NEW YORK, NY (March 17, 2005) — Marlene Kahan, executive director, American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), today announced the slate of finalists for the 40th annual National Magazine Awards (known as “The Ellies”), the magazine industry’s highest honor. The 2005 finalists offer examples of the best in magazine journalism written on an array of diverse topics, from the sinking of the ferry Estonia to the celebration of the Einstein centennial.
Emerging themes among the 2005 nominees include: health care (from navigating the health care bureaucracy to breastfeeding at work; and from why we’re losing the war on cancer, to the debates over partial birth abortion and stem cell research); the war in Iraq (from the mishandling of the invasion to the “black ops” program at Abu Ghraib prison, and the suicide of a young Army recruit); and the crisis in the Sudan (from a first-hand account of the agonies of ethnic cleansing, to a photo essay of the maimed and starving in Darfur).
Posthumous recognition is given to Richard Avedon for his final portfolio, “Democracy 2004,” which appeared in the pages of The New Yorker.
Twenty-two finalists will receive the coveted “Ellie” (named after the Alexander Calder Stabile “Elephant”), at a luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria on Wednesday, April 13.
“We believe that magazines have an enduring ability to engage, excite and educate readers in a completely unique way,” said Kahan. “Despite the proliferation of new media platforms, magazines continue to be a relevant and important part of people’s lives because of their depth and diversity as a medium of reflection. A look at this year’s finalists demonstrates the vitality and effectiveness of magazines to connect with millions of readers representing an infinite number of interests and aspirations.”
An analysis of the 2005 finalists reveals:
* A diverse mix of well-established magazines, as well as relative newcomers, are first-time finalists: 5280, Baseline, The Believer, Cook’s Illustrated, Country Home, Departures, Everyday Food, Kids: Fun Stuff To Do Together, Martha Stewart Weddings, ReadyMade, Ski, The Virginia Quarterly Review.
* Twenty-seven finalists are based outside of New York – in Austin, Boston, Berkeley, Bethesda (MD), Beverly Hills, Boulder, Brookline (MA), Charlottesville, Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Emmaus (PA), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington (DC), and Wilton (CT).
* For the eighth consecutive year, The New Yorker leads the list of 111 finalists, from 69 print and online magazines, with a total of ten nominations in nine categories.
* Nineteen other titles received multiple nominations: Vanity Fair (7), The Atlantic Monthly (5), Details (3), Esquire (3), Fortune (3), Gourmet (3), New York (3), Sports Illustrated (3), 5280 (2), The Chronicle of Higher Education (2), GQ (2), Harper’s Magazine (2), Kids:Fun Stuff To Do Together (2), Los Angeles Magazine (2), National Geographic (2), National Geographic Adventure (2), Newsweek (2), Print (2) Runner’s World (2), and The Virginia Quarterly Review (2).
* A new category, “Magazine Section,” was added this year to recognize the excellence of a regular department or editorial section, either front- or back-of-book and composed of a variety of elements, both text and visual.
The awards honor print and online magazines with consistently superior execution of stated editorial objectives, innovative editorial techniques, noteworthy journalistic enterprise, and imagination and vigor in layout and design. Established in 1966, the National Magazine Awards is the preeminent program in the magazine industry to honor editorial excellence. The awards program is sponsored by ASME in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Finalists were chosen by a panel of 195 judges from among the 1,562 entries submitted by 318 print and online publications.
The categories and finalists are:
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: This category recognizes overall excellence in magazines. The award honors the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing and design all come together to command readers’ attention and fulfill the magazine’s unique editorial mission.
Circulation under 100,000:
The American Scholar, The Believer, Print, ReadyMade, The Virginia Quarterly Review
Circulation of 100,000 to 250,000:
Baseline, Dwell, Foreign Policy, Los Angeles Magazine, Teacher Magazine
Circulation of 250,000 to 500,000:
The Atlantic Monthly, Cure, Details, Martha Stewart Weddings, New York Magazine
Circulation of 500,000 to 1,000,000:
Cook’s Illustrated, Esquire, Gourmet, Vibe, Wired
Circulation of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000:
Fortune, Men’s Health, The New Yorker, Real Simple, Vanity Fair
Circulation over 2,000,000:
Glamour, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated
PERSONAL SERVICE: This category recognizes excellence in service journalism. The advice or instruction presented should help readers improve the quality of their personal lives.
BabyTalk, Budget Living, Money, Self, U.S. News & World Report
LEISURE INTERESTS: This category recognizes excellent service journalism about leisure-time pursuits. The practical advice or instruction presented should help readers enjoy hobbies or other recreational interests.
Golf Digest, National Geographic Adventure, O, The Oprah Magazine, Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated
REPORTING: This category recognizes excellence in reporting. It honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation or a problem of contemporary interest and significance.
5280 Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education (two nominations), National Geographic Adventure, The New Yorker
PUBLIC INTEREST: This category recognizes journalism that has the potential to affect national or local policy or lawmaking. It honors investigative reporting or groundbreaking analysis that sheds new light on an issue of public importance.
5280 Magazine, Fortune, Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker, San Francisco Magazine
FEATURE WRITING: This category recognizes excellence in feature writing. The award honors the stylishness and originality with which the author treats his or her subject.
The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, GQ, Texas Monthly, Vanity Fair
PROFILE WRITING: This category recognizes excellence in profile writing. The award honors the vividness and perceptiveness with which the writer brings his or her subject to life.
The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair (two nominations)
ESSAYS: This category recognizes excellence in essay writing on topics ranging from the personal to the political. Whatever the subject, the award honors the author’s eloquence, perspective, fresh thinking and unique voice.
The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Ms. Magazine, National Geographic, The New Yorker
COLUMNS and COMMENTARY: This category recognizes excellence in short-form political, social, economic or humorous commentary. The award honors the eloquence, force of argument and succinctness with which the writer presents his or her views.
National Journal, The New Yorker, Smart Money, Vanity Fair (two nominations)
REVIEWS and CRITICISM: This category recognizes excellence in criticism of art, books, movies, television, theater, music, dance, food, dining, fashion, products and the like. The award honors the knowledge, persuasiveness and original voice that the critic brings to his or her reviews.
GQ, The New Republic, The New Yorker (two nominations), Vanity Fair
MAGAZINE SECTION: This category recognizes excellence of a regular department or editorial section of a magazine, either front- or back-of-book and composed of a variety of elements, both text and visual. The award honors the section’s voice, originality, design and packaging.
AARP The Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, New York Magazine, Popular Science, Runner’s World
SINGLE-TOPIC ISSUE: This category recognizes magazines that have devoted an issue to an in-depth examination of one topic. The award honors the ambition, comprehensiveness and imagination with which a magazine treats its subject.
Discover, Fortune, Gourmet, Newsweek, Print
DESIGN: This category recognizes excellence in magazine design. The award honors the effectiveness of overall design, artwork, graphics and typography in enhancing a magazine’s unique mission and personality.
Details, Everyday Food, Kids: Fun Stuff To Do Together, Ski, W
PHOTOGRAPHY: This category recognizes excellence in magazine photography. The award honors the effectiveness of photography, photojournalism and photo illustration in enhancing a magazine’s unique mission and personality.
Country Home, Details, Gourmet, Kids: Fun Stuff To Do Together, New York Magazine
PHOTO PORTFOLIO/PHOTO ESSAY: This category recognizes a distinctive portfolio or photographic essay. The award honors either photos that express an idea or concept, or documentary photojournalism shot in real time.
Aperture, Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, Los Angeles Magazine, The New Yorker, Time
FICTION: This category recognizes excellence in magazine fiction writing. The award honors the quality of a publication’s literary selections.
The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review
GENERAL EXCELLENCE ONLINE: This category recognizes outstanding magazine Internet sites, as well as online-only magazines and Weblogs that have a significant amount of original content. The award honors sites that reflect an outstanding level of interactivity, journalistic integrity, service and innovative visual presentation.
The Atlantic Online, BusinessWeek Online, ConsumerReports.org, Nerve.com, Style.com
***Click here to see an expanded finalist list including issue dates, nominated articles and authors.
