The Los Angeles Press Club has proudly unveiled the finalists for the prestigious 2026 Southern California Journalism Awards, with Billboard receiving a remarkable seven nominations across various categories. For more than 60 years, the L.A. Press Club's SoCal Journalism Awards have been instrumental in recognizing and promoting excellence among Los Angeles's journalists, spanning traditional and emerging media platforms.

Annually, these awards honor exceptional journalistic contributions across print, audio, television, and online formats, encompassing a wide array of categories from faith reporting and hard news to cultural criticism, photography, and graphic design. This year, Billboard's nominations are spread across two photography, three feature, and one entertainment news category, highlighting the diverse talent within its team.

In the Portrait Photo, Entertainment category, the collaborative efforts of Heather Hazzan, Grayson Khos, Jenny Sargent, and Samantha Xu earned a nomination for their captivating portraits of Gracie Abrams, which appeared in the April 19, 2025 issue of Billboard’s print magazine. Joe Pugliese, Jenny Sargent, and Samantha Xu were also recognized in the Entertainment Photo, Single Image category for their striking photograph of June 2025 Billboard “Indie Power Players” cover star ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic.

Billboard secured two significant nominations in the Feature, Entertainment (Over 1,000 Words) category. Executive editor, features Rebecca Milzoff, was nominated for her insightful story, “‘Weird Al’ Yankovic on His Unexpected Longevity, Biggest Tour Ever & Creative Freedom: ‘Nobody Owns Any Piece of Me,’” published in the same “Indie Power Players” issue that featured Yankovic’s nominated photograph. Concurrently, executive editor, West Coast/country Melinda Newman, received a nod for her compelling March 2025 cover story, “Welcome to Koe Country,” focusing on country singer Koe Wetzel ahead of last year’s SXSW.

Further feature nominations include staff writer Michael Saponara, recognized in the Feature (Under 1,000) category for his piece “Country Power Players Innovator: BigXThaPlug.” Hannah Dailey, another staff writer, was nominated in the Entertainment Feature, Theater/Performing Arts Related category for her article “Meet the College Marching Bands Who Play Hits By Chappell Roan, Tyler, the Creator & More,” celebrating the unique contributions of collegiate marching bands.

Rounding out Billboard's impressive list of nominations, contributor Sophie Dunne was acclaimed in the Culture News, Events category for her comprehensive Coachella report, “Coachella 2025 Expands ‘Soberchella’ With More Non-Alcoholic Options Than Ever,” detailing the festival's enhanced non-alcoholic offerings. The winners of the 68th annual Southern California Journalism Awards are eagerly awaited and will be announced on Sunday, June 28.