Scarlett Johanssen in the "Nanny Diaries"

Variety and Hollywood Reporter have drawn the ire of several independent movie blogs, which claim the sites have taken news from the blogs without attribution and are now calling on the blogging community to stop providing links to the trade sites

Collider.com editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub called for the boycott, which has been joined by Moviehole.net, Latino Review, ScreenRant.com, IESB.net, Bloody-Disgusting.com and FirstShowing.net, after he claimed Variety picked up what he says was his scoop about a sequel to the movie “300.” While acknowledging that much of the news found on the blogs comes from Variety and HollywoodReporter.com, MovieBlog.com writes: “So here’s an ironic thing. Many traditional media outlets will often belittle and criticize the new emerging online movie community for not having explicit codes of etiquette and conduct … and yet now many of them are engaging in the violation of this most simple and important rule of GIVING CREDIT.”

Publicly, Variety has been dismissive of the boycott. “Print still holds its own,” Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart told MTV.com. “With all the [Internet change], the circulation of Variety is just where it was 30 years ago.”

We’ll keep you posted.

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