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Portrait of Brooks Barnes

Brooks Barnes

I write about Hollywood companies, with a focus on Disney and its many parts, from Marvel movies to ESPN to theme parks. I also cover movie theaters, the Oscars and entertainment-industry culture, including the occasional celebrity escapade.

My stories often focus on tension between Old Hollywood and New. Technology has severely disrupted the once-mighty film and television businesses. Can they adapt? It’s an open question, one that will impact what the world watches and how.

Hollywood being Hollywood, there is also misconduct to investigate — exposing and explaining racist, sexist and generally toxic behavior.

I have covered show business for 20 years. Topics have included movies and the companies and personalities behind them; the cable and broadcast networks; Broadway; the Netflix-led streaming revolution; Disney theme parks worldwide, from the company’s arrival on the Chinese mainland to the fight with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida over Disney World; #OscarsSoWhite; the Sony Pictures cyberattack; Hollywood labor battles; and the evolving culture wars.

I joined The New York Times in 2007. I previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, starting in 1999 after stints at The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

I was born in rural Montana. I have undergraduate degrees in journalism and English from Marquette University in Wisconsin and a graduate degree in cultural reporting and criticism from New York University.

I uphold the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook, which means, among other things, that I protect confidential sources and go to great lengths to be fair, especially on tough stories. I strive to give everyone a chance to comment.

I do not accept gifts or money from people who might figure into my reporting, including meals, hotel rooms, airfare or theme park tickets. I do not moderate panel discussions for studios during Oscar or Emmy season. I do not participate in politics or make political donations, nor do I attend fund-raisers unless I am reporting on them.

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