Variety Shines at National Awards

Variety has once again made a significant impact at the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards, taking home an impressive 20 awards. This marks a substantial increase from the 14 awards they secured last year, showcasing their dominance across various categories, including news and business reporting, commentary, and photography.

Notable Winners

Chris Willman, Variety's chief music critic, was honored as Print Journalist of the Year for the second time.
Other winners from Variety include:
Kate Aurthur
Leo Barraclough
Daniel D’Addario
Clayton Davis
Matt Donnelly
Owen Gleiberman
Brent Lang
Kristen Lopez
Naman Ramachandran
Michael Schneider
Michaela Zee

Visual and Feature Awards

Variety's visual team also shone brightly:

Jennifer Dorn, Haley Kluge, and Jennifer Halper won for their work on the magazine’s art and photography.
A cover package on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was particularly well-received by the judges.
Willman secured one of his five awards for Best Music Feature for his cover story on Swift.
The team of Dorn, Kluge, Richard Maltz, and Joe Toreno won Best Cover Art for a special image on the front cover of Variety’s weekly print edition.

Individual Achievements

Brent Lang won two awards:
Business/Film/Print for his article on Netflix’s impact on Hollywood.
Commentary Analysis/Trend, Film, Print for his piece on Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.”
Daniel D’Addario was awarded Best Theater/Performing Arts Critic.
Owen Gleiberman won the prize for Obituary/In Appreciation, Film Personalities for his remembrance of Val Kilmer.
Kate Aurthur won a second prize for an appreciation of Shannen Doherty.
Michael Schneider won the Hard News, TV/Streaming award for his article on the wildfires in Los Angeles.
Clayton Davis won Commentary Analysis/Trend, Online for his column on Tony Hinchcliffe.
Matt Donnelly won the trophy for Hard News, Film, Online for his article on Warner Bros.
Naman Ramachandran won the award for Personality Profile, Film Industry, Online for his piece on Deepa Mehta.
Michaela Zee won Film Feature, Production/History—Below-the-line Creatives for her story on a composer’s latest work.
Leo Barraclough won the award for Film Feature, Production/History—Above-the-line Creatives for his piece on a Sundance documentary.
Kristen Lopez won the prize for Diversity in the Film Industry, Online for her story on disabled performers in Hollywood.

Chris Willman's Additional Wins

Besides Print Journalist of the Year and Music Feature, Willman’s other three wins were for:

Best Columnist, Online
Commentary Analysis/Trend, Music, for his piece on celebrity endorsements
Music Feature, Group/Industry Artists, for his story on Shania Twain and Brandi Carlile

Additional Honors

Variety also secured dozens of second- and third-place honors in the 2025 NAEJ competition. The ceremony was held at the Millennium Biltmore, where the L. A. Press Club also hosts the SoCal Journalism Awards each July.

Honorary Awards

During the ceremony, honorary awards were presented to:

Paul Anka
Larry Mantle
Marlee Matlin
Kasi Lemmons
Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen

Anka concluded the program with a customized rendition of his famous composition, "My Way," with lyrics altered to reflect both his own NAEJ honor and those of the attending journalists.