LA Weekly took home three first place wins at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 68th Southern California Journalism Awards gala held last night, June 28, at the Biltmore Hotel, including Print Journalist of the Year for a Publication under 50,000 Circulation for editor in chief Mark Stefanos.

Additionally, Stefanos won first place honors in the Entertainment Reporting, Under 50k category for his article “Our Favorite Parties in Los Angeles 2025,” and Photo Essay, Culture/Entertainment, for “The Short Stop Celebrates 25 Years of Being Los Angeles’s Dance Bar.”

Stefanos took two second place honors for News Feature, General News/Hard News for “While Fires Rage, Angelenos Step Up to Help,” and Personality Profile for “The Melancholy and Might of Junior H: The Mexican Corrido Phenom Caps His $AD BOYZ LIVE & BROKEN TOUR at the Hollywood Bowl.” 

The annual gala brought together hundreds of journalists, editors, media professionals and supporters to honor the best work produced in or about Southern California in 2025. The awards are judged by independent panels of out-of-state journalists and journalism experts, and this year they fielded more than 2,700 entries submitted across dozens of categories, a record.

The Los Angeles Press Club has deep roots in the city’s media history. The organization traces its origins to the early 1900s (with formal establishment around 1913) and was revived in 1946 after World War II by journalists from the city’s surviving daily newspapers. Today it operates as a nonprofit dedicated to supporting, promoting, and defending quality journalism in Southern California.

The night featured the following special honorary awards:

  • Kenny Chesney — Bill Rosendahl Public Service Award for Contributions to Society
  • Maria Ressa (Rappler) — Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism (presented by Judea Pearl)
  • Craig Melvin (NBC) — President’s Award for Impact on Media
  • Rob Fukuzaki (ABC7) — Joseph M. Quinn Award for Lifetime Achievement
  • Carol Sobel — Guardian Award for Contributions to Press Freedom

See the full list of winners here.

mark stefanos socal journalism awards web

LA Weekly Editor in Chief Mark Stefanos at the 68th SoCal Journalism Awards, June 28, 2026.