Aussie critic wins at Los Angeles Press Club Awards

Sydney Morning Herald and The Melbourne Age culture editor-at-large Michael Idato has been named Print Journalist of the Year in the Los Angeles Press Club Awards.

He won ahead of Tim Gray of Variety and Rebecca Keegan from The Hollywood Reporter.

Idato also took home two separate awards for an interview with Priscilla Presley and a feature on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Los Angeles-based Idato was the only foreign journalist nominated for the prestigious award of print journalist of the year for publications with circulations of more than 50,000.

The judges noted, “With astute analyses of the entertainment industry and its products, such as movies, and revealing interviews with filmmakers, Idato increases his readers’ understanding of a range of topics. Those writing skills earn him the Print Journalist of the Year award.”

LA-based Idato has been writing for the SMH for 24 years and was a consultant on Wentworth.

Congrats!