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The Hollywood Reporter won 10 first-place awards at the 67th SoCal Journalism Awards, including two wins for best magazine feature, one for best entertainment commentary and a first-ever nod in the best headline category.

The Los Angeles Press Club handed out the awards at a ceremony held Sunday night inside the Crystal Ballroom at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

The news comes on the heels of The Hollywood Reporter’s award presented by the 2025 American Society of Magazine Editors in its best cover contest. THR was awarded the best local magazine cover for its 2024 “Work Issue,” which hit newsstands on Oct. 30, 2024.

Special honorees at the ceremony were Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times and ESPN, who was presented with the Joseph M. Quinn Award for Lifetime Achievement; CNN’s Clarissa Ward, who received the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism; and actress Kim Fields,...

Variety won 16 first-place awards at the SoCal Journalism Awards Sunday night, more than any other entertainment outlet. The haul doubled Variety‘s tally of eight from last year, and set a new high mark for the publication at the awards, besting the previous peak of 14 achieved in 2023.

Among the wins were a top trophy for Variety.com as best website, and an honor for Chris Willman for entertainment journalist of the year.

The Los Angeles Press Club presented the awards at a sold-out banquet at the Millennium Biltmore attended by more than 550 journalists. The 2025 ceremony awarded work published during the 2024 calendar year. Variety went into the event with 93 nominations in 56 categories.

Variety staffers and contributors picking up first-place trophies included Daniel D’Addario, Jennifer Dorn, Owen Gleiberman, Angelique Jackson, Neil Jamieson, Ted Keller, Haley Kluge, Emily Longeretta, Jonny Marlow, J. Kim Murphy, Rebecca Rubin, Ramin Setoodeh, Tatiana Siegel, Greg Swales and Abbey White.

Around the Horn host Tony Reali opened the show’s 4,953rd and final episode Friday with a nod to GoodFellas and closed it with an invitation to viewers to find him on his new YouTube channel.

“As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a sportscaster,” he began, tweaking the immortal Henry Hill kickoff to Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic. A handheld camera then followed him around the control room and backstage area of the show’s set at ESPN’s studios at New York City’s South Street Seaport. To the sounds of The Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” (best known from Scorsese’s single-take Copacobana sequence), family and crew members got a chance to wave goodbye.

“I grew up on this show,” Reali mused in the final segment (watch it above), noting he came aboard at age 24 following a run as “Stat Boy” on older-sibling ESPN talker Pardon the Interruption.

ESPN’s Around the Horn is coming to an end after 23 years on the air, and many of its stars are heartbroken over the news. The network announced on Tuesday (March 4) that the long-running sports debate series will air its final episode on May 23, ending the hit show over two decades since it debuted on November 4, 2002. Originally debuting as a replacement for Unscripted with Chris Connelly, Around the Horn has become an institution at ESPN, airing at 5:00 p.m. Et on the network for 23 years, with almost 5,000 episodes aired. The show sees Tony Reali, who has hosted since February 2004 when he took over from Max Kellerman, discussing the day’s biggest sports news with a rotating line-up of panelists. The panelists, including the likes of Woody Paige, Jemele Hill, Bill Plaschke, and Mina Kimes, compete for points and try to avoid being muted by Reali. “Around the Horn has...

ESPN has canceled Around the Horn, one of its staple daily formats.

The game-style panel show hosted by Tony Reali will air its final episode air on Friday, May 23. A 30-minute edition of SportsCenter will fill the show’s weekday slot this coming summer at 5 p.m., leaving space for a potential new show in the fall.

“Around the Horn has had a remarkable run of more than two decades. That kind of longevity in media is incredibly rare, and we look forward to celebrating the show’s many accomplishments before the final sign-off in May,” said David Roberts, ESPN Executive Vice President, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment. “Beyond Tony and the ensemble of on-air contributors, we are particularly grateful to the production team led by Erik Rydholm and Aaron Solomon, who have been instrumental in Ath’s consistent success since the very beginning.”

Around the Horn debuted November...

One of the longest-running TV shows in sports is coming to an end.

ESPN says that its weekday debate series Around the Horn will televise its final episode on May 23, after 23 years and more than 4,900 episodes.

The 5 p.m. show, hosted by Tony Reali, sees a panel of sports commentators attempt to earn points from the host, or be muted if their takes aren’t up to snuff. The show debuted in 2002, and Reali has hosted it since 2004.

The panelists over the years have included a veritable who’s who of sports media personalities, including Jemele Hill, Bomani Jones, Mina Kimes, Woody Paige, Bill Plaschke, Bob Ryan, Sarah Spain, Pablo Torre and Clinton Yates, among many, many others.

ESPN says that it will air a 30-minute edition of SportsCenter at 5 after the show signs off, with further schedule updates to come at a later date.

“Around the Horn has had...

Exclusive: Lana Turner’s mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato was allegedly stabbed to death in her house by her daughter Cheryl Crane in 1958.

This incident is the basis for Casey Sherman’s next true crime thriller; A Murder in Hollywood, and it’s also heading to the small screen.

Jake Crane, no relation, who wrote the screenplay for Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell-fronted Korean War feature Devotion, directed by J.D. Dillar, has optioned the rights to the book and will adapt.

A Murder in Hollywood is Sherman’s 16th book and follows tomes such as The Finest Hours, which was adapted into a film by Disney starring Chris Pine, and Boston Strong, which was adapted into Patriots Day starring Mark Wahlberg.

It chronicles the fatal stabbing of screen legend Turner’s gangster boyfriend Stompanato inside her Beverly Hills mansion in the late 1950’s. Crane was exonerated after a coroner...

At the start of 1955, the Dodgers were based in Brooklyn, and Jaime Jarrín was a reporter in his native Ecuador, covering the National Congress.

Four years later, the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles, and Jarrín was broadcasting their games on the radio.

Jarrín arrived in Los Angeles on a permanent resident visa that June and worked in a factory until a part-time job opened up at the city’s only Spanish radio station, Kwkw. He made fast progress, and by the time the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, Jarrín was Kwkw’s news and sports director.

They didn’t play much baseball in Quito, but Jarrín had become a fan of the sport in California, going to see the minor league Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels. Still, when Kwkw’s owner, William Beaton, announced that the L.A.-bound Dodgers had made a deal to broadcast their games in Spanish,...

“Around the Horn” (Ath) is a television sports show on ESPN. It’s like your favorite sports radio show, but on steroids, not the same as “Round the Horne.”

As you read this, you are probably wondering where you can watch the new episodes of “Around the Horn.” Well, there are a few options.

For starters, new episodes will be posted on Twitter after airing on ESPN. Episodes will also include graphics from the show and any customized segments made for the Twitter format. This usually gets posted around 7-8 p.m. Et.

Also, ESPN3 On-Demand adds new episodes each day at 9 a.m. Et. After 1 p.m. Et, if an episode has not been added, you can assume that it is “Behind the Bets.” Episodes will be replayed daily at 8 a.m. Et and 8 p.m. Et.

Finally, full shows are uploaded daily to YouTube at 8 a.m. Et and 8 p.

101 Studios, the company behind series including “Yellowstone” and “Mayor of Kingstown,” has inked a first-look deal with Pzaj, Variety can exclusively reveal.

Pzaj, a global film and television production label formed by Phillip Glasser, Jason Brown, and Ash Greyson, is owned by Nasdaq-listed Vinco Ventures Inc. Vinco Ventures is currently merging with Zash Global Media.

Already in development under the new partnership are a feature film adaptation of LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke’s “Paradise Found,” a story about a small California town ravaged by fires that finds new hope in a football team that rises from the ashes of the devastation.

“Paradise Found” is set to be produced by Select Films’ Mark Ciardi, 101 Studios’ David C. Glasser and Pzaj’s Phillip Glasser and Jason Brown. 101’s David Hutkin and Bob Yari will exec produce alongside Ash Greyson of Pzaj and Ted Farnsworth and Ron Burkle.

101’s recently announced...

Reporter David Armstrong’s expose on a rich American family’s role in a cover-up of the opioid crisis is set to become a film for 101 Studios. On Thursday the studio said it will fully finance and globally distribute a feature film that will provide an inside look into Armstrong’s riveting and perilous journey to reveal the truth behind the deception and misdeeds by the makers of OxyContin.

Armstrong was originally working on a feature about the Sacklers, one of the richest families in the U.S. At the time, very few people knew anything about them, including that they were the sole owners of Purdue Pharma. Over a four-year investigation, he discovered evidence that, in order to maximize their profits, members of the Sackler family knew of and supported Purdue’s concealment of the strength and addiction risks of the drug OxyContin. Since the release of OxyContin,...

In today’s film news roundup, “Let Him Go” will open against “Bill and Ted Face the Music”; “Paradise Found” is in the works; “The Irishman” leads the way for Aacta International Awards nominations; and principal photography has wrapped on “Quiet in My Town.”

Release Date

Focus Features has set an Aug. 21 release date for the Kevin Costner-Diane Lane suspense thriller “Let Him Go,” opening against “Bill and Ted Face the Music.”

Costner plays a retired sheriff and Lane will portray his wife. After the loss of their son, the couple leaves their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas. When they arrive, they discover the family has no intention of letting the child go.

The two collaborated on “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” as the parents of Superman.

David Glasser's 101 Studios is developing a screen adaptation of the true story of the football team from Paradise, California, the small town destroyed by 2018's Camp Fire.

Based on the Bill Plaschke book Paradise Found, the story centers on a high school football team under the dedication of its longtime coach, Rick Prinz, who helped their mountain town rise from the ashes, inspiring a community and a nation with its grit and perseverance.

Mark Ciardi, whose credits include The Rookie, Miracle and Million Dollar Arm, will produce via his Select Films banner. Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari will ...

David Glasser's 101 Studios is developing a screen adaptation of the true story of the football team from Paradise, California, the small town destroyed by 2018's Camp Fire.

Based on the Bill Plaschke book Paradise Found, the story centers on a high school football team under the dedication of its longtime coach, Rick Prinz, who helped their mountain town rise from the ashes, inspiring a community and a nation with its grit and perseverance.

Mark Ciardi, whose credits include The Rookie, Miracle and Million Dollar Arm, will produce via his Select Films banner. Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari will ...

101 Studios has acquired film and TV rights to Paradise Found, the nonfiction book written by Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke about the small town of Paradise, CA, which was ravaged by the Camp Fire of 2018 but which found hope in its high school football team and longtime coach, Rick Prinz. The distributor-financier is already in the works on a screen adaptation.

The project, also titled Paradise Found, will be produced by sports film and TV regular Mark Ciardi (The Rookie) of Select Films and executive produced by 101’s David Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari.

Prinz said, “11/8/18 at 8:34 Am I sent this text message to the football team- ‘the plan is to practice at 3:00 today. If it is too smoky, we will modify our activity. I will keep you informed if anything changes.’ Eleven minutes later, we were running for our lives. These young men...

101 Studios has acquired the film and TV rights to “Paradise Found,” a non-fiction book written by Bill Plaschke about a group of survivors caught in the 2018 fire that ravaged Paradise, California, the studio announced Tuesday.

The book is the story of a high school football team and coach, Rich Prinz, who were caught in the blaze of the Camp Fire from last year and who then came together to help others in the community.

“Paradise Found” will be produced as a film by Mark Ciardi of Select Films and executive produced by 101’s David Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari. Plaschke will also serve as a consultant on the film.

Also Read: Ron Howard to Direct Paradise Wildfire Documentary for National Geographic

On Nov. 8, 2018, Prinz sent a text message to his football team saying, “the plan is to practice at 3:00 today. If it is too smoky, we will modify our activity.

LeBron James just got a whole lot closer to his other office.

After signing a four-year $154 million deal with the Lakers, the NBA's biggest star will need to travel only 11 miles from his new basketball home at the Staples Center to his SpringHill offices on the Warner Bros. lot.

In fact, the four-time Mvp should be able to multitask much better between chasing a fourth championship and his blossoming showbiz career, so much so that it prompted Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke to write, "People will ask, did he come to Los Angeles to win more ...

LeBron James just got a whole lot closer to his other office.

After signing a four-year $154 million deal with the Lakers, the NBA's biggest star will need to travel only 11 miles from his new basketball home at the Staples Center to his SpringHill offices on the Warner Bros. lot.

In fact, the four-time Mvp should be able to multitask much better between chasing a fourth championship and his blossoming showbiz career, so much so that it prompted Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke to write, "People will ask, did he come to Los Angeles to win more ...

Now that Farmer's Field has been approved -- that is the name of the prospective Los Angeles football stadium -- everyone is posting their choices for the city's next team. Espn La's Arash Markazi listed the options Tuesday, and on Wednesday, the La Times' Bill Plaschke and T.J. Simers chimed in with their picks. Granted, what they wrote may be less surprising than that the section still has two paid columnists, but both are worth a read. Simers went on about the San Diego Chargers and their quarterback Phillip Rivers. " The folks in San...

Now that Farmer's Field has been approved -- that is the name of the prospective Los Angeles football stadium -- everyone is posting their choices for the city's next team. Espn La's Arash Markazi listed the options Tuesday, and on Wednesday, the La Times' Bill Plaschke and T.J. Simers chimed in with their picks. Granted, what they wrote may be less surprising than that the section still has two paid columnists, but both are worth a read. Simers went on about the San Diego Chargers and their quarterback Phillip Rivers. " The folks in San...