| Cover of the Year | 
|   WINNERNew York
 "The City and the Storm," November 12, 2012
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|   FINALISTHarper's Bazaar
 "Gwyneth Revealed," March 2012
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|  FINALIST TIME
 "Are You Mom Enough?," May 21, 2012
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| Business and Technology | 
|  WINNER Bloomberg Businessweek
 "Let's Get It On," February 6-12, 2012
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|  FINALIST 
 Bloomberg Businessweek"My Life in Private Equity," April 30-May 6, 2012
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|  FINALIST 
 Smithsonian"The Genius Steve Jobs," September 2012
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| News and politics | 
|   WINNERNew York
 "The City and the Storm," November 12, 2012
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|  FINALIST Bloomberg Businessweek
 "Election Issue," October 15-21, 2012
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|  FINALIST The New Yorker
 "One on One," October 15, 2012
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| ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITY | 
|  WINNER The New York Times Magazine
 "Jerry Seinfeld Is 58, Rich Beyond Imagination and Still Working," December 23, 2012
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|  FINALIST 
 The FADER"Philip Glass," April/May 2012
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|   FINALISTVanity Fair
 "Lady Gaga," January 2012
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| Service | 
|   WINNERThe Rotarian
 "The Future of Water," March 2012
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|  FINALIST New York
 "Ye Olde New Brooklyn Artisinal Delirium," April 23, 2012
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|  FINALIST TIME
 "How to Die," June 11, 2012
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| Fashion and Beauty | 
|  WINNER Harper's Bazaar
 "Gwyneth Revealed," March 2012
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|   FINALISTNew York
 "Nicki Minaj," February 20-27, 2012
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|   FINALISTW Magazine
 "Kate Moss," March 2012
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| Sports and Adventure | 
|   WINNERThe New York Times Magazine
 "Deuce," August 26, 2012
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|  FINALIST National Geographic
 "Titanic," April 2012
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|  FINALIST Sports Illustrated
 "We Were Penn State," July 30, 2012
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|  FINALIST Sports Illustrated
 "Oh Now You Love Us," October 8, 2012
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| Lifestyle | 
|  WINNER New York
 "Sex," August 6-13, 2012
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|  FINALIST Texas Monthly
 "How to Raise a Texan," September 2012
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|  FINALIST TIME
 "Are You Mom Enough?," May 21, 2012
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| Brainiest | 
|  WINNER Bloomberg Businessweek
 "Bang Head Here," May 28–June 3, 2012
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|  FINALIST MIT Technology Review
 "You Promised Me Mars Colonies. Instead, I Got Facebook.," November/December 2012
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|  FINALIST New York
 "How to Make It in the Art World," April 30, 2012
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| Most Delicious | 
|  WINNER Garden & Gun
 "Perfect Southern Food," October/November 2012
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|  FINALIST New York
 "Eat Cheap," July 16-23, 2012
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|  FINALIST The Rotarian
 "How to Claw Your Way to a Top Fundraiser," May 2012
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| Best Obama | 
|  WINNER 
 Bloomberg Businessweek"The Next Four Years," November 12-18, 2012
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|   FINALISTThe New Yorker
 "Spectrum of Light," May 21, 2012
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|  FINALIST TIME
 "Person of the Year," December 31, 2012–January 7, 2013
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