NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS FOR DIGITAL MEDIA 2012 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

11 Digital Ellies Presented to Magazine Websites and Apps; New York Wins Top Honors; Wired Wins Reporting and Design Awards

NEW YORK, NY (March 20, 2012)—The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism today announced the winners of the 2012 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media. More than 300 editors, publishers and guests attended a lunch at the Grand Hyatt New York to honor the 55 finalists and 11 winners. The lunch was hosted by Larry Hackett, managing editor of People and ASME president, and Lucy Danziger, editor-in-chief of SELF and ASME secretary.

The National Magazine Awards for Digital Media were presented in conjunction with “MPA Digital: Swipe,” the premier conference for magazine editors and publishers focusing on tablets, e-readers, smartphones and apps. The presentation of the awards was sponsored by Adobe.

The winners of the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media—known as the Digital Ellies for the Alexander Calder stabile “Elephant,” which is presented to each winner—included nine titles. New York won the General Excellence and Website awards; Wired won the Reporting and Design awards. Other winners were The American Scholar, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, Men’s Health, National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine and TIME.

Foreign Policy and The New York Times Magazine have now won Digital Ellies in each of the three years since the program was established as part of the National Magazine Awards in 2010. New York also won the Digital Ellie for General Excellence in 2010.

Ninety industry leaders served as Digital Ellies judges. James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics and Editorial Director of the Hearst Men’s Enthusiast Group, chaired the judging. 

The winners of the 2012 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media are:

General Excellence, Digital Media
Honors the best magazines published on digital platforms

New York
Adam Moss, Editor-in-Chief
Ben Williams, Editorial Director, nymag.com

Website
Honors the best magazine websites

New York
Adam Moss, Editor-in-Chief
Ben Williams, Editorial Director, nymag.com

Tablet Edition
Honors magazine editions published on tablets and e-readers

National Geographic
Chris Johns, Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marr, Creative Director
Melissa Wiley, E-Publishing Director

Design, Digital Media
Honors magazine websites, tablet and e-reader editions and utility apps for visual and functional excellence

Wired
Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
Brandon Kavulla, Creative Director
For “Underworld Issue,” February 2011, iPad App

Website Department
Honors a department, channel or microsite

The Daily Beast
Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief Newsweek and The Daily Beast
For “Book Beast”

Utility App
Honors single-purpose apps distributed on mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones

TIME
Richard Stengel, Managing Editor
For “PopuList” iPad Apps

Personal Service, Digital Media
Honors service journalism on digital platforms

MensHealth.com
David Zinczenko, Senior Vice President, Editor-in-Chief
William G. Phillips, Editor
For “The Skin Cancer Center,” by Adam Campbell, Executive Editor, and Amy Rushlow, Senior Editor

Reporting, Digital Media
Honors excellence in reporting for digital media

Wired
Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
Noah Shachtman, Digital Editor
For “FBI Teaches Agents: ‘Mainstream’ Muslims Are ‘Violent, Radical,’” by Spencer Ackerman, Senior Writer

Commentary, Digital Media
Honors excellence in opinion journalism on digital platforms

The American Scholar
Robert Wilson, Editor
For “Zinsser on Friday,” by William Zinsser

Multimedia
Honors the use of interactivity and multimedia in the coverage of an event or subject

Foreign Policy
Susan B. Glasser, Editor-in-Chief
For “The Qaddafi Files: An FP Special Report”

Video
Honors the outstanding use of video by magazines

The New York Times Magazine
Hugo Lindgren, Editor-in-Chief
For “My Family’s Experiment in Extreme Schooling,” by Julie Dressner, Shayla Harris and Clifford J. Levy

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. ASME members 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. The first award was presented in 1966 to Look; the first award for digital journalism was presented in 1997 to Money. The National Magazine Awards are presented at two events: the Digital Ellies and the Annual Gala, when print magazines are honored. This year the Annual Gala will be at the New York Marriott Marquis on May 3.

Adobe is the sponsor of the 2012 presentation of the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media.