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Billboard Earns 7 Nominations for 2026 L.A. Press Club Southern California Journalism Awards
Billboard received seven nominations for the 2026 L.A. Press Club Southern California Journalism Awards across photography, features and culture news.
The Los Angeles Press Club has named finalists for the 2026 Southern California Journalism Awards, and Billboard is up for seven honors across photography, feature writing and culture news.
For more than 60 years, the L.A. Press Club’s SoCal Journalism Awards have recognized journalists across print, audio, television and digital categories, from faith reporting and hard news to criticism, photography and design. This year’s Billboard nominations are spread across two photography categories, three feature categories and one entertainment news category.
"Weird Al" Yankovic photographed at Dust Studios on April 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Joe Pugliese/Billboard
In Portrait Photo, Entertainment, Heather Hazzan, Grayson Khos, Jenny Sargent and Samantha Xu were nominated for their portraits of Gracie Abrams from Billboard’s April 19, 2025 print issue. Joe Pugliese, Jenny Sargent and Samantha Xu were also nominated in Entertainment Photo, Single Image for a photograph of June 2025 Billboard Indie Power Players cover star “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Billboard picked up two nominations in Feature, Entertainment (Over 1,000 Words). Executive editor of features Rebecca Milzoff was nominated for “Weird Al” Yankovic on His Unexpected Longevity, Biggest Tour Ever & Creative Freedom: ‘Nobody Owns Any Piece of Me’, which ran in the same Indie Power Players issue as the nominated photo. Executive editor, West Coast/country Melinda Newman was nominated for “Welcome to Koe Country,” her March 2025 cover story on Koe Wetzel ahead of last year’s SXSW.
Staff writer Michael Saponara was nominated in Feature (Under 1,000) for “Country Power Players Innovator: BigXThaPlug.” Staff writer Hannah Dailey was nominated in Entertainment Feature, Theater/Performing Arts Related for “Meet the College Marching Bands Who Play Hits By Chappell Roan, Tyler, the Creator & More.” Billboard contributor Sophie Dunne rounded out the list with a nomination in Culture News, Events for her Coachella report “Coachella 2025 Expands ‘Soberchella’ With More Non-Alcoholic Options Than Ever.”
The winners of the 68th annual Southern California Journalism Awards will be announced on Sunday, June 28. The full list of finalists is available here.
