Tech

Editor’s Picks: And Beyond…the American Society of Magazine Editors Winners

By Jeanniey Mullen
April 9, 2013

The American Society of Magazine Editors announced their 2013 National Magazine Awards last week. The big winners (New Yorker, Esquire, etc) have defined the best in magazine writing, editing and design for years. So kudos to them. All have embraced and invested heavily in digital publishing.

While this year’s finalists are deserving, I think you can look a little deeper into the ASME finalists to discover some excellent content and maybe find some more future winners of this award. In fact, here are five picks from the 2013 finalists that will surprise you with the range of their content.:

Afar was a finalist for best Website. I love Afar because it is truly a digital experience. Completely collaborative and unpredictable. On Afar’s site and in the magazine you will find travel guides, but you will find much more immersive content than you will in other digital magazines. Example: Rather than a resort roundup for the Bahamas and features about scuba diving, on Afar you find a feature on out-islands of the Bahamas, which uncluttered by hoards of tourists. You may not have heard of Eleuthera. But after you read about it and see the photos you may want to go.

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=sch&productId=500622302

Mother Jones is always a surprise. It was nominated in the category of “Literary, Political and Professional Magazines.” It is left wing. No question about that. The politics will be a qualifier. But MJ also has excellent photo essays, and underrated arts coverage. The best coverage I read among the flood of SXSW pieces was on MJ.

http://www.zinio.com/magazine/Mother-Jones/pr-361020788/cat-cat1960024

Texas Monthly is not for Texans only. It has always been known for excellent photography and journalism and was nominated in the Public Interest category. It covers its home state in a surprisingly critical and objective manner, and its food writing is as good as it gets.

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/issue.jsp?skuId=416126963

HGTV Magazine was nominated for best Magazine Section. In its digital iteration it offers more than you might expect. First off, it’s a surprisingly cool real estate site. Check out its HGTV Front Door section. Also, it’s a wealth of environmentally friendly gardening and home building information. There is a lot to discover and share with friends on HGTV’s digital properties.

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=sch&productId=500641517

mental_floss got to the finals for General Excellence, Print. For me it really shines in its digital version because its lists, random facts and trivia are simply endless. It is the ultimate brain teaser and Trivial Pursuit practice round. Did you know The Iron Man edition of Mr. Potato Head is named Tony Starch? Did you know F. Scott Fitzgerald was a movie critic?

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=sch&productId=259950742

Other ASME nominees on the Zinio newsstand include:

National Geographic

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=sch&productId=117385323

Glamour

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=sch&productId=500671280

Harper’s

http://in.zinio.com/magazine/Harper’s%20Magazine/pr-500608819/cat-cat1960012

The Atlantic

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?productId=500668415

Rolling Stone

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?productId=500267737&_requestid=563035

http://www.zinio.com/magazine/GQ/pr-500671276/cat-364550515

Saveur

http://www.zinio.com/www/browse/issue.jsp?skuId=416155109&_requestid=563608

Jeanniey Mullen

Jeanniey Mullen is Global Growth Officer for Zinio, the world’s most popular digital newsstand and publishing media marketplace. Mullen is known for her entrepreneurial style and her ability to build, shape and grow brands into well known dominant and successful entities. An early player in the digital space, Mullen is renowned as a pioneer in email, digital marketing, digital publishing and brand building. Her knack at being first in new markets gives her an edge. Today, she brings this extensive experience to bear at Zinio, defining and implementing strategies to create explosive growth through strategic partnerships with publishers, technology companies, brands and consumers. These initiatives have commanded monumental growth in her five year tenure. Jeanniey has authored and contributed to multiple books, blogs and magazine articles. She is a regular columnist for ClickZ, a blogger for Huffington Post and a frequent keynote speaker. A serial networker, in 2005 Jeanniey founded the Email Experience Council, which was sold to the Direct Marketing Association in 2008. She currently sits on the International Executive Council of the Internet Marketing Association. Jeanniey is recognized as both a Top CMO and Top Author on Twitter, and was most recently featured as Mover and Shaker by the Professional Women’s Magazine, and a featured Woman in Technology by The Legacy Series Magazine.

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