IndieWire Hires J. Kim Murphy as Film and Media Reporter

The award-winning journalist previously worked at Variety and TheWrap, reporting on independent studios, filmmakers, and the media business.

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IndieWire Jackson has hired award-winning journalist Kim Murphy as its new film and media reporter. Murphy, whose original line was J. is Kim Murphy, will be based in Los Angeles and will cover independent studios, emerging filmmakers, content creators, and new and emerging technologies. He will report to Editor-in-Chief Brent Long.

Murphy joins IndieWire from TheWrap, where he served as the publication's weekend news editor. Previously, he was a news editor at Variety, where he was first hired as an editorial intern. At both publications, he covered breaking news in the entertainment industry, developed corporate reports and edited other reporters. He has reviewed new releases, reported on film festivals and covered weekly box office receipts. Murphy has also contributed to IGN Entertainment and the Golden Globes. RELATED STORIES 'The Fourteenth' 2026 Critics' Choice Documentary Award Nominees Review 'Sense and Sensibility': Daisy Edgar Jones and George McKay Adapt Jane Austen's Blandness to Earthly Sense

"I worked with Jackson at Variety for several years and was impressed by his depth of film knowledge as well as his writing and reporting skills," Long said. He's a true genius, and I know IndieWire readers will enjoy reading his work. We are delighted to welcome him to our team!”

"It's exciting to be joining IndieWire, a publication that played no small role in shaping my sensibility for film and making me understand how the films we make are received," said Murphy. "It's an incredible opportunity to be involved here, as well as to work under Brent's confident leadership and alongside an incredibly sharp and passionate editorial team."

Murphy received the 2025 Southern California Journalism Award for his coverage of the HBO documentary series "Ren Fer" directed by Lance Oppenheim. Other L.A. Press Club nominees recognized her reporting on Warner Bros.' release of Clint Eastwood's "Jury No. 2," the cancellation of HBO's "Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers" and an interview with experimental filmmaker Godfrey Reggio. Murphy also worked with Steven Soderbergh, Claire Danes, Robert Towne, Charles Burnett, Frederick Wiseman, Jia Zhangke, and Paul W.S. Anderson, among many filmmakers.

Murphy graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Studies. There, he also served as senior film critic and arts editor for the Daily California newspaper, and as a personal assistant to film scholar Linda Williams.

Murphy was born and raised in San Francisco, California and worked at the Balboa Theater and the City 4 Star Theater. He can be reached at @jmurphy.