IndieWire Hires J. Kim Murphy as Film Reporter — SkimNews
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- IndieWire hired J. Kim Murphy as its new Film and Media Reporter, based in Los Angeles and reporting to Editor-in-Chief Brent Lang, with responsibilities covering indie studios, emerging filmmakers, content creators and "new and emerging technology."
- Murphy joins IndieWire from TheWrap, where he served as weekend news editor; he previously worked as an associate news editor at Variety after starting there as an editorial intern.
- Editor-in-Chief Brent Lang, who said he worked with Murphy at Variety "for several years," praised his film knowledge and reporting skills, calling him "a true talent."
- Murphy won a 2025 Southern California Journalism Award from the Los Angeles Press Club for his coverage of HBO's "Ren Faire" docuseries, with additional nominations for reporting on Clint Eastwood's "Juror #2" and HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty."
- Murphy graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in film and media studies, served as chief film critic and arts editor for The Daily Californian, and has interviewed filmmakers including Steven Soderbergh, Claire Denis, Jia Zhangke and Frederick Wiseman.
Why it matters: Lang recruited Murphy from two direct rival trade outlets — TheWrap and Variety — where they had previously worked together, signaling an editorial investment in film coverage. Notably, Murphy's beat explicitly includes "new and emerging technology," broadening IndieWire's scope beyond traditional indie-film reporting.
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