Ryan Faughnder is a senior editor with the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town team, which covers the business of entertainment. He also hosts the entertainment industry newsletter The Wide Shot. A San Diego native, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from USC and a bachelor’s in English from UC Santa Barbara. Before joining The Times in 2013, he wrote for the Los Angeles Business Journal and Bloomberg News.
Faughnder was most recently a film business reporter for Company Town. He covered such major stories as the Sony hack, the streaming wars and Bob Iger’s surprise return to the throne as Disney’s CEO in 2022. He also was part of the team that was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of the “Rust” set shooting.
Latest From This Author
A team of Los Angeles Times journalists analyzed the Writers Guild of America’s contract with studios, marking it up line by line. See the most significant changes, the pivotal arguments and the key subtexts within this historic document.
Oct. 7, 2023
One strike down, one to go, as Hollywood tries to get back to work. What the WGA got in its deal and what the actors might expect for themselves.
Oct. 3, 2023
Key takeaways from the tentative contract that would end the writers’ strike, and how it addresses writers room staffing, streaming residuals and artificial intelligence.
Sept. 26, 2023
There’s a lot of work to do before Hollywood can get fully back to work (SAG-AFTRA, anyone?). Now the industry is left to pick up the pieces of a long and disruptive work stoppage.
Sept. 26, 2023
Why viewership data figures so prominently in the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Plus: Will Disney sell ABC, and who would buy the network?
Sept. 19, 2023
There are actually things to talk about in Hollywood other than the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes — such as the Disney-Charter deal to end the blackout.
Sept. 12, 2023
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” helped Hollywood hit a key box office milestone. The business still has serious obstacles to overcome before it reaches full health.
Sept. 5, 2023
‘Dune: Part Two’ moves to 2024, in another blow to movie theaters. Plus: Streaming’s ‘Suits’ and ‘Ugly Betty’ moments examined.
Aug. 29, 2023
Hollywood is dysfunctional. Does it behave like a monopoly? The WGA’s public policy expert discusses Disney, Netflix and Amazon’s grip on the entertainment industry and how vertical integration hurts artists and consumers.
Aug. 22, 2023
Disney filed counterclaims in its Florida legal dispute, seeking damages after DeSantis allies sought to strip its special privileges covering Walt Disney World.
Aug. 18, 2023