The Los Angeles Press Club held its annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards on Sunday, where Rolling Stone took home five top awards.
Cheyenne Roundtree and Jason Newman won Celebrity News – print for “Inside Kanye West’s Yeezy: Abrupt Firings, Alleged Nazi Inspiration and ‘Pure Chaos,” with judges commenting, “Roundtree and Newman’s article provides a timely, yet thoroughly reported, look at one of the biggest controversies in the entertainment industry in 2022.” The duo also received the top prize for Celebrity News — online for “What the Hell Is Going on at Kanye West’s Mysterious New Private School?” Judges added, “This story took what could have been just another celebrity headline and provided fascinating insights into a well-guarded and not necessarily well-known institution.”
Julyssa Lopez took home the award for Diversity in the Entertainment Industry — print for “How a High School Mariachi Team Triumphed in Uvalde.” “In a beautifully written piece, Lopez shares the transformative power of music, the strength of community, and how Mr. Martinez and his students drew on their cultural roots to cope with adversity,” judges said.
Meanwhile, Brian Hiatt won the award for One-on-One Interview, Other Arts Personalities – radio/podcast for the Rolling Stone: Music Now podcast “Mariah Carey Tells All,” judges called it “A great interview by a skilled host that kept the listener engaged, and the placement of selective song clips was creative and added context.” Miles Klee and Marlow Stern received top honors for Humor Writing, any media for “What Is ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Like on Shrooms?” with the judges noting: “Klee’s hilarious, snarky commentary about viewing Avatar 2 through a haze of psychedelic mushrooms is a laugh-out-loud romp through Cameron’s long fantasy world sequel.”
In all, Rolling Stone was nominated for 15 awards, winning runner-up in the categories of Journalist of the Year (Roundtree), TV Critic — Any media platform (Alan Sepinwall), Celebrity Investigative — any media platform (Roundtree and Althea Legaspi’s “Jonathan Majors’ ‘Extreme Abuse’ Goes Back Nearly a Decade“), Entertainment Industry/Arts Investigative Print/Online (Roundtree’s “‘The Idol’: How HBO’s Next ‘Euphoria’ Became Twisted ‘Torture Porn’”) Music/Other Arts Personality Profile — over 2,500 Words (Hiatt’s “Ed Sheeran Confesses: Tears, Trauma, and Those Bad Habits”), Best Arts or Entertainment Regular Podcast (Hiatt’s Rolling Stone Music Now), and Hard News, TV/Streaming/Arts Online (Krystie Lee Yandoli’s “’The Kelly Clarkson Show’ Is Toxic Behind the Scenes, Staffers Say”).