The Hollywood Reporter won best website and Rebecca Keegan was named print journalist of the year at the 66th annual SoCal Journalism Awards, which were handed out Sunday night.
THR won a total of 11 first-place prizes, the most awards for any publication, including prizes for critics Daniel Fienberg, David Rooney and Sheri Linden, as well as a win for best feature under 1,000 words by Gary Baum and Ryan Gajewski. On a stellar night for Rebecca Keegan, she also won an award for best culture/arts feature under 1,000 words for her piece, “The Auteurs of San Quentin.”
There were also wins for Scott Feinberg (best audio personality profile/interview over 10 minutes), Anaja Smith (best use of social media tied to a cover story) and THR‘s excellent photo department picked up awards for single topic photo essay (culture/entertainment) and entertainment portrait photo.
The awards are handed out by the Los Angeles Press Club, which previously said that more than 2,300 entries were submitted this year. The winners were announced at an awards dinner gala at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Also during the ceremony, the organization bestowed honorary awards upon Jane Seymour, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich, Fox 11’s Amanda Sala and the National Press Photographers Association’s Mickey H. Osterreicher.
Smith, who won the Joseph Quinn Lifetime Achievement Award, called the honor “the most important and gratifying honor of my professional career” and he called on journalists “to keep standing up for the truth” and against subjective interpretations of the truth in these uncertain times “when facts and truth and journalism seem to matter less.”
“You’re not supposed to be liked,” Smith added, before the lights in the ballroom suddenly went out during his speech. “The lights are off but the microphone ain’t,” he said to laughter in the room.
A full list of THR’s first- and second-place wins follows.
WEBSITE, TRADITIONAL NEWS ORGANIZATION
Winner: The Hollywood Reporter Staff, THR.com
JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: PRINT, over 50,000 circulation
Winner: Rebecca Keegan
CRITICISM OF TV
Winner: Daniel Fienberg, “The ‘Succession’ Series Finale Was a Brilliant Family Nightmare / ‘The Last of Us’ Review: Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in HBO’s Powerful Video Game Adaptation / ‘Reservation Dogs’ Finale Caps an Unlikely and Magical Series to Cherish”
CRITICISM OF FILM, (Over 1,000 Words; each review)
Winner: David Rooney, “‘Poor Things’ Review, ‘All of Us Strangers’ Review, ‘Past Lives’ Review”
CRITICISM OF FILM, (Under 1,000 Words; each review)
Winner: Sheri Linden, “’A Still Small Voice’ Review, ‘Fingernails’ Review, ‘Hesitation Wound’ Review”
FEATURE, Culture/Arts, (Over 1,000 Words)
Winner: Rebecca Keegan, “The Auteurs of San Quentin”
FEATURE (Under 1,000 Words)
Winner: Gary Baum, Ryan Gajewski, Winston Cho, “How TMZ Became Hollywood’s Grim Reaper”
PHOTO ESSAY (single topic), Culture/Entertainment
Winner: Ash Barhamand, Ava Selbach, Peter B. Cury, Obidi Nzeribe, Yotam Shwartz, “The 25 Most Powerful Stylists”
PORTRAIT PHOTO, Entertainment
Winner: Ash Barhamand, Ava Selbach, Peter B. Cury, Lou Escobar, “Ayo Edebiri”
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE and/or COVER A STORY By a Journalist Tied to an Organization
Winner: Anaja Smith, “2023 Beauty Issue”
PERSONALITY PROFILE/INTERVIEW, Entertainment Personalities (Over 10 Minutes)
Winner: Scott Feinberg, “‘Awards Chatter’ Podcast — ‘The Three Amigos’: Alfonso Cuarón (‘Le Pupille’), Guillermo del Toro (‘Pinocchio’) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (‘Bardo’)”
LIFESTYLE FEATURE
Runner-Up: Seth Abramovitch, “Succession, With Smoothies: Inside the Erewhon Dynasty”
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Runner-Up: Gary Baum, Katie Kilkenny, Lesley Goldberg, “Writers’ Shut-It-Down Strategy Has Been Effective, Executives Privately Concede”
PERSONALITY PROFILE, Politics/Business/Arts Personalities
Runner-Up: Seth Abramovitch, “A Pellicano Targer’s Second Act”
HARD NEWS
Runner-Up: Scott Feinberg, “Gruesome Footage of Oct. 7 Atrocities Screens in Hollywood Under Heavy Guard”
LIFESTYLE FEATURE
Runner-Up: Beatrice Verhoeven, “Flea-Market Treasure Hunt: Turning Old Film Reels Into Art Objects”
BLOG, GROUP
Runner-Up: Borys Kit, Aaron Couch, “Heat Vision”
