Adam Moss piles more 'Ellies' on his mantle at daytime awards gala for digital-magazine media
Adam Moss, festooned with 'Ellies.' fishbowlny
4:18 pm Mar. 20, 2012
The magazine industry spent much of the first afternoon of spring (a beautiful one: sunny and in the high 60s) in a windowless ballroom of Manhattan's Grand Hyatt today for a luncheon celebrating the 2012 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media.
The affiliated nighttime awards gala that the American Society of Magazine Editors holds for print publications each May is arguably a bit more grand. But with familiar faces from that event making their way, year by year, into digital media, this third annual installment of the digital edition seemed to be catching up in old-media glamor terms.
There was a lunch of arugula and red romaine salad, grilled chicken with beluga lentil basmati, and lavender pavlova with lemon cream as the winners were announced by ASME president Larry Hackett, of People, and secretary Lucy Danziger, of Self.
"You know, given all the amazing work being done here, this seems insane, but we're still grateful all the same," said New York editor-in-chief Adam Moss before reading from prepared remarks to accept the afternoon's top honor of general excellence. (It was the magazine's 19th Ellie since 2006; its 18th since 2006, for best website, had been announced about half an hour earlier: "Eighteen? Are you kidding me?," one person in the audience snarled, rolling her eyes.)
But there were some surprises, too.
"I swear I'll get a table at the front of the room one of these days," said Robert Wilson, editor of The American Scholar, accepting the Ellie for digital commentary.
And some star power: Newsweek-Daily Beast editor Tina Brown took the stage in an impeccable white skirt-suit to receive the Ellie for website department, which went to her "Book Beast" vertical, whose editor, Lucas Wittman, she hired within 20 minutes of meeting him, she said.
"Here's to books!" said Wittman, raising his copper-colored prize.
Other winners included Wired, menshealth.com, Time, Foreign Policy, The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic.
You can view the full list of this year's nominees here, and the list of winners, below:
General Excellence, Digital Media
Honors the best magazines published on digital platformsBen Williams, Editorial Director, nymag.com
New York
Adam Moss, Editor-in-ChiefWebsite
Honors the best magazine websitesNew York
Adam Moss, Editor-in-Chief
Ben Williams, Editorial Director, nymag.comTablet Edition
Honors magazine editions published on tablets and e-readersNational Geographic
Chris Johns, Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marr, Creative Director
Melissa Wiley, E-Publishing DirectorDesign, Digital Media
Honors magazine websites, tablet and e-reader editions and utility apps for visual and functional excellenceWired
Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
Brandon Kavulla, Creative Director
For “Underworld Issue,” February 2011, iPad AppWebsite Department
Honors a department, channel or micrositeThe 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 smartphonesTIME
Richard Stengel, Managing Editor
For “PopuList” iPad AppsPersonal Service, Digital Media
Honors service journalism on digital platformsMensHealth.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 EditorReporting, Digital Media
Honors excellence in reporting for digital mediaWired
Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief
Noah Shachtman, Digital Editor
For “FBI Teaches Agents: ‘Mainstream’ Muslims Are ‘Violent, Radical,’” by Spencer Ackerman, Senior WriterCommentary, Digital Media
Honors excellence in opinion journalism on digital platformsThe American Scholar
Robert Wilson, Editor
For “Zinsser on Friday,” by William ZinsserMultimedia
Honors the use of interactivity and multimedia in the coverage of an event or subjectForeign Policy
Susan B. Glasser, Editor-in-Chief
For “The Qaddafi Files: An FP Special Report”Video
Honors the outstanding use of video by magazinesThe 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
