The Hollywood Reporter Tops 2026 SoCal Journalism Awards With 20 First-Place Wins, More Than Any Other Outlet
The Hollywood Reporter came out on top at the 68th Southern California Journalism Awards, which were handed out at a gala ceremony Sunday night at the the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
THR took home 20 first-place trophies at the ceremony — more than any other outlet. The SoCal Journalism Awards honor excellence in journalism across multiple categories, including entertainment, politics, lifestyle, environmental, gender, race, sports, technology, travel, food/culture and more. The awards recognize work in several forms of media, including print, online, broadcast, audio, video, photography, design, social media and more.
Overall, THR won a total of 44 first-, second- and third-place prizes at Sunday night’s awards, which are overseen by the Los Angeles Press Club.
THR‘s first-place wins included best website, journalist of the year honors for Gary Baum and Seth Abramovitch, best film critic for David Rooney, and best audio anchor/host for Scott Feinberg.
At the ceremony, the L.A. Press Club also recognized several individuals with special honors, including NBC’s Craig Melvin (President’s Award for impact on media), country music artist Kenny Chesney (Public Service Award for contributions to civic life), journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa (Daniel Pearl Award for courage and integrity in journalism), ABC7’s Rob Fukuzaki (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Carol Sobel (Guardian Award for contributions to press freedom).
THR headed into the ceremony with 65 total noms, a record for the news outlet. These awards follow on the heels of THR‘s record-breaking 85 noms at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. THR also recently won a Webby People’s Voice Award in the category of Entertainment, General Desktop & Mobile Sites (Websites & Mobile Sites) and was nominated for a Mirror Award for the first time for Steven Zeitchik’s “Last Call for Late Night,” about the decline of an American institution under unprecedented political and economic pressure.
Below is a full list of THR‘s wins at the SoCal Journalism Awards.
TECHNOLOGY REPORTING
First place: Alex Weprin, “YouTube Just Ate TV. It’s Only Getting Started”
TRAVEL REPORTING
Second place: Leena Tailor, “From Snoop Dogg and NSYNC to Post Malone and Bon Jovi: The Diverse and Transformative New Wave of Celebrity Bars Shaking Up Nashville”
PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS or FEATURE
Third place: Nicole Fell, “How Watch Duty Became an Essential Resource for Angelenos During Wildfires”
HUMOR/SATIRE WRITING
Second place: Mikey O’Connell, “I Lost My Home in the L.A. Wildfire. This Is What I’m Holding On To.”
ENTERTAINMENT PHOTO, Single Image
First place: Ash Barhamand, Alison Edmond, Erik Madigan Heck, “Tim Burton + Jenna Ortega”
COVER ART
First place: Maer Roshan, Ada Guerin, Neil Jamieson, THR Staff, “The New Face of Hollywood”
EDITORIALS
Second place: Ryan Gajewski, Darah Head, “Parm to Table: Dan Tana’s Was a Cut Above”
BUSINESS REPORTING An article or series
Second place: Gary Baum, “Is Dana White the Most ‘Untouchable’ Whale in Vegas?”
LIFESTYLE FEATURE
Third place: James Hibberd, “Knives Out: Celebrities Reveal Plastic Surgery Secrets — But One Procedure Still Taboo”
GENDER AND SOCIETY REPORTING
Third place: Nicole Fell, “K-pop Has Its Ellen Moment”
INVESTIGATIVE
Second place: Rebecca Keegan, “This Is Not Keanu: Inside the Billion-Dollar Celebrity Impersonation Bitcoin Scam”
COMMENTARY
Second place: Steven Zeitchik, “I Sat Down to Dinner With Rob, Michele and Nick Reiner. It Was Heartwarming and Jarring.”
FEATURE, Business/Government (Over 1,000 Words)
First place: Alex Weprin, “Mickey vs. Shrek: Inside the Multibillion-Dollar Theme Park War”
Second place: Seth Abramovitch, “Crumbl, The Cookie That Broke the Internet”
FEATURE, Culture and Society (Over 1,000 Words)
Third place: Peter Kiefer, “Vanessa Bryant vs. Hollywood: Inside the Secret Kobe Bryant Footage You May Never See”
FEATURE, Entertainment (Over 1,000 Words)
Second place: Gary Baum, “Prize Fight: Inside an Oscar Family Feud”
ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE, TV/Streaming Related
First place: Katie Kilkenny, “The Microdrama Production Gold Rush Is Here”
ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE, Theater/Performing Arts Related
Third place: Seth Abramovitch, “David Blaine Has One More (Deadly) Trick Up His Sleeve”
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Third place: Katie Kilkenny, “Trump’s Man With a Plan in Hollywood Opens Up”
PERSONALITY PROFILE, Film Personalities
Third place: Lacey Rose, “The Second Coming of Ariana Grande”
PERSONALITY PROFILE, Music/Theater Personalities
Third place: Nicole Fell, “Rosé Can’t Chill”
PERSONALITY PROFILE, Politics/Business/Arts Personalities
First: Seth Abramovitch, “How Ben Shapiro Conquered the MAGA-verse”
Second place: Gary Baum, “The Righteous Fury of Spencer Pratt”
LIFESTYLE FEATURE
First place: Harry Buerkle, Tiffany Taylor, Jason Rovou, Maer Roshan, “Meet the Video Store Owner Defying the Streaming Era”
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS or FEATURE (Over 5 Minutes)
First place: Seija Rankin, Jason Rovou, Lesley Corral, Stephanie Fischette, Maer Roshan, “Jennifer Lawrence, Cynthia Erivo, Amanda Seyfried & More at the THR Actress Roundtable”
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS, Film/Broadcast
First place: Seth Abramovitch, “Conan O’Brien Threw a Holiday Party to Forget a Bad Year. Then Nick Reiner Arrived.”
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS, Music/Performing Arts
First place: Lina Lecaro, “Running for Cover(s): A Look at the Grammys’ Newest Category”
NEWS FEATURE, Music/Culture/Performing Arts related
First place: Leena Tailor, “Tears, Spaceships and Nostalgia: How Backstreet Boys “Pushed the Limits” of Las Vegas’ Sphere With “Mind-Boggling” Residency Launch”
SOFT NEWS FEATURE, General News
Third place: Lexy Perez, “Talk Dirty to Me: Inside Hollywood’s Audio Erotica Craze”
FILM FEATURE, Documentaries/Animation/Indies
First place: Lily Ford, “The Rage of ‘Adolescence’: Inside the Single-Shot Sensation Blowing Up the Manosphere”
FILM FEATURE, Production Histories, Business
Third place: James Hibberd, Peter Keifer, “Paramount Never Made Taylor Sheridan an Offer to Stay: How TV’s Biggest Partnership Fell Apart”
FILM FEATURE, Production Histories, Shows
First place: Leena Tailor, “How New Kids on the Block’s Jonathan and Jordan Knight Breathed New Life Into HGTV”
MUSIC FEATURE, Solo Artists
First place: Leena Tailor, “Taylor Swift: Tribute Acts Are Saving Lives, Pocketing Paychecks and Finding Fame”
THEATER/ARTS FEATURE
Second place: Scott Feinberg, “’Getting to Do It for an Audience, It’s Like Drugs’: 7 Tony Nominees on Jumping Between Hollywood and Broadway”
ENTERTAINMENT COMMENTARY, Film/TV
Second place: Abbey White, “‘The Bear’ Is Really a Work Warning for All of Us”
BLOG, GROUP
First place: Jackie Strause, Rick Porter, Tony Maglio, James Hibberd, Etan Vlessing, “Live Feed”
WEBSITE, TRADITIONAL NEWS ORGANIZATION
First place: The Hollywood Reporter Staff, “hollywoodreporter.com”