, cast and showrunner Q&As, critical commentary, post-mortems, scene breakdowns and other content that fuels word-of-mouth and social conversation around TV.
Schneider and Aurthur will work closely together in steering the industry’s largest team of TV-focused reporters. Schneider will drive industry news, features and analysis in addition to continuing to lead Variety’s TV awards coverage.
“Michael Schneider has more than earned this promotion,” said Cynthia Littleton, Variety co-editor in chief, to whom Schneider reports. “He works tirelessly to cover an industry that he loves, and he’s got a well-trained eye for great stories that capture the unique qualities of working in the content business.”
Aurthur has also taken on responsibility for editing Variety chief TV critics Daniel D’Addario and Caroline Framke and helping to curate other TV-related commentary coverage.
“I’m thrilled about Kate’s new role,” said Ramin Setoodeh, Variety executive editor, to whom Aurthur reports. “Kate is one of the most thoughtful, collaborative and precise editors I’ve ever worked with. And nobody watches more TV or follows the conversations about TV on social more closely than Kate.”
Schneider joined Variety in 1999, serving as a TV reporter and then TV editor for both Daily Variety and weekly Variety. He left for TV Guide Magazine in 2011, where he rose from Los Angeles bureau chief to executive editor and then chief content officer.
He returned to Variety and PMC in 2016 as an editor at large, as well as executive editor at IndieWire, before returning full-time to Variety in 2019 as senior editor, TV awards, and most recently as deputy TV editor. Schneider has also served as a contributor to KCRW, including the weekly segment “Screengrab,” and regularly moderates industry and TV show panels at events including Comic-Con, PaleyFest, HRTS, Banff World Media Festival and NATPE.
Aurthur joined Variety in 2019, after more than six years at BuzzFeed News as its Chief Los Angeles Correspondent.
After getting her start at the New York Times, she moved from New York City to Los Angeles in 2006 to be the television editor at the Los Angeles Times. From there, she became the Deputy West Coast Bureau Chief at The Daily Beast — where she first worked with Setoodeh — and oversaw the site’s entertainment coverage.
During her time at Variety, Aurthur has written multiple cover stories about television, ranging from deep dives into “Schitt’s Creek” and “Grey’s Anatomy” to profiles of Kaley Cuoco and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She has also won two Los Angeles Press Club awards since joining Variety.