ABS-CBN’s TFC News Hollywood correspondent Yong Chavez wins the International Media Award at the 60th Annual ICG Publicists Awards. Handout
ABS-CBN’s TFC News Hollywood correspondent Yong Chavez has won the International Media Award at the 60th Annual ICG Publicists Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
"I really did not prepare anything because what are the odds? Well, one in six but I'm Asian so," Chavez said in accepting her award, noting that she was up against five other entertainment journalists in her category: Dan Jolin of Empire (UK), Garry Maddox of the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Zachary Ntim of Deadline (UK), Helen O’Hara of Empire (Northern Ireland), and Adam Tanswell of Total Film (UK).
In her acceptance speech, Chavez said that as a little girl living in San Pascual, Batangas, she used to go around every morning and stand outside people's windows and watch whatever show they had on TV because her family could not afford one.
"I was so obsessed with films and TV and movie stars even at a young age," she said.
Chavez thanked her family for supporting her "impossible dreams" throughout the years, saying her husband and teen daughter learned how to use a camera to film her.
She lost her mother and sister a few years ago "but they used to watch every report I have on my network ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel and we'd marvel at how I got to do this."
A member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Hollywood Critics Association, Chavez thanked international and multicultural publicists for championing and supporting entertainment journalists. She said that when she sort of created The Filipino Channel's Hollywood beat 15 years ago, she had no idea that publicists would become her closest friends.
"Maraming salamat, mga Kapamilya. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat," she concluded.
The International Media Award is given to a journalist who covers entertainment internationally. The award celebrates publicists, unit still photographers, and entertainment journalists, all of whom contribute to bringing television and motion picture campaigns to life.
The TV show “Abbott Elementary” (Warner Bros. Television/ABC) won the Maxwell Weinberg Award for Television Publicity Campaign and "Top Gun: Maverick" (Paramount Pictures/Skydance/Jerry Bruckheimer Films) won the Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaign.
The other winners are:
LES MASON AWARD FOR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN PUBLICITY
Karen Chamberlain, Warner Bros. Pictures
PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR AWARD
Sara Hull, Walt Disney Studios
BOB YEAGER AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
James Ferrera, Unit Publicist
EXCELLENCE IN UNIT STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD – MOTION PICTURES
Eli Joshua Adé
EXCELLENCE IN UNIT STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD – TELEVISION (TIE)
Beth Dubber
Hilary Bronwyn Gayle
PRESS AWARD
Andy Reyes, Entertainment Tonight