The American Magazine Vanguard Awards

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the spring, around the time the American Society of Magazine Editors announced the nominees for the National Magazine Awards, I had yet another discussion with publishing-world colleagues about what an NMA is good for. The answer, I hate to say, is not much. Over the years I've had a hand in a few -- I've been on staff at glossy magazines that have won them, and I've edited NMA winners and nominees -- and I always found that, beyond a momentary ego boost for a day or two (after which the next looming deadline extinguishes any pleasure), an NMA is no game-changer. In fact, as I've noted in this column, plenty of magazines have struggled -- even folded -- in the wake of winning one of the "Oscars of the magazine industry." NMA's, in other words, may recognize good work, but they don't necessarily correlate with reader interest or a magazine's overall vitality. Given that this column appears in a publication that gives out a quasi award to magazines -- the annual A-List -- which actually does, demonstrably, have impact (an A-List designation is closely watched by marketers and influences ad-buying decisions), I thought about what's worth recognizing. The A-List honors magazines that are doing strikingly well both on the business and editorial fronts -- a measure of both hard numbers and "buzz." To supplement the list, this spring I announced the rather informal launch of the American Magazine Vanguard Awards (AMVA's). The idea was to recognize both big and small innovators: Magazines that are taking new, smart, necessary risks in extending their franchises off the page. Call it brand extension or call it finding new ways to connect with audiences. The way I think of an AMVA: It's a "thank you" to magazine-industry leaders who are passionate enough about their editorial mission to think beyond print. (The entry rules: Anyone -- an editor, publisher, reader, etc. -- could nominate any magazine they thought was doing something truly noteworthy off-page that brought vitality and relevance to the brand. The entry form was, simply, an e-mail to me.) And the five winners of the inaugural 2008 AMVA's are ... TOKION MAKE MAGAZINE ESSENCE GOLF DIGEST VICE

The American Magazine Vanguard Awards

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