Rebecca Davis Joins Variety as China Bureau Chief

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Variety has hired Rebecca Davis as its new China bureau chief, part of the organization’s expansion of its international coverage.

Davis will cover a land that boasts the world’s second-largest movie market and a burgeoning television industry and that has developed extensive ties with Hollywood in recent years. Formerly a reporter with Agence France-Presse, Davis is based in Beijing, and has long had a professional interest in and personal fascination with the Chinese entertainment scene.

She joins Variety’s growing team of international writers and will report to international editor Henry Chu.

“China is an immensely important part of any conversation today about global entertainment, and I’m thrilled that Rebecca has come on board,” Chu said. “Her reporting skills and knowledge of China after living there now for several years give her a special perspective on the entertainment industry and will be a major asset to our coverage.”

At Agence France-Presse, Davis covered breaking news on topics ranging from politics to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and landslides in Sichuan, and has written features on culture and lifestyle, including the dashed Oscar hopes of a Chinese documentary about an activist fighting on behalf of sexually abused children. A fluent Mandarin speaker, she has also worked in the Beijing offices of The New York Times and Le Monde.

“Variety’s new China bureau is a testament to how important understanding this country and its market has become for the entertainment industry at large,” Davis said. “As a longtime China watcher and film buff, I feel very lucky to have the privilege of covering one of the world’s fastest-growing entertainment sectors for the leading publication in the field.”

Davis graduated from Columbia University’s Barnard College with a degree in comparative literature. Besides Mandarin Chinese, she also speaks French and Spanish.