Variety wins 14 national awards for arts and entertainment journalism
Variety earned fourteen first-place finishes at the 17th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards on Sunday evening, including trophies for print journalist of the year, film critic, investigative journalism and news photo.
Chris Willman, chief music critic and editor, impressed with four wins, including print journalist of the year. Tatiana Siegel, editor-in-chief of film and media, won two top research categories. The ceremony took place at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
“We are so proud of the work produced everywhere Variety every day. These big wins reinforce that we have the largest and strongest team of entertainment journalists in the world,” said Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh, co-editors-in-chief of Variety.
Here’s an overview of it Variety‘s victories:
- Chris Willman’s unique voice and prolific output earned him the honor of Print Journalist of the Year. He was recognized for film criticism under 1,000 words. He also won for an action shot for his 2023 photo of Brandi Carlisle at a concert. And he won for music-related commentary for “Jason Aldean already had the most despicable country song of the decade: The Video is Worse.”
- Film and Media Editor-in-Chief Tatiana Siegel won for entertainment industry research for “Inside the Battle for CNN: Jeff Zucker, Chris Licht and 18 Months of Backstabbing” and for celebrity research for “Crisis at Marvel: Jonathan Majors Backup Plans, ‘The Marvels’ reshoots, revive original Avengers.”
- Chief Film Critic Owen Gleiberman was recognized for his Obituary/Film Personality Appreciation for “Remembering Piper Laurie in “Carrie” and “The Hustler.”
- Film and media industry reporter Katcy Stephan writes less than 1,000 words: “Movie Pass, Movie Crash: Founder Stacy Spikes on Mitch Lowe, racism and where the company stands today.”
- Jem Aswad, editor-in-chief, 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 a feature on diversity in film and TV for “Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on her revealing Dian von Furstenberg documentary and directing a ‘Star Wars’ movie.”
- Collaborator Pamela Chelin took the win for Celebrity Movie Online for “Martin Scorsese Hosts Robbie Robertson Tribute Concert”
- Digital design director Dan Doperalski took home a celebrity portrait trophy for capturing “Lawman: Bass Reeves” star David Oyelowo
- Longtime contributor Michael Buckner won for news photo for his photo of Fran Drescher on Day 1 of the SAG-AFTRA strike that graced the cover of the July 19, 2023 print edition of Variety. Also creative director Haley Kluge and visual director Jennifer Dorn shared the award.
- Senior awards editor Clayton Davis won for commentary The TV industry trend for ‘Love on the Spectrum’ is showing me examples of what my autistic son could be like as an adult — and it’s amazing.
Variety also racked up more than 20 second-place impressions and more than 12 third-place impressions over the course of the evening. During the ceremony, honorary awards were presented to Kevin Frazier, Tiffany Haddish and Kathy Bates, all three of whom gave testimonies to the power of journalism.
The emotional highlight of the evening was the presentation of the David Robb Civil Justice Award, named in honor of the veteran labor reporter, who died in December 2023 at the age of 74. Variety and Hollywood Reporter alumnus Anita M. Busch teamed up with former Hollywood Reporter editor Alex Ben Block to pay tribute to Robb and inaugurate 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 who sponsored the memorial award, urged the crowd of journalists to heed his example in helping the marginalized and the voiceless, and to always look for “the underreported stories and the stories that aren’t.” told.”
