National Magazine Award Finalists Named

Posted on March 21, 2002

The New Yorker, once again, leads this year's list of 97 National Magazine Award finalists with a total of nine nominations in eight categories. The American Society of Magazine Editors' 37th annual National Magazine Awards will be presented at a luncheon in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria on Wednesday, May 1. The 19 winners will receive the coveted "Ellie" (named after the Alexander Calder Stabile "Elephant"), ASME's symbol of the award.

In addition to The New Yorker, nineteen print magazines were nominated more than once. The Atlantic Monthly and Time received five nominations in five categories each. Harper's Magazine received four nominations in four categories. Newsweek received four nominations in three categories. Esquire, Gourmet, GQ and National Geographic Adventure received three nominations in three categories each. The American Scholar, Details, Fortune, Los Angeles Magazine, MBA Jungle, Men's Journal, Nest, O, The Oprah Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair and Vogue received two nominations each.

"When historians look back at the eventful year of 2001," said Marlene Kahan, executive director of the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), "They'll find in magazines a chronicle of the year — in both graphic representation and the written word. The range of titles honored with finalist nominations today is yet another reminder of the important place of magazines in our culture."

First-ever finalists include: City, In Style, and Sports Illustrated Women (for General Excellence in their circulation categories), MBA Jungle (for General Excellence and Personal Service), O, The Oprah Magazine (for General Excellence and Leisure Interests), BabyTalk (for Personal Service), San Francisco Magazine for Public Interest), Surface (for Design), Cincinnati Magazine (for Single-topic Issue), and Beliefnet (for General Excellence Online).

Six city and regional magazines are included in the list of finalists, including Cincinnati Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine (for Feature Writing and Profile Writing), New York Magazine (for Columns and Commentary), Philadelphia Magazine (for Leisure Interests), San Francisco Magazine, and Texas Monthly (for General Excellence).

The categories and finalists are:

GENERAL EXCELLENCE:
This category recognizes overall excellence in magazines. It 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.

Under 200,000 circulation:
The American Scholar, City, MBA Jungle, Nest, Print

Circulation of 200,000 to 500,000:
Details, National Geographic Adventure, Saveur, Sports Illustrated Women, Texas Monthly

Circulation of 500,000 to 1,000,000:
Gourmet, Jane, The New Yorker, Vibe, Wired

Circulation of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000:
Entertainment Weekly, ESPN: The Magazine, Fortune, In Style, Vanity Fair

Circulation over 2,000,000:
Better Homes and Gardens, National Geographic, Newsweek, O, The Oprah Magazine, Time

PERSONAL SERVICE
This category recognizes excellence in service journalism. It honors the intelligence and clarity with which a magazine presents information intended to help readers improve the quality of their personal lives.

BabyTalk, MBA Jungle, Money, National Geographic Adventure, Worth

LEISURE INTERESTS
This category recognizes excellence in coverage of leisure-time pursuits. It honors the intelligence and clarity with which a magazine presents information and advice designed to help readers enjoy specific hobbies or other recreational interests.

Field & Stream, O, The Oprah Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Vogue

REPORTING
This category recognizes excellence in reporting. It honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering a story of contemporary interest and significance.

The Atlantic Monthly, Fortune, The New Yorker, Time, Yankee Magazine

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.

The Atlantic Monthly, Governing, San Francisco Magazine, Self, Sports Illustrated

FEATURE WRITING
This category recognizes excellence in feature writing. Whether the piece is reported narrative or personal reflection, the award honors the stylishness and originality with which the author treats his or her subject.

The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Los Angeles Magazine, Men's Journal, 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.

GQ, New York Magazine, Newsweek (two nominations), The Oxford American

ESSAYS
This category recognizes excellence in essay writing. It honors the eloquence, perspective and fresh thinking that an author brings to bear on an issue of social or political significance.

The American Scholar, Harper's Magazine, Men's Journal, The New Yorker (two nominations)

REVIEWS and CRITICISM
This category recognizes excellence in criticism of art, movies, television, theater, music, dance, dining, fashion, products and the like. It honors the knowledge, persuasiveness and original voice that the critic brings to his or her reviews.

The Atlantic Monthly, Gourmet, GQ, Harper's Magazine, The New Yorker

PROFILE WRITING
This category recognizes excellence in profile writing. It honors the vividness and perceptiveness with which the writer brings his or her subject to life.

Esquire, GQ, Harper's Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, The New Yorker

SINGLE-TOPIC ISSUE
This category recognizes magazines that have devoted entire issues to an in-depth examination of one topic. It honors the ambition, comprehensiveness and imagination with which a magazine treats its subject.

Cincinnati Magazine, Gourmet, The Nation, The New Yorker, Time

DESIGN
This category recognizes excellence in magazine design. It honors the effectiveness of overall design, artwork, graphics and typography in enhancing a magazine's unique mission and personality.

Audubon, Details, Esquire, Nest, Surface, Time

PHOTOGRAPHY
This category recognizes excellence in magazine photography. It honors the effectiveness of photography, photojournalism and photo illustration in enhancing a magazine's unique mission and personality.

National Geographic Adventure, Newsweek, Time, Vanity Fair, Vogue

FICTION
This category recognizes excellence in magazine fiction writing. It honors both the quality and the novelty of a publication's literary selections.

The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Magazine, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Zoetrope: All-Story

GENERAL EXCELLENCE ONLINE
This category recognizes outstanding magazine Internet sites. It honors the use of Web technology and design to display and build on the core strengths of a site's print counterpart, if any, or to create an entirely original "magazine environment" on the web.

Beliefnet, The Chronicle of Higher Education, National Geographic.com, RollingStone.com, Slate