Michael Idato, the culture editor-at-large for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has won the gong for best personality profile by a foreign correspondent at a gala awards ceremony held by the Los Angeles Press Club.
Idato, who is based in Los Angeles, was awarded the prize for a Spectrum cover story titled The name’s Orlick: Why Stanley Tucci nails the spy who loves nuance, an article that explored the actor’s role in the Amazon Prime spy drama Citadel. He won the same award last year for his Spectrum cover story about Priscilla Presley.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that Michael Idato’s excellent work has been recognised by the LA Press Club,” said Patrick Elligett, editor of The Age. “Idato’s ability to look beyond the superficial and provide incisive reporting is unparalleled in the world of entertainment journalism, as is his wit and subject knowledge.”
Idato also came second place in the coveted print journalist of the year category, an accolade he won at last year’s gala.
“Michael Idato’s byline has become synonymous with world-class, quality writing that always shines brighter than his peers,” said deputy editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Liam Phelan, describing his work as “entertaining, thoughtful and always able to keep you reading right until the very end”.
Idato was the only foreign journalist nominated for the prestigious journalist of the year award, which honours the best print journalist for publications with circulations of more than 50,000. It was his fifth time as a finalist for the award. The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Keegan took home the title this year.
Michael Idato won the award for best personality profile by a foreign correspondent at the LA Press Club Journalism Awards.
Elsewhere, Idato came third place in the best news story by a foreign corespondent category for an article titled Zelensky v Eurovision: A political song and dance over the future of Europe.
Judges assessed 2400 entries before the winners were announced on Sunday evening. The prizes were handed out during a gala dinner attended by more than 500 journalists and guests in the iconic Crystal Ballroom at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
In the lead-up to the gala, Idato received nominations for his profile on Cillian Murphy and Oppenheimer, as well as a news feature exploring Disney’s future as it marked its 100th anniversary.