TheWrap earned four top prizes at the L.A. Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, held Sunday night at the Sheraton Universal Hotel.
Film reporter Drew Taylor and editor in chief Sharon Waxman shared the trophy in the Online Hard News – Film category for “Disney Imagineers Demand Halt of Mass Move to Florida After ’Don’t Say Gay’ Blow-Up (Exclusive)” — which judges called “a compelling article about how employees at one entertainment company responded with a backlash on one of the divisive cultural issues.”
Steve Pond, TheWrap’s executive editor for awards, won for his online film feature “How Questlove Learned to Stop His ‘Reluctant-Leader Shtick’ for ‘Summer of Soul.’”
Tim Baysinger won in the film business category for his story “How Disney’s Kareem Daniel Became the Most Powerful Figure in Hollywood You’ve Never Heard Of” while Brendan Katz took second for “How Hollywood May Be Sabotaging Profits With New Push to Pay Talent Upfront | Charts.”
Photographer Jill Greenberg won in the Portrait Photo category, for a shot of “Pose” star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, which the judges praised: “Using stunning colors in portraits of actress MJ Rodriquez, Jill Greenberg gives her an otherworldly look that is sensual and greatly compelling.”
Corina Marie was recognized with second place for her Feature Photo of the “Ted Lasso” cast, while Ian Spanier’s News Photo of homeless musician Paul Jacobsen earned second place. TheWrap’s creative director Ada Guerin and photo editor Tatiana Leiva, along with designer Chris Smith and photographer Corina Marie, picked up third place in Best Cover Art for TheWrap magazine issue “Emmy: The Race Begins.”
Brian Welk picked up second place for his “Spotlight on Deaf Actors” series in the Diversity in the Film Industry category.
TheWrap’s “How I Did It” video series, overseen by Jennifer Laski and Sharon Waxman, earned second place in the video soft news feature TV/film category for “How ‘King Richard’ Composer Synced a Piano Note With a Tennis Shot.”
“The Wrap-Up” podcast, hosted by Sharon Waxman and Daniel Goldblatt, won second and third place in audio Hard News Features, for “Legal Experts Break Down the Britney Spears Conservatorship” and “Examining The ‘Rust’ Tragedy and Its Impact on Hollywood.” Waxman also earned second place for her WaxWord column “Inside Hollywood: How the Bob Iger-Bob Chapek Rift Led to the ScarJo Blunder.”
Veteran reporter Diane Haithman earned two third place awards, for the online TV feature “‘The Next Ted Lasso’: After Year in Pandemic, Hollywood Dumps Edgy for ‘Uplifting’ Projects” and for the TV/streaming soft news story “Domestic Workers Call for Hollywood to Clean Up Its Act Depicting Their Lives on Screen.”
Editor at large Benjamin Svetkey took third place in the Humor Writing category for “That Time I Hid From William Hurt on the Set of ‘Lost in Space’ – and How He Got All ‘Wiggy’.”
TheWrap’s Lindsey Ellefson and executive editor Thom Geier earned second place in the Best Headline competition for “Rachel Mad-Dough: Is MSNBC Host Worth $30 Million a Year Without a Nightly Show?”