IndieWire wins – At the Sunday evening SoCal Journalism Awards gala, IndieWire took home Best Website, News Organization Exclusive to the Internet for a second year in a row. The win came alongside multiple nominations for critics, reporters, and longtime staff members, includ
IndieWire’s team didn’t just show up for awards season this year — they walked into Sunday evening’s gala and left with the biggest trophy on the night’s list.
The SoCal Journalism Awards announced IndieWire and its entire staff as winners of Best Website, News Organization Exclusive to the Internet. It’s the second year in a row the site has earned the honor.
The annual awards focus on entertainment journalism during the 2025 calendar year. They’re hosted by the LA Press Club, which also runs the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards.
IndieWire’s recognition didn’t end with the top website award. The site received nominations across several categories, with a number of its own critics and reporters placing high.
Ben Travers, the site’s TV critic, was nominated for Best Criticism of TV for his 2025 work covering new releases. Travers placed second.
Ryan Lattanzio and Anne Thompson were nominated in the Entertainment Reporting category for an episode of the IndieWire podcast “Screen Talk,” tied to their story “Neon’s Tom Quinn Reveals His Oscar-Whisperer Secrets Ahead of the Cannes Awards.”
Alison Foreman earned a nomination in Entertainment News: Film/Broadcast for her story “I Survived ‘The Long Walk’ Treadmill Challenge — What 5 Miles with the New Stephen King Classic Felt Like.” She placed third in the category.
Former IndieWire weekend editor Rance Collins also had a busy night. He was nominated in News Feature: Film/Broadcast Related for his story “When Hollywood ‘Went Gay All of a Sudden’: TCM Highlights Films That Track Queer Evolution.” He also received a Lifestyle Feature nomination for his feature “How Cinespia Turned a Cemetery Into L.A.’s Weekend Hot Spot.” Collins placed second and third. respectively.
Collins’ nominations extended beyond those two categories. He was nominated for Online Journalist, Independent/Freelance, for his work at IndieWire and also at the Beverly Press, Los Angeles Magazine, and Variety.
Contributor Beandrea July was nominated in the Criticism of Film (over 1,000 words) category for her work at IndieWire and also SEEN Journal. She placed second.
Last year’s results sit close to the spotlight, too. At the 67th ceremony. IndieWire won four awards. including Best Website. News Organization Exclusive to the Internet — again honoring the entire staff. The organization also picked up a Criticism of TV award for Travers; News Feature. Film/Broadcast Related for Brian Welk for reporting on states using tax credits and other methods to attract film and TV productions; and Regular Podcast for Sarah Shachat and Trevor Wallace for an episode of the “Filmmaker Toolkit” Podcast.
The 68th SoCal Journalism Awards were held June 28 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
IndieWire SoCal Journalism Awards LA Press Club Best Website entertainment journalism Ben Travers Screen Talk Neon's Tom Quinn Alison Foreman Rance Collins Beandrea July
Best website? Sounds made up, like awards never mean anything.
Okay but what does “News Organization Exclusive to the Internet” even mean lol. Like they just won because it’s online?? Congrats I guess.
So they won Best Website again… but is it because their ads are better placed or because critics wrote nicer reviews? I don’t really follow all that, I just saw the headline and figured it was another industry circle jerk.
Not gonna lie, I only opened IndieWire once for Oscars stuff and the links were like a maze. Still though, second year in a row is pretty big. The Ben Travers nomination thing makes sense, he’s always talking TV releases. The whole SoCal Journalism Awards thing is LA Press Club right? Kinda wild they focus on entertainment journalism for 2025 calendar year like they’re tracking it like sports stats.