ASME ANNOUNCES 2011 DIGITAL ELLIES FINALISTS

National Geographic, Slate Lead Finalists For Digital Ellies. 39 Publications to Be Honored at March 16 Lunch; 7 Time Inc. Titles Nominated

NEW YORK, NY (February 24, 2011)—Sid Holt, Chief Executive of the American Society of Magazine Editors, today announced the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media 2011 finalists. The Digital Ellies—named for the Alexander Calder stabile “Elephant” given to each winner—will be presented at the Hilton New York on March 16, 2011.

“This is only the second year for the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media, and we’re already seeing major innovations in magazine media,” said Mr. Holt. “Look at the iPad, for example—this is the first time a National Magazine Award will be given to a magazine published on a tablet. Apps are the most talked-about change, but journalism on magazine websites is setting new standards of excellence, too.”

The 2011 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media will be held at the Hilton New York on March 16. The awards will be presented at lunch immediately following “MPA Digital: E-Reading,” the premier e-reading conference for magazine media leaders.

This year 100 publications submitted entries in the 12 Digital Ellies categories, and 93 industry leaders, including top editors from Bonnier, Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Rodale and Time Inc., served as judges. Among the 39 titles that received one or more of the 60 total nominations were 9 online-only publications: Chow; CNET; The Daily Beast; Epicurious; LIFE.com; Salon; Slate; Tablet; and Yale Environment 360.

Among the publications that received multiple nominations were National Geographic (4); Slate (4); The Daily Beast (3); Foreign Policy (3); New York (3); The New York Times Magazine (3); Sports Illustrated (3); The Chronicle of Higher Education (2); Epicurious (2); Fast Company (2); The New Yorker (2); and Tablet (2).

Media companies with multiple nominations include Time Inc. (9, for Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, LIFE.com, Real Simple, Sports Illustrated, Sunset and TIME); Conde Nast Publications (7, for Epicurious, The New Yorker, SELF, Vogue and Wired.com); the Slate Group (7, for Foreign Policy and Slate); Hearst Magazines (3, for Esquire, Marie Claire and Popular Mechanics); and CBS Interactive (2, for Chow and CNET).

Founded in 1966, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by ASME in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The first National Magazine Award for digital journalism was presented in 1997; the winner was Money. The National Magazine Awards for Digital Media were launched in 2010. The Digital Ellies are now held annually in conjunction with “MPA Digital: E-Reading.”

The categories and finalists for the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media 2011 are:

General Excellence, Digital Media 
Honors the best magazines published on digital platforms; the award is presented in two categories based on content and audience

News and Opinion: The Atlantic; The Daily Beast; The New York Times Magazine; Slate; Wired.com 
Service and Lifestyle: Epicurious; Field & Stream; POZ; Runner’s World; SELF

Mobile Edition
Honors the best magazines created for mobile devices, including tablets

Esquire; The New Yorker; Popular Mechanics; Slate; Sports Illustrated

Design, Digital Media
Honors overall excellence in the design of magazine websites and online-only magazines

The Daily Beast; New York; The New York Times Magazine; Sports Illustrated; Vogue

Photography, Digital Media
Honors the use of photography that demonstrates the unique capabilities of digital media

Discover Magazine; Foreign Policy; LIFE.com; National Geographic; TIME

News Reporting
Honors the timeliness, accuracy and skill with which news and information are gathered and presented by magazines published on digital platforms

The Chronicle of Higher Education; CNET; Foreign Policy; National Geographic; Yale Environment 360

Blogging
Recognizes excellence in online reporting and commentary published as a blog

IEEE Spectrum; Salon; Sports Illustrated; Sunset; Tablet

Online Department
Honors a regularly updated, clearly branded department or channel

The Daily Beast; Fast Company; Foreign Policy; National Geographic; New York

Multimedia Package
Recognizes the imaginative use of interactivity and multimedia in the coverage of an event or subject
Fast Company; National Geographic; New York; Reason; Virginia Quarterly Review

Interactive Tool
Honors single-purpose interactive tools that help users perform tasks or manage content

The Chronicle of Higher Education; Epicurious; InStyle; Marie Claire; Real Simple

Podcasting
Honors outstanding audio podcasts on magazine websites or online-only magazines

Harvard Business Review; The New Yorker; Poetry; Slate; Tablet

Video
Honors the outstanding use of video by a magazine website or online-only magazine.

Chow; Entertainment Weekly; The New York Times Magazine; The Oxford American; Slate 

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. The 700 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, protect editorial independence and support the development of journalism. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.