Christopher Grimes
@grimeslikedimes.bsky.social
London-based editor @FT. Ex-Tokyo, NYC & Atlanta, by way of Tallapoosa, Georgia
This is the story I needed to read today. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/d...
The $40 Half Chicken That Ruffled Brooklyn
nytimes.com
The new Disney CEO’s horrible first week—The chaotic opening week exposed a bigger problem: how little control Disney has over the forces remaking its business… www.ft.com/content/9ff5... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
The new Disney CEO’s horrible first week
Josh D’Amaro faces crises across the entertainment giant’s empire
ft.com
Can David Ellison pull off Hollywood’s megamerger?— It is the most audacious power grab Hollywood has seen in years — and a test… www.ft.com/content/39e4... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Can David Ellison pull off Hollywood’s megamerger?
The audacious deal to combine Paramount and Warner Bros has huge repercussions and steep challenges
ft.com
In LA’s ‘Tehrangeles’, Trump’s war is popular—Eric Saddigh was only 16 when he fled Iran with his family. Like thousands of others who fled the country after the 1979 Islamic revolution, they landed in Los Angeles… www.ft.com/content/ddb7... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
In LA’s ‘Tehrangeles’, Trump’s war is popular
The largest community outside Iran danced in the streets but diverges with the president on a return to monarchy
ft.com
Essential reading from the great Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran as.ft.com/r/cfd55ca4-0...
Iran executes Khamenei’s plan to spread regional war
[FREE TO READ] Strikes on energy facilities and targets across Middle East form strategy devised to sow chaos in retaliation for US and Israeli attack
as.ft.com
Project Warrior: How Paramount beat Netflix in $110bn battle for Warner—If approved, the deal will fundamentally reshape the entertainment landscape. It will put some of the biggest names in US media — including… www.ft.com/content/e352... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Project Warrior: How Paramount beat Netflix in $110bn battle for Warner
Ellison father and son viewed deal as a matter of survival to compete with tech giants that now dominate Hollywood
ft.com
The question answers itself www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
Has Trump Thought Through the Endgame in Iran?
The country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed by U.S. and Israeli strikes, but the conflict is far from over, and has convulsed the Middle East in a spasm of interstate violence.
newyorker.com
Worth watching www.nytimes.com/video/world/...
Video: Behind Trump’s Reversal On Regime Change
As a candidate, Donald J. Trump criticized regime change as “a proven, absolute failure.” Now he finds himself pursuing the exact kind of regime change he once criticized. Our chief White House corres...
nytimes.com
Paramount clinches Warner Bros deal after Netflix walks away—California’s attorney-general @robbonta.bsky.social vowed to conduct a “vigorous” review of the proposed deal. “Paramount/Warner Bros is not a done deal,” he said. www.ft.com/content/fdb3... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Paramount clinches Warner Bros deal after Netflix walks away
Streaming company’s decision ends months-long battle to buy parent of CNN, HBO and franchises such as Harry Potter
ft.com
‘Devastated and exhausted’: Washington Post looks to life after Will Lewis–For Bezos, who owns the Post, Lewis’s Super Bowl partying during mass job cuts was one mis-step too many, according to company insiders. www.ft.com/content/2002... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
‘Devastated and exhausted’: Washington Post looks to life after Will Lewis
The newspaper’s staff welcome the publisher’s departure, but fear what may come next after drastic job cuts
ft.com
"The Post proudly adopted the motto “democracy dies in darkness” after Trump was first elected. Now the paper is an exhibit of his attempts to smother democracy in broad daylight." My Swamp Notes with @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social on oligarch destruction of US media. as.ft.com/r/f2dcdea9-a...
Bezos’s calculated vandalism of the Washington Post
[FREE TO READ] He is just one of several pro-Trump oligarchs who now control key sections of the US media
as.ft.com
Netflix says Paramount bid ‘doesn’t pass sniff test’ as Warner battle intensifies—Netflix sought to win over any wavering WBD shareholders this week by shifting to an all-cash offer that it said would allow… www.ft.com/content/0542... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Netflix says Paramount bid ‘doesn’t pass sniff test’ as Warner battle intensifies
Co-chief Greg Peters says Netflix is winning Warner Bros shareholder support for a deal that would upend Hollywood
ft.com
Tech barons should not assume they are invulnerable. They may feel safe today, but the constancy of Maga Republicans is not something anyone should take for granted. It is not hard to see a future where US populists seek to regulate the seemingly untameable titans. as.ft.com/r/7645c8c1-7...
A warning shot to our tech overlords
[FREE TO READ] Democratic history is a timeline of states acting to curb over-mighty figures, from kings to business tycoons
as.ft.com
Mamdani has clearly read up on Mayor John Lindsay’s 1969 snowstorm disaster. From today's briefing: "This weekend is going to be cold. It is going to be windy. And above all else, it is going to be a weekend where your city is prepared." Now he just has to deliver.
"Having wracked my brains, I've come up with a slogan for Britain’s middle power opportunity: 'Take back control'." My Swamp Notes with @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on why Carney has laid out the rest of the west's only sane response to Trump. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/672930fc-c...
Britain’s golden middle power opening
[FREE TO READ] Prime Minister Keir Starmer has a chance to really ‘take back control’
as.ft.com
California’s divisive plan to tax billionaires-At the core of the debate are concerns about rising levels of inequality, an issue that is likely to animate American politics in the year to come. www.ft.com/content/ddfc... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
California’s divisive plan to tax billionaires
The proposed levy on people worth 10 figures and above has rattled Silicon Valley and split Democratic leaders
ft.com
@grimeslikedimes.bsky.social: YouTube Is Now The Leader IN TV And Streaming In The U.S. | @financialtimes.com (SubReq) www.ft.com/content/9e75...
The relentless rise of YouTube
As well as being the dominant platform in podcasting and having a growing presence in live sport, it is now the leader in TV and streaming in the US
ft.com
The relentless rise of YouTube—Almost by stealth, it has also conquered the American living room. Since 2024, Americans have been watching YouTube primarily on TVs, not their phones or other devices… www.ft.com/content/9e75... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
The relentless rise of YouTube
As well as being the dominant platform in podcasting and having a growing presence in live sport, it is now the leader in TV and streaming in the US
ft.com
Warner Bros board urges investors to reject Paramount’s ‘inferior’ $108bn bid—In a sharply worded letter to shareholders on Wednesday, the WBD board called the Paramount offer — its seventh bid… www.ft.com/content/3562... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Warner Bros board urges investors to reject Paramount’s ‘inferior’ $108bn bid
David Ellison’s offer provides ‘untenable degree of risk’ and ‘potential downside’ for WBD shareholders
ft.com
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
How Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav defied Hollywood — again—Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, said Zaslav’s tenure would be marked by… www.ft.com/content/fa72... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
How Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav defied Hollywood — again
The Netflix-Paramount bidding war puts the much-criticised CEO in line for a bumper payday
ft.com
‘Hollywood is shocked’: Warner Bros sale looms large over movie industry—The sale of the century-old Warner studio has raised anxieties about thousands of job cuts and the loss of… www.ft.com/content/9a61... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
‘Hollywood is shocked’: Warner Bros sale looms large over movie industry
Deal for studio stands to undercut earnings for virtually every other segment of the industry regardless of the buyer
ft.com
Hollywood fears job cuts as opposition to Netflix-Warner deal grows—Actress Jane Fonda said the proposed deal “threatens the entire entertainment industry”. www.ft.com/content/7c90... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
Hollywood fears job cuts as opposition to Netflix-Warner deal grows
Actors, screenwriters and theatre owners warn of fewer cinematic releases and less innovation
ft.com
How Netflix stole Warner Bros from David Ellison-Netflix’s offer met all of the Warner board’s demands and it was willing to adopt requested changes to get the deal done. Paramount and Comcast, by contrast… www.ft.com/content/0fb6... @grimeslikedimes.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
How Netflix stole Warner Bros from David Ellison
Old-guard Hollywood underestimated streaming pioneer that has upended the industry over two decades
ft.com
