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The most prestigious journalism awards for magazines and websites published in the United States, the National Magazine Awards honor print and digital publications for editorial and visual excellence as demonstrated by the superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now recognize magazine storytelling published in any medium, including newspapers and newsletters. To view the gallery of past finalists and winners, visit asme.media. For an overview of the 2026 awards, see the Administrator’s Report here. First presented in 1966, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and are administered by ASME. The call for entries is published annually in late September. As many as 250 magazines and websites enter the awards every year, submitting 1,000-plus entries in 22 categories ranging from Reporting and Newsletters to Design and Photography. The awards are judged in mid-January by more than 300 writers, editors, art directors, photo editors and educators. The finalists for the National Magazine Awards are announced in mid-March. The winners of the 2027 awards are scheduled to be announced at the ASME Editorial Conference in May. Each winner receives a copper “Ellie,” modeled on the symbol of the awards, Alexander Calderʼs “Elephant Walking.” Established in 2019 by the American Society of Magazine Editors to honor individual examples of visual excellence, the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration recognize the unique importance of the graphic arts to the practice of magazine journalism and celebrate the visual heritage of magazines and websites. Awards are currently presented in 14 categories, including 4 categories for magazine covers. Finalists receive certificates of recognition. Winners receive awards displaying reproductions of their work. The ASME NEXT Awards were founded by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2015 to support the development of print and digital media by honoring outstanding achievement by early-career journalists. Five honorees are chosen each year. Honorees receive medals depicting “Elephant Walking.” Selection of Finalists and Winners The results of the judging of the National Magazine Awards are subject to the approval of the National Magazine Awards Board, which is composed of current and former officers of ASME, representatives of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and veteran judges. Awards may be withheld in any category in which the entries fall below the standard of excellence set by the ASME Board of Directors or in which the number of entries is deemed insufficient by ASME. The results of the judging of the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration and the ASME NEXT Awards are subject to the approval of the ASME Board of Directors. The Work of the Judges Each judge is assigned two partners who screen the same entries. Judges meet with their judging partners to discuss their assigned entries before the judging begins. Judging groups begin the first day of judging by reviewing judging criteria. Judges in every category have the authority to decide whether an entry is eligible and whether it merits an award. Judges are instructed to evaluate each entry based on their experience and insight as magazine journalists, guided by their knowledge of contemporary standards of editorial excellence. The first measure of excellence for the National Magazine Awards is the successful accomplishment of the editorial mission of the magazine or website. After the judging group has reviewed the judging criteria, judging partners present their evaluations of the entries they have screened. The judging group decides, based on screener evaluations and group discussion, which entries should be eliminated from consideration and which assigned to other judges for further evaluation. Judging groups are expected to identify a long list of potential finalists before the end of the first day of judging. Every member of the judging group is expected to read, view or listen to every potential finalist on the long list before their group reconvenes on Zoom for the second day of judging. After a short list of 10 potential nominees has been selected by the group, the group chooses the 5 finalists in the category. The group then chooses the winner from the finalists. For the purposes of the judging, ASME defines a magazine as a print or digital publication issued or updated regularly in a consistent format, shaped by a distinctive editorial perspective and trusted by readers to provide timely information relevant to their interests. Magazines are usually characterized by the use of print or digital technologies to create a visually rich, immersive experience. Magazine storytelling is distinguished by extensive reporting, informed analysis, stylish writing, a distinctive point of view and the use of graphics to enrich the experience of the reader. Media organizations that do not meet the definition of a magazine but publish magazine storytelling are eligible for awards. A Very Short History of the National Magazine Awards Patrick said at the same time that ASME would, at its first meeting, “discuss again the much-discussed business of magazine awards.” The National Magazine Awards were established soon after by ASME, led by its executive director, Robert E. Kenyon Jr., working with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The first National Magazine Award was presented to Look in 1966 "for its skillful editing, imagination and editorial integrity, all of which were reflected particularly in its treatment of the racial issue during 1965." The first award for digital content—the category was called General Excellence in New Media—was won by Money in 1997. Alexander Calder’s 1942 stabile “Elephant Walking” has long been the symbol of the awards. The purchase of “Elephant Walking” by ASME in 1970 was initiated by William B. Arthur, the editor of Look, who was then president of ASME, and underwritten by Cowles Publishing Company, Time Inc., Newsweek and McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Solely sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors, the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration and the ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30 are judged and presented with the National Magazine Awards. Honorees are chosen the same way finalists and winners of the National Magazine Awards are decided. Formerly sponsored by ASME, the ASME Award for Fiction replaced the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 2017. Intended to celebrate the historic link between literary fiction and magazine journalism, the award honored magazines and websites for excellence in fiction as demonstrated by three examples of short fiction. Following the reintroduction of the National Magazine Award for Fiction in the 2027 call for entries, the ASME Award for Fiction was discontinued. Also sponsored by ASME, the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame and the Creative Excellence Award honor editors, writers and creatives for their career achievements and their contributions to magazine journalism. Honorees are chosen by the ASME Board of Directors. The awards are presented at the annual presentation of the National Magazine Awards. The most recent recipient of the Hall of Fame Award was David Granger in 2020; the most recent recipient of the Creative Excellence Award was James Nachtwey in 2015. The National Magazine Award is a reproduction of Alexander Calder’s “Elephant Walking,” 1942, the copyright for which is held by the Calder Foundation and used with permission. Copyright © 2020 Calder Foundation, New York. Calder® is a registered trademark and
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