Jem Aswad, Owen Gleiberman and Aramide Tinubu take top honors for music, film and TV criticism

Variety scored 16 first-place wins Sunday night as the Los Angeles Press Club handed out the 68th annual Southern California Journalism Awards.

Variety’s first place finishes included wins for music criticism, for Variety’s music chief Jem Aswad; Owen Gleiberman, for film criticism under 1,000 words; and Aramide Tinubu, for TV criticism. The kudos were presented during a lengthy ceremony held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Variety went into the night as the top nominee overall with 100 mentions. The Southern California Journalism Awards span print newspapers and magazines, TV, radio and digital news outlets as well as radio, podcasting and social media.

Selome Hailu for feature under 1,000 words: “How Planned Parenthood’s Caren Spruch Works With Lena Dunham and Other Creatives to Sensitively Portray Abortion on Screen”

Brent Lang for film/broadcast-related feature online: “Controversy Swirls, Legal Threats Fly After Sundance Documentary ‘The Stringer’ Questions Origin of Iconic ‘Napalm Girl’ Photo”

Trish Deitch for personality profile: “‘I Can’t Not Be Who I Am’: Jamie Lee Curtis on Her 47-Year Career, Falling in Love With Christopher Guest and Why She Hopes Charlie Kirk Found God”

Ellise Shafer for personality profile, music and arts personalities: “Diana Silvers on Her Debut Album ‘From Another Room’ and Following Folk Heroes by Speaking Truth to Power: ‘If Your Art Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Not Really Worth It’ (EXCLUSIVE)”

Richard Phibbs, Jennifer Dorn and Jennifer Halper for entertainment photo: the May 2025 cover “A$AP Rocky”

Daniel D’Addario for obituary appreciation for film and TV personalities: “Hollywood’s Humanist: Rob Reiner Was a Gifted Collaborator Who Understood Why We Tell Stories”

K.J. Yossman for consumer news or feature: “BBC Crisis Explained: How the Beloved U.K. Broadcaster Walked Into One of the Worst Scandals in Its 100-Year History — and Where It Goes From Here”

Kate Aurthur for film feature, production histories: “Bravo Boss Frances Berwick on the ‘Joy’ of BravoCon and Who Can Be Forgiven by the Network (Karen Huger!) — and Who Can’t (Jen Shah, Probably)”

Naman Ramachandran for theater/arts feature: “‘MJ the Musical’ Star Jamaal Fields-Green on the ‘Huge Responsibility’ of Playing Michael Jackson on Stage”

Ethan Shanfeld for music feature: “Inside the Diddy Trial Circus: How Screaming Fans, Baby Oil and Street Preachers Turned the Courthouse Into a Madhouse”

Ramin Setoodeh for entertainment feature, TV/streaming related: “Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri Aren’t Holding Back: ‘After the Hunt’ Stars on Making the Year’s Most Provocative Movie”

Brian Steinberg for culture news/ TV feature-related: “CBS Put ‘Evening News’ Through Massive Overhaul. Now It Needs People to Watch”

Brian Steinberg for business reporting: “TV News Faces Creator Chaos as Anchors Chase Digital Dreams That Bring Big Bucks (or Return Little Reward)”