Yahoo!, Adweek Challenge Award-Winning Harper's Piece

Yahoo! Cutline and Adweek have recently challenged the accuracy of the article that won the 2011 National Magazine Award for Reporting, "The Guantanamo 'Suicides,'" by Scott Horton, published in Harper's Magazine in March 2010. (To read Harper's editors' replies to earlier criticism of the piece, go here.) To protect the confidentiality of the judging and to shield judges from any attempt to influence them now or in the future, ASME does not identify judges by category, discuss the selection of finalists and winners or debate the merits of any article submitted for a National Magazine Award. (To see a complete list of National Magazine Award judges, go here.) The judges who chose "The Guantanamo 'Suicides'" as the National Magazine Award winner were highly experienced and unquestionably impartial. On behalf of ASME, the administrators of the National Magazine Awards stand behind the decision of the judges.

National Magazine Awards 2011 Winners Announced

National Geographic was named Magazine of the Year tonight at the National Magazine Awards Dinner. National Geographic also won the National Magazine Award for Single-Topic Issue. Other multi-award winners were Los Angeles, New York and The New York Times Magazine, which each won two awards, including General Excellence awards for Los Angeles and New York. To see a complete list of this year's finalists and winners, click here.

Koch Industries Replies to ASME Letter

Koch Industries has posted a facsimile of ASME's April 21 letter as well as Mark Holden's reply, which "clarified [Koch Industries'] intentions" in writing to ASME regarding the nomination of Jane Mayer's New Yorker story "Covert Operations" for the National Magazine Award for Reporting. For ASME members interested in reading Koch's original letter and the ensuing exchange between Sid Holt, writing on behalf of ASME, and Mr. Holden, please go here.

Koch Industries Fault Ellie Nomination for "New Yorker"

Koch Industries has written ASME to object to the nomination of Jane Mayer's New Yorker story "Covert Operations" for a National Magazine Award in Reporting. The letter is posted on the Koch Industries website. Here is ASME's reply to the letter:


April 22, 2011

Mark V. Holden, Esq.
Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary
Koch Industries, Inc.
4111 East 37th Street North
Wichita, KS 67220

By Email

Dear Mr. Holden:

Thank you for your letter regarding Jane Mayer’s story “Covert Operations,” published in The New Yorker on August 30, 2010.

As the sponsor of the National Magazine Awards since 1966, ASME deliberately eschews any attempt to influence the decisions of the judges who choose the finalists and winners. I can assure you that when the awards are announced on May 9, the winner of the 2011 National Magazine Award for Reporting will have been chosen by an impartial panel of experienced journalists.

Sincerely,

Sid Holt
Chief Executive


As ASME members know, the National Magazine Awards judging took place on March 1 and 2, more than six weeks before ASME received the Koch Industries letter. The five articles nominated for Reporting were:

Harper’s Magazine
Roger D. Hodge, Editor
For “The Guantanamo ‘Suicides,’” by Scott Horton
March

The New York Times Magazine
Gerald Marzorati, Editor-in-Chief
For “The Desert War,” by Robert F. Worth
July 11

The New Yorker
David Remnick, Editor
For “Covert Operations,” by Jane Mayer
August 30

Rolling Stone
Jann S. Wenner, Editor and Publisher
Will Dana, Managing Editor
For “The Runaway General,” by Michael Hastings
July 8-22

Virginia Quarterly Review
Ted Genoways, Editor
For “Digging Out,” essay and photographs by Elliott D. Woods
Fall

The winner and other finalists will be honored at the National Magazine Awards dinner on Monday, May 9, at 583 Park Avenue in New York City. A limited number of tickets is still available. Click here to register.