Rappler columnist Ruben Nepales bags multiple plums at 64th annual Southern California Journalism Awards

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler entertainment columnist Ruben Nepales was awarded three prizes at the 64th annual Southern California Journalism Awards on Saturday, June 25.

Ruben bagged first place in the Online Individual Blog category for his July 2021 piece on the series The White Lotus, published in his weekly Rappler column, Only IN Hollywood.

He was also awarded second place in the Best Columnist or Critic category, and third place in the Entertainment News or Feature category for his article on Jon M. Chu’s film In the Heights.

The awards also saw 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker being honored with the Joseph M. Quinn Lifetime Achievement Award, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Marcus Yam as Photojournalist/ Videographer of the Year, and GMA News columnist Janet Nepales, Ruben’s wife, as third place in the Foreign Correspondents Personality Profile category.

“I am humbled that a journalist like me, who was born and raised in a small town in the Philippines, can compete and win in a field representing the top guns in entertainment journalism,” Ruben said in a news release by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

A native of Calasiao, Pangasinan and alumnus of the University of Sto. Tomas, Ruben immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. He became the first Filipino to be elected to membership in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the same association that presents the Golden Globe Awards.

His column Only IN Hollywood ran in the Philippine Daily Inquirer for 15 years, before transferring to Rappler in 2020. He has also published two award-winning books: My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood, and the coffee table book Through a Writer’s Lens. – Rappler.com