I am surprised and thrilled to announce that I have received 12 nominations at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 19th annual National Arts & Entertainment Awards, including Independent Online Journalist of the Year! This is a personal best for me, beating out my previous L.A. Press Club record of 11 nominations.
Especially excitingly, 10 of these dozen nods are for work on either my own website, Lyndsanity (including Best Entertainment Blog by an Individual Not Tied to an Organization), or at Licorice Pizza Records (including Best Host and Best Entertainment Podcast). My four LPTV nominations mark the first time that Licorice Pizza’s original content has been recognized by the L.A. Press Club.
My other two nominations are for interviews that I conducted for Gold Derby, both with subjects near and dear to my heart: a story about Michael Des Barres’s wild experience as the Power Station’s last-minute replacement frontman at Live Aid, and an interview with the new wave legends Devo, with whom I am always delighted to chat.
A couple of side notes: I am so pleased and proud that I received two nominations in the Diversity category for interviews I did with trans artists Michele Bettencourt and Mz Neon, and it’s a real full-circle moment for me that my interview with Bob Eubanks was nominated, because many years ago my parents won a record player on The Newlywed Game (the first stereo on which I listened to all my favorite albums as a child and tween). And yes, I did get to tell Bob that.
I am at a rarely at loss for words, which I suppose has helped me in my line of work! But I truly cannot describe how grateful and honored I am by these 12 nominations. Congratulations are also in order for my many esteemed colleagues who received much-deserved nods, including my two former Yahoo Entertainment co-workers who were laid off on the same day that I was in December 2023, Marcus Errico and Ethan Alter.
I’m looking forward to celebrating with everyone at the ceremony, which will take place Dec. 6 at Downtown L.A.’s Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Click here for the full list of 2026 NAEJ categories, and scroll down for the list of my nominations!
ONLINE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Independent/Freelance
ENTERTAINMENT BLOG BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP NOT TIED TO AN ORGANIZATION
Lyndsanity.com
RADIO/PODCAST, ANCHOR OR HOST
Licorice Pizza, LPTV
BEST ARTS OR ENTERTAINMENT REGULAR PODCAST
Licorice Pizza, LPTV
OBITUARY/IN APPRECIATION, MUSIC AND OTHER ARTS PERSONALITIES
Lyndsanity, The lost interview: Ace Frehley talks ‘Phantom of the Park,’ ‘Music From the Elder,’ 1978 solo album, and why he would’ve rejoined KISS ‘for the right price’
ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW, MUSIC PERSONALITIES
Licorice Pizza, “One of one: Josh Klinghoffer talks new Pluralone album, lost Morrissey album (and other superstar collabs), ode to Taylor Hawkins, and his career’s ‘upward slant toward creative mania’
Lyndsanity, The lost interview: Ace Frehley talks ‘Phantom of the Park,’ ‘Music From the Elder,’ 1978 solo album, and why he would’ve rejoined KISS ‘for the right price’
DIVERSITY IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Licorice Pizza, Michele Bettencourt talks late-in-life transition and why it’s finally her time to shine: ‘I was tired of hiding’
Lyndsanity, Mz Neon on the importance of touring as a trans artist in 2026, ‘exemplifying the human experience,’ and why she’s the American dream: ‘My freedom is everyone’s freedom’
MUSIC FEATURE, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
Gold Derby, ‘Can it get any weirder?’ Live Aid’s last-minute headliner recalls offer to play for 2 billion people
MUSIC FEATURE, GROUP/INDUSTRY ARTISTS
Gold Derby, Devo talk new Netflix doc, banned MTV video, and 50 years of being ‘the most misunderstood band in the world’
CELEBRITY FEATURE
Lyndsanity, Whoopee! Bob Eubanks talks mortgaging his house for the Beatles, touring with the Stones, managing Dolly Parton, meeting Richard Nixon, and, yes… THAT notorious ‘Newlywed Game’ question
