Variety Wins 14 National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
Variety earned 14 first-place wins Sunday night at the 17th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards, including trophies for print journalist of the year, film critic, investigative reporting and news photo.
Chris Willman, chief music critic and senior writer, packed a punch with four wins including print journalist of the year. Tatiana Siegel, executive editor of film and media, won two top investigative categories. The ceremony was held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
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“We are so proud of the work produced across Variety every day. These big wins reinforce that we have the largest and strongest team of entertainment business journalists in the world,” said Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh, co-Editors in Chief of Variety.
Here’s a rundown of Variety‘s wins:
Chris Willman’s singular voice and prolific output earned him the print journalist of the year honor. He was recognized for film criticism under 1,000 words. He also won for action photo for his 2023 snap of Brandi Carlile in concert. And he won for music-related commentary for “Jason Aldean Already had the Most Contemptible Country Song of the Decade: The Video is Worse.”
Tatiana Siegel, executive editor of film and media, won for entertainment industry investigative for “Inside the Battle for CNN: Jeff Zucker, Chris Licht and 18 Months of Backstabbing” and for celebrity investigative for “Crisis at Marvel: Jonathan Majors Back-up Plans, ‘The Marvels’ Reshoots, Reviving Original Avengers.”
Chief film critic Owen Gleiberman was recognized for obituary/appreciation for film personalities for “Remembering Piper Laurie in ‘Carrie’ and ‘The Hustler.’
Film and media reporter Katcy Stephan for film industry feature under 1,000 words: “Movie Pass, Movie Crash: Founder Stacy Spikes on Mitch Lowe, Racism and Where the Company Stands Today.”
Jem Aswad, executive editor, music won for soft news, music and arts related for his retrospective: “Why David Bowie Killed Ziggy Stardust, 50 Years Ago Today.”
Brent Lang, executive editor, won for feature covering diversity in film and TV for “Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Her revealing Dian von Furstenberg Documentary and Directing a ‘Star Wars’ Movie.”
Contributor Pamela Chelin took the win for celebrity feature online for “Martin Scorsese Hosts Robbie Robertson Tribute Concert”
Digital design director Dan Doperalski took home a trophy for celebrity portrait for capturing “Lawman: Bass Reeves” star David Oyelowo
Chief Photographer Michael Buckner won for news photo for his shot of Fran Drescher on Day 1 of the SAG-AFTRA strike that graced the cover of the July 19, 2023, print edition of Variety. Creative director Haley Kluge and visual director Jennifer Dorn also shared the award.
Senior awards editor Clayton Davis won for commentary TV industry trend for ‘Love on the Spectrum’ is Showing Me Examples of How my Autistic Son Could be as an Adult – and It’s Amazing.”
Variety also racked up more than 20 second-place showings and more than 12 third-place showings over the course of the night. The ceremony included honorary kudos presented to Kevin Frazier, Tiffany Haddish and Kathy Bates, all three of whom delivered testimonials to the power of journalism.
The emotional highlight of the night came with the presentation of the David Robb Civil Justice Award named in honor of the veteran labor reporter, who died in December 2023 at age 74. Variety and Hollywood Reporter alumnus Anita M. Busch joined with former Hollywood Reporter editor Alex Ben Block to pay tribute to Robb to inuagurate the kudo, which comes with a $5,000 stipend. Rick Ellis, writing for AllYourScreens.com, took home the first win for his story “Matthew Feeney Was Minnesota’s ‘Quiet on Set’ Moment.”
Busch, a close friend and colleague of Robb’s who sponsored the memorial award, urged the crowd of journalists to heed his example by helping the marginalized and the voiceless, and to always seek out “the under-reported stories and the stories that aren’t being told.”
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