Variety won 20 first-place trophies Sunday night at the 18th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards, up from the 14 the publication scored in last year’s competition.
Variety was awarded across a wide spectrum of categories for work published during 2024-25, with wins coming in divisions ranging from hard news and business reporting to commentary and criticism to photography and cover art. The tally of 20 was the most for any print-based publication in the 2025 contest, sponsored by the Los Angeles Press Club.
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Among the accolades was a Print Journalist of the Year win for chief music critic and senior writer Chris Willman, picking up the prize for a second time after first winning it in 2024.
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Also scoring first-place prizes for Variety articles were editor-at-large Kate Aurthur, international features editor Leo Barraclough, chief correspondent Daniel D’Addario, chief awards editor Clayton Davis, senior entertainment & media writer Matt Donnelly, chief film critic Owen Gleiberman, executive editor Brent Lang, freelance contributor Kristen Lopez, international reporter Naman Ramachandran, executive editor for TV Michael Schneider and associate web editor Michaela Zee.
Visual director Jennifer Dorn, creative director Haley Kluge and deputy photo editor Jennifer Halper were top finishers, as well, rewarded for their work on the magazine’s art and photography, alongside Emilio Madrid, Richard Maltz and Joe Toreno.
A cover package on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour proved popular with judges. Willman won one of five awards he took home for Best Music Feature for his cover story on Swift (“How Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Took Over the Entire World”), which involved covering the blockbuster tour’s impact overseas. An award for Best Cover Art went to the team of Dorn, Kluge, Maltz and Toreno, for a specially crafted image on the front cover of Variety‘s weekly print edition that had the “biggest tour of all time” theme spelled out in the form of friendship bracelets.
Dorn and Kluge were repeat winners, scoring again in the category of Portrait Photo, Music/Theater/Arts for a photograph of Darren Criss and Cole Escola, an award that also went to Halper and Madrid.
Brent Lang was a two-time winner this year, too, picking up one award for Business/Film/Print for “Netflix’s Origin Story: How the Streamer Killed Blockbuster Video, Snagged ‘House of Cards’ From HBO and Changed Hollywood Forever” and another for Commentary Analysis/Trend, Film, Print for “How Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ Endured a Hellish Production to Become Hollywood’s First Summer Blockbuster.”
Daniel D’Addario picked up the award for Best Theater/Performing Arts Critic for his stage reviews from throughout the year.
Owen Gleiberman was the recipient of the prize for Obituary/In Appreciation, Film Personalities for his remembrance “Remembering Val Kilmer, a Powerful Actor Who Remained a Reluctant Movie Star.”
A second prize for an appreciation of a sadly missed entertainer went to Kate Aurthur in the category of Obituary/In Appreciation, TV Personalities for her piece “Remembering Shannen Doherty: A Gen X Icon Who Fought Like Hell to Live.”
Michael Schneider was the recipient of the Hard News, TV/Streaming award for “L.A. Reporters Cover Devastation in Their Own Neighborhoods During Wildfires: ‘Feels Like a Nightmare’ and ‘Fatigue Is Setting In’.”
Clayton Davis won Commentary Analysis/Trend, Online for his column “Tony Hinchcliffe Called Puerto Rico a ‘Floating Island of Garbage’: His Hate Disguised as Comedy Wasn’t Funny or a Joke.”
Matt Donnelly picked up the trophy for Hard News, Film, Online for his article “Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy Under Fire at Warner Bros. Amid Box Office Flops: ‘We Didn’t Want to Fail’ David Zaslav.”
The award for Personality Profile, Film Industry, Online went to Naman Ramachandran for his piece “Deepa Mehta on 30 Years of Boundary-Breaking Cinema: Facing Down Protests, Hanging Up on George Lucas and Her $1 Deal With Salman Rushdie.”
Michaela Zee won Film Feature, Production/History—Below-the-line Creatives for her story on a composer’s latest work, “How Alexandre Desplat Crafted the Score for Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme.'”
Leo Barraclough was the recipient of the award for Film Feature, Production/History—Above-the-line Creatives, for his piece “‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ Director on Lifting the Lid on Kremlin Pro-War Propaganda in Sundance Documentary.”
Kristen Lopez picked up the prize for Diversity in the Film Industry, Online for her story “Disabled Performers Advocate for Allies in Hollywood: ‘Inclusion Needs to Be a Movement and Not a Moment’.”
Besides Print Journalist and Music Feature, Willman’s other three wins were for Best Columnist, Online; Commentary Analysis/Trend, Music, for “Stop Blaming ‘Celebrity Endorsements’ for Kamala Harris’ Loss: We Need to Hear From Artists Now More Than Ever”; and Music Feature, Group/Industry Artists, for “Shania Twain and Brandi Carlile on Teaming Up for an All-Female-Headliner Festival, and Why Women Supporting Women Is Always ‘Right on Time’.”
Variety was additionally honored with dozens of second- and third-place honors in the 2025 NAEJ competition. A full list of winners in all categories and a rundown of judges’ comments will be published by the Press Club on Monday.
The ceremony was held at the Millennium Biltmore, where the L.A. Press Club also hosts the SoCal Journalism Awards each July.
Honorary awards were given out during the ceremony to Paul Anka (the Legend Award), Larry Mantle (the Luminary Award), Marlee Matlin (the Impact Award), Kasi Lemmons (the Distinguished Storyteller Award) and Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen (the Visionary Award). Anka wrapped up the program with a customized rendition of his most famous composition, “My Way,” with lyrics altered to reflect both his own NAEJ honor and those of the attending journalists.