The Los Angeles Press Club will honor Variety’s Co-Editors-in-Chief Claudia Eller and Andrew Wallenstein at its upcoming National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards Gala on December 3 at the Biltmore Hotel, downtown Los Angeles.
“Claudia Eller and Andrew Wallenstein have managed to take this 112-year-old trade magazine institution into the digital age, appealing to a younger worldwide demographic. This important recognition reflects the high standard of their work,” said Press Club President Robert Kovacik.
The Luminary Award for Career Achievement was instituted to pay tribute to deserving members of the Entertainment Media. Past honorees include Tavis Smiley, Chelsea Handler and Janice Min.
“We are so honored to be recognized with this award by the Los Angeles Press Club,” said Eller and Wallenstein. “The success of Variety in recent years wouldn’t be the same without all the accolades this organization has bestowed upon our awesome editorial team at its awards events.”
Eller was already a legend in Entertainment Media in her own right when she was selected by Jay Penske to become the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Variety in the beginning of 2013. By then she had spent 20 years as a reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Times. Before joining the Times, Eller worked as a film reporter for Variety from 1989 to 1993. During that time, she launched and penned the widely read Dish column. She also held staff positions at the Hollywood Reporter and On Location magazine.
To serve as Co-Editor-in-Chief alongside Eller, Penske promoted Wallenstein, who has been with Variety since 2011. Wallenstein was an on-air contributor for NPR’s “All Things Considered” for nearly a decade and in 2006-07 season hosted the TV Guide Channel’s “Square Off” – a weekly primetime series about the TV industry. A graduate of Columbia University School of Journalism, he also worked at The Hollywood Reporter from 2002 to 2010, where he held various top posts including editor of THR.com.
