National Magazine Awards for Digital Media Winners Announced

March 18, 2010

National Magazine Awards for Digital Media Winners Announced

12 New Awards Presented to Magazine Websites
National Geographic, New York Win Two Digital Ellies Apiece

NEW YORK, NY (March 18, 2010)—The American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism today announced the winners of the first-ever National Magazine Awards for Digital Media 2010. More than 400 editors, publishers and guests attended a sold-out lunch at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City to honor the 56 finalists and 12 winners.

Held in conjunction with the Magazine Publishers of America conference “Magazines 24/7: The E-Reading Revolution,” the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media lunch also included the presentation of the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame Award to the pioneering journalist and founding editor of Slate, Michael Kinsley.

“Magazines are more than ink on paper,” said Sid Holt, Chief Executive of ASME. “Once ASME and Columbia decided on expanding the National Magazine Awards to include 12 awards for digital journalism, we knew the only way to celebrate was to host this lunch for the magazine community—for the editors who are doing such outstanding work on the web and now on mobile.”

The winners of the Digital Ellies—so called for the Alexander Calder stabile “Elephant,” which is presented to National Magazine Award winners—were led by New York and National Geographic, both with two awards. New York won General Excellence, Digital Media, and Multimedia Feature and Package; National Geographic won Photography, Digital Media, and Community. The other award winners were Billboard.com, Foreign Policy, Men’s Health, Sports Illustrated, Virginia Quarterly Review and three online-only publications: Epicurious, Tablet Magazine and Yale Environment 360.

One hundred eighteen magazine websites and online-only magazines entered the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media, submitting more than 420 entries. Thirty-seven magazine websites and online-only magazines were nominated. Among the publications that received multiple nominations were National Geographic (5), New York (4), The Atlantic (3), Sports Illustrated (3), The Daily Beast (2), ESPN The Magazine (2), IEEE Spectrum (2), Mother Jones (2), The New Yorker (2), Newsweek (2), Runner’s World (2) and Slate (2). Six online-only magazines were nominated: Epicurious, The Daily Beast, LIFE.com, Slate, Tablet Magazine and Yale Environment 360.

Sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the National Magazine Awards were established in 1966 and have long been recognized as the preeminent awards for magazine journalism. This year the National Magazine Awards are being presented at two events: today’s Digital Ellies and the Annual Gala at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on April 22, when print magazines will be honored.

The categories and winners for the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media 2010 are:

General Excellence, Digital Media
Recognizes editorial achievement in magazine websites and online-only magazines
New York

Mobile Media
Honors the outstanding use of mobile media, including mobile websites, mobile applications and electronic readers
Epicurious

Design, Digital Media
Honors the appearance and usability of magazine websites and online-only magazines
Billboard.com

Photography, Digital Media
Recognizes the use of photography that demonstrates the unique capabilities of digital media
National Geographic

News Reporting
Honors the timeliness, accuracy and skill with which news and information are gathered and presented by magazine websites and online-only magazines
Virginia Quarterly Review

Blogging
Recognizes excellence in online reporting, commentary and criticism in the form of a blog
Foreign Policy

Regular Department or Section
Recognizes the distinctive voice and unified design of a department or section of a magazine website or online-only magazine
Sports Illustrated

Multimedia Feature or Package
Recognizes the imaginative use of interactivity and multimedia in the presentation of a single story or editorial package
New York

Interactive Tool
Honors the outstanding use of interactive tools that enable users to create or share content, participate in communities, improve the quality of their lives or enjoy recreational activities
Men’s Health

Podcasting
Honors outstanding audio podcasts on a magazine website or online-only magazine
Tablet Magazine

Video
Honors videos or video series in support of other website content or as independent news and feature stories
Yale Environment 360

Community
Honors the use of proprietary content, interactive technology and social media to establish and sustain user communities
National Geographic

To view the expanded list of winners, including links to nominated content, please click here.

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. The members of ASME include the editorial leaders of most major consumer and business magazines published in print and online. Founded in 1963, ASME works to defend the First Amendment and preserve editorial independence. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.