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About ASME“We think that the business of publishing magazines can be helped if the editors meet together periodically to pool their knowledge and broadcast their thoughts and feelings. And we think, too, that the strength of unity can help protect what is probably the greatest asset the magazine business has, and that is editorial integrity.”
--Ted Patrick, editor of Holiday, announcing the formation of ASME on September 17, 1963 The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for the editorial leaders of magazines and websites published in the United States. Founded in 1963, ASME strives to defend the First Amendment, support the development of journalism and promote the editorial integrity of print and digital publications. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia Journalism School, conducts training programs for reporters and editors and publishes the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers. 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. Such publications are often characterized by the use of print or digital technologies to create a visually rich, immersive experience. Magazine storytelling in print and online, including podcasts and videos, is characterized by extensive reporting, informed analysis, stylish writing, a distinctive point of view and the use of graphics to enrich the experience of the reader. ASME invites any consumer and business magazine and website edited and published in the United States to enter the National Magazine Awards (marketing and promotional magazines and website are not eligible to enter). Other media organizations that create and publish magazine-like content, including newspapers, newsletters and audio and video production companies, as well as websites associated with radio and television stations and networks, are also eligible to enter the National Magazine Awards, and their editorial leaders are welcome to apply for membership in ASME. Editorial leaders, including art directors and photography editors, employed by magazines and websites published in the United States are eligible to join ASME. There are four categories of membership: Chief Editor; Senior Editor; Associate Member, including retired editors; and ASME NEXT. Senior Editor members are entitled to all the privileges of ASME membership except that they are not eligible for ASME-member discounts on entry fees for the National Magazine Awards. Associate and ASME NEXT members are nonvoting members of ASME. Applications for membership are subject to the approval of the ASME Board of Directors. ASME currently has 400 members. ASME is governed by a 16-member board of directors. Board members are elected to two-year terms and may be re-elected to a second two-year term. Officers are elected to one-year terms and may be re-elected to a second one-year term. Board elections are conducted every year in May. The current members of the board are: Clara Jeffery, Editor in Chief, Mother Jones, president The executive director of ASME is Sidney Holt. The director of operations is Nina Fortuna. ASME serves the interests of its members and supports the development of magazine journalism by sponsoring the following programs: The National Magazine Awards honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative direction. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now recognize magazine journalism published in any medium. The 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. Look was the recipient of the first award in 1966. The first award for digital journalism was presented to Money in 1997. The call for entries is published in late September or early October each year; the finalists and winners are honored at the annual presentation of the National Magazine Awards the following March or April. Each award winner receives an “Ellie." The Ellies take their name from the symbol of the awards, Alexander Calder’s 1942 stabile “Elephant Walking.” 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. In 2023, 243 national and regional media organizations entered the National Magazine Awards, submitting 426 print entries, 526 digital entries and 121 multiplatform entries. Fifty-three titles received one or more nominations. The National Magazine Awards judging is the largest annual meeting of magazine journalists in the United States: 291 editors, most of them ASME members, participated in the judging this year. ASME announced the winners of the 2023 National Magazine Awards during a live ceremony held at Terminal 5 in New York City on March 28. For more information, visit nationalmagazineawards.org. The ASME Award for Fiction honors print magazines and websites for overall excellence in the publication of fiction. The award was established by ASME in 2018 to celebrate the historic link between literary fiction and magazine journalism. The winner is honored at the annual presentation of the National Magazine Awards and receives a medal bearing the likeness of “Elephant Walking.” For more information, visit asmeawards.org. The ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration honor magazines and websites for visual excellence and celebrate the individual achievements of art and photography staff members as well as freelance contributors. Established in 2020, the awards are sponsored and administered by ASME. Finalists receive certificates of recognition. Winners receive specially designed awards displaying the winning image or images. The ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration are judged and presented in conjunction with the National Magazine Awards. For more information, visit asmeawards.org. The ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30 were established in 2016 to support the development of print and digital media. The awards honor outstanding achievement by magazine journalists under the age of 30. Five award winners are chosen each year. The winners are honored at the annual presentation of the National Magazine Awards, and each receives a medal bearing the likeness of “Elephant Walking.” For more information, visit asmeawards.org. The Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame and the Creative Excellence Award honor editors, writers and artists 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. ASME Award ticket sales fund the Osborn Elliott Scholarship at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Named in honor of the former editor in chief of Newsweek, who also served as president of ASME and dean of the Columbia School of Journalism, the scholarship is awarded to students who intend to pursue careers in magazine journalism. Best American Magazine Writing anthologizes National Magazine Award–nominated articles. Published annually by the Columbia University Press, Best American Magazine Writing is widely used in journalism courses. The introduction to the 2022 edition was written by Jeffrey Goldberg. A Chinese edition is published in Shanghai. ASME programs also include the following: The ASME Best Cover Contest is sponsored and administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors. ASME members choose finalists and winners in 10 categories. The ASME Board of Directors chooses the Cover of the Year. Covers are also posted on social media, where media consumers choose the winners of the ASME Readers’ Choice Awards. Finalists receive certificates of recognition. Winners receive awards displaying the winning cover. The ASME Best Cover Contest began in 2005, when ASME members chose the top 40 covers of the previous 40 years. Judges include leading editors, art directors and photo editors. For more information, visit asmebestcovercontest.org. The ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers codify basic principles for the conduct of magazine journalists. First published in 1982, the ASME Guidelines also summarize industry practices intended to protect the editorial integrity of magazines and websites as well as federal regulations relevant to magazine media. ASME staff members frequently advise ASME members and their colleagues on the implementation of the guidelines. ASME Educational and Training Programs include regularly scheduled seminars and multi-day workshops on editorial skills and practices. Annual workshops include the ASME NEXT Editorial Workshop for early-career journalists and the ASME Legal Briefing for Editors. ASME NEXT is the leading organization for early-career print and digital journalists. Members are freelancers and editorial staffers with no more than seven years of industry experience with titles including editorial assistant, assistant editor, associate editor, digital editor, social media editor, video producer and corresponding titles in design and photography departments. Candidates for membership must be employed by or associated with a magazine or website edited by an ASME member. ASME NEXT is governed by its own board of directors, overseen by the ASME board of directors and staff. ASME NEXT sponsors educational training programs specifically for early-career journalists, including the ASME NEXT Talks series with leading magazine journalists. Sponsored by ASME NEXT, the Senior Mentor Program matches ASME NEXT members with mentors at leading magazines and websites. For more than half a century, ASME has sponsored the Magazine Internship Program—a ten-week program for rising college seniors at magazines and websites in New York and Washington. Since the program was founded in 1967, 2,000 college students have worked as ASME interns. Nearly 500 have gone on to successful careers in print and digital journalism as well as TV and radio. ASME Job Board is a jobs-listing service hosted on the ASME website. There is no charge to ASME members to post on the ASME Job Board. MEMBER BENEFITSThe biggest benefit of ASME membership is belonging. ASME is the only organization that speaks for the editors of magazines and websites and represents their interests. But there are tangible benefits too: Savings on entry fees for the National Magazine Awards, ASME Award for Fiction, ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration and ASME Best Cover Contest
Participation in the National Magazine Awards Judging
Access to the ASME Membership Directory
ASME LinkedIn Group Membership
Help With the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers
Discounts on Registration Fees for ASME Educational and Training Programs
Member Services Call Nina Fortuna at 212.872.3737 or email [email protected] ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers Call Sid Holt at 212.872.3723 or email [email protected]
April 2023 |