Los Angeles Times Wins 39 National Arts and Entertainment Awards
Among the honorees, Times Staff Writer Meg James was named Print Journalist of the Year and Photographer Jay L. Clendenin won Photojournalist of the Year.
The Los Angeles Times has earned 39 honors in the Los Angeles Press Club’s 15th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards contest. The awards, which were presented at a gala on Dec. 4, recognize the work of entertainment reporters and editors, and theater, film and television critics across all media.
Among the honorees were Staff Writer Meg James and Photographer Jay L. Clendenin. James was named Print Journalist of the Year, while Clendenin was named Photojournalist of the Year for the third consecutive year; both received a number of additional honors in the competition.
James said she was “humbled” by the top award. “It’s been a blockbuster year, and the L.A. Times entertainment business team has distinguished itself with insightful coverage of Hollywood,” she said.
She said she was particularly proud of the entertainment team’s coverage of the shooting on the “Rust” film set, which was included in her entry, “and really focused the spotlight on the L.A. Times and its investigative journalism.”
Clendenin’s winning portfolio included portraits of actors chronicled over 12 months. “Collaborating with today’s top pop culture personalities is always challenging and fun, and being able to create something memorable in 10 minutes, while stressful, is very fulfilling,” he said.
Below is a list of The Times’ honorees by category.
Print Journalist of the Year
Meg James
Photojournalist of the Year
Jay L. Clendenin
Critic (Print, Broadcast or Online)
Theater/Performing Arts Critic
Second place: Charles McNulty
Art/Design Critic
Second place: Carolina A. Miranda
Book Critic
Third place: M.G. Lord
Food/Culture Critic
Third place: Lucas Kwan Peterson
Any Media Platform (Print, Broadcast or Online)
Celebrity Investigative
First place: Stacy Perman
A child star at 7, in prison at 22. Then she vanished. What happened to Lora Lee Michel?
Second place: Amy Kaufman, Meg James
The man who played Hollywood: Inside Randall Emmett’s crumbling empire
Humor Writing
Second place: Patt Morrison
“A Hollywood Museum? Promises, Promises”
Headline
First place: Doug Norwood
“Ours to ‘Minutes’”
Photography/Art (Print or Online)
News Photo
First place: Jay L. Clendenin
“COVID Red Carpet”
Portrait Photo
Second place: Jay L. Clendenin
“Clint Eastwood”
Action Photo
Second place: Jay L. Clendenin
“Elle Fanning in motion”
Photo Essay
Second place: Jay L. Clendenin
“Portrait Portfolio”
Print/Online
Entertainment Industry/Arts Investigative
First place: Meg James, Amy Kaufman, Julia Wick
The day Alec Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza
Obituary/In Appreciation, Music and Other Arts Personalities
Third place: Evelyn McDonnell
Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, rock journalist, author and partner of Jim Morrison, dies at 75
Print (Newspapers or Magazines)
General News
First place: Deborah Vankin
Academy Museum hired a hawk. His name is Spencer, and he scares for a living
Celebrity News
Second place: Meg James, Amy Kaufman
Concerns about Bruce Willis’ Declining Cognitive State Swirled around Sets in Recent Years
Pandemic Reporting, Entertainment Subject
Second place: Evelyn McDonnell
Grounded by COVID, Patti Smith joined Substack and Instagram. But nothing replaced playing live
Personality Profile, Film Industry — Under 2,500 Words
First place: Deborah Vankin
How the ‘Licorice Pizza’ poster art brings a family’s American dream story full circle
Personality Profile, TV — Under 2,500 Words
Third place: Meredith Blake
Molly Shannon is a comedy legend. Now she’s opening up about the tragedy that shaped her
Movie Industry Feature — Over 1,000 Words
Second place: Deborah Vankin
Academy Museum hired a hawk. His name is Spencer, and he scares for a living
TV Industry Feature — Over 1,000 Words
First place: Erik Himmelsbach-Weinstein
‘Open with a funeral, end with a gunshot’: Inside the original ‘Behind the Music’
Creative/Performing Arts Feature — Over 1,000 Words
Third place: M.G. Lord
How Anna von Planta Wrangled Patricia Highsmith’s Messy Diaries into a Volcanic Book
Commentary Analysis/Trend, Film
Third place: Ashley Lee
Commentary: Spielberg tried to save ‘West Side Story.’ But its history makes it unsalvageable
Commentary Analysis/Trend, TV
Third place: Erik Himmelsbach-Weinstein
‘Open with a funeral, end with a gunshot’: Inside the original ‘Behind the Music’
TV/Video/Film
Diversity in the Film/TV Industry Staff
Second place: “L.A. Times Today” and Spectrum News 1 teams
“Billy Porter”
Soft News Feature, Arts/Culture
Third place: Lisa McRee, Bill Cipolla, Heidi Berger, Christina Veta and Andy Schlachtenhaufen, “L.A. Times Today” and Spectrum News 1
“Erika Records”
Soft News Feature
Second place: Lisa McRee, Bill Cipolla, Heidi Berger, Christina Veta and Andy Schlachtenhaufen, “L.A. Times Today” and Spectrum News 1
“Ukrainian Ballet Dancers”
Radio/Podcasts
One-on-One Interview, TV Personalities
Second place: Asal Ehsanipour, Heba Elorbany, Jazmín Aguilera, Yvonne Villarreal, Mike Heflin
“The Envelope featuring Jennifer Coolidge”
Soft News Feature
Second place: David Toledo, Angel Carreras
“The Times: The state of the streaming wars”
Online
Soft News, Film
First place: Robert Meeks
An old VHS tape gives a son a glimpse of his father’s shot at fame in 1960s Hollywood
Diversity in the Music/Performing Arts Industry
First place: Kenan Draughorne, Jason Armond
“Behold”
Pandemic Reporting, Entertainment Subject
First place: Ashley Lee
In-person theater is back. A lost generation of artists chose not to return with it
TV Feature
First place: Dawn Burkes
Canceled by HBO, ‘Lovecraft Country’ leaves its Black fans vindicated with Emmy nods
Arts/Entertainment Feature
First place: Lisa Fung
‘King James,’ at long last, has its tipoff time
Celebrity Feature
Second place: Makeda Easter
Inside the heartbreaking conservatorship battle of a ‘Star Trek’ legend
Commentary Analysis/Trend, Film
First place: Ashley Lee
Onstage, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ hails the difficulties of parenting. The movie gets it wrong | Why it matters that Cynthia Erivo is playing Elphaba in the ‘Wicked’ movie | Spielberg tried to save ‘West Side Story.’ But its history makes it unsalvageable
Social Media
Best Journalistic Use of Social Media to Tell or Enhance a Story by an Individual
Third place: David Viramontes
The man who played Hollywood: Inside Randall Emmett’s crumbling empire
The full list of winners can be found at lapressclub.org.
