Variety won top honors Sunday at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, taking the trophy for best entertainment publication along with 11 other first-place wins.
The May 3 cover package “No Words: What the Writers Strike Means for Hollywood” was recognized in the category of best entertainment publication during the ceremony held at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The kudo extends to Variety’ s entire editorial staff for creating the issue on deadline, publishing barely 48 hours after the Writers Guild of America called its first strike in 15 years.
“Receiving the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award that recognizes the entirety of our staff is particularly meaningful to us after such a challenging year for the industry we cover,” said Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh, Variety ‘s co-editors in chief. “Hollywood’s season of strikes was an all-encompassing, labor-intensive story to capture. It’s gratifying to receive this recognition as well many other first, second and third-place nods. It’s a tribute to the wide range of news, analysis, features, design, photography and illustrations that our team works so hard to deliver day in and day out.”
Tatiana Siegel, executive editor of film and media, won the hard news film category with her explosive reporting on allegations of abuse leveled against actor Jonathan Majors, who at present is on trial for assault and aggravated harassment charges in New York.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety ’s chief film critic, picked up a trophy for his appreciation of actor James Caan. Katcy Stephan, social media editor, got the nod for journalistic use of social media for her TikTok video explaining the Ticketmaster-Taylor Swift concert ticket sales debacle that made headlines in November 2022.
Haley Kluge, Variety’s creative director, took the win for print magazine cover art for the profound simplicity she brought to the “No Words” cover story package in the May 3 print edition that captured the start of the Writers Guild of America strike. That same issue commanded the win for best entertainment publication – a recognition that extends to the entire Variety staff. Brian Steinberg, New York TV editor, won for soft news about TV/streaming for his clear-eyed look at how CNN sought to rein in aspects of its rollicking new year’s eve telecast anchored by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. Veteran editor Pat Saperstein, deputy editor of film, prevailed for soft news feature on film with her retrospective look at the famed Warner Bros. Commissary, “Warner Bros. Commissary Captain Dishes on Jennifer Aniston’s Special Salad and that Viral Vintage Menu.” Brent Lang, executive editor, drew strong praise from the judges for his sensitive look at the career swan song of Michael J. Fox in a May cover story. Chris Willman, chief music credit and senior features editor, was hailed for capturing his subject in music personality in feature over 2,500 words for his look at the latest career turns for Jack White. Jennifer Dorn, Variety’s visual director, and photographer Marco Grob shared the win for photo of music/arts personality for a July 2022 shot of music mogul Guy Oseary. Jem Aswad, executive editor of music, nailed the business performing arts related feature for his explanatory breakdown of the right to raise streaming royalty rates for songwriters. The hard news on TV/streaming laurel went to William Earl, Variety.com editor, and contributor Anthony Ferme for their reporting on the aftermath of the shooting death of a “Law & Order: Organized Crime” crew member while working on location in New York.
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