Brooks Barnes

Hometown
Billings, Mont.

College
Marquette

What I Do
I handle Hollywood news, from serious to silly. I like to think of my beat as serious people taking seriously the absolutely ridiculous.

How I Got to The Times
I covered corporate media and the television business for the WSJ and managed to break news that got the attention of NYT editors, who hired me for a narrower version of the job I currently have (and love) in 2007.

Interesting Fact
I’m a closet Lego builder. (TMI?)

Most Important Business Lesson Learned
Persistence. You get a “no” from three people, try five others.

Favorite Movie
At the moment, it’s a tie between “Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and “Pollyanna” (1960), which sort of sums up my cracked personality.

What I Like About Working for The Times
I’ve always had editors who listen to my position (“This is a lame story and here’s why”), have my back when the P.R. claws pop (“You will never speak to another Disney executive again!”) and push me to keep growing.