ASME ANNOUNCES 2012 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

NEW YORK, NY (April 5, 2012)—Sid Holt, Chief Executive of the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), today announced the 2012 Magazine of the Year finalists for the National Magazine Awards.  Mr. Holt also announced that the presentation of the 2012 awards on Thursday, May 3, will be hosted by Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News and Rock Center.

“This year’s Magazine of the Year finalists have long histories of success in print,” said Mr. Holt, “yet all five finalists have distinguished themselves online and more recently on tablets and smartphones. We are especially pleased that one of the best-known journalists in America, Brian Williams, will be joining us to celebrate the work of all 52 National Magazine Award finalists.”

The 2012 National Magazine Awards annual gala, which will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis, will also include the presentation of the ASME Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame Award to Terry McDonell, who as Editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group oversees Sports Illustrated.

MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

The 2012 National Magazine Award finalists in the Magazine of the Year category, honoring publications that have achieved excellence both in print and on digital platforms, are:

• Esquire
• New York
• The New Yorker
• Popular Mechanics
• TIME

Each of the Magazine of the Year finalists was also nominated in additional National Magazine Award categories. The other categories in which the finalists were nominated were:

• Esquire for Magazine Section; Feature Writing; and Essays and Criticism
• New York  for General Excellence, Print; Design, Print; Single-Topic Issue; Magazine Section; Leisure Interests; Essays and Criticism; General Excellence, Digital Media; Website; and Utility App
• The New Yorker  for General Excellence, Print; Public Interest; Reporting (two  nominations); Feature Writing; Essays and Criticism; Tablet Edition; Design, Digital Media; and Commentary, Digital Media
• Popular Mechanics for General Excellence, Print, and Multimedia
• TIME for News and Documentary Photography; Feature Photography; Columns and Commentary; and Utility App

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. Nearly 270 publications entered the National Magazine Awards this year, submitting 1,804 entries.  The judges included 345 magazine journalists and journalism educators. Including both print and digital finalists, 67 publications were nominated for 2012 National Magazine Awards. 

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.