BOULDER, Colo., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night in New York City, the
American Society of Magazine Editors named Backpacker the winner of its 2008
National Magazine Award for General Excellence in the 250,000 to 500,000
circulation category. The General Excellence award, which is given annually
and decided by a rigorous judging process, is the highest honor in the
magazine industry. According to ASME, the award celebrates "the effectiveness
with which writing, reporting, editing and design all come together to command
readers' attention and fulfill the magazine's unique editorial mission." This
is Backpacker's second NMA win (and fourth nomination) in three years.
"My staff has transformed Backpacker into America's most trusted authority
on outdoor adventure," says editor-in-chief Jonathan Dorn, who accepted the
award. "Hikers and campers know they can come to us for stories and advice
that will help them enjoy and experience nature to its fullest. Now, with this
award, we've been recognized by our editorial peers as one of the very best
magazines on the newsstand today. To be in the company of other General
Excellence category winners that include GQ, The New Yorker, and National
Geographic is both humbling and a wonderful testimonial to the talent and hard
work that the Backpacker staff puts into every issue."
"It is an honor to win this coveted award," says Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist
III, CEO of Active Interest Media, which publishes Backpacker. "Backpacker is
an outstanding magazine, as brilliantly edited and written as it is designed
and produced. We are so proud of Jonathan Dorn and the entire staff."
The ASME judges had this to say about Backpacker in their award citation:
"With stories ranging from how global warming affects our national parks to
the proper way to hang a bear bag, Backpacker feeds its readers' singular and
voracious passion for the trail. Smartly designed, with field-tested gear
advice and regionally specific trail and event guides, Backpacker is the
essential magazine of outdoor adventure."
This is Backpacker's second National Magazine Award. In 2006, it won "Best
Magazine Section" for its Basecamp section. The magazine also earned
nominations in General Excellence in 2006 and Single Topic Issue in 2007.
About Backpacker:
Backpacker (http://www.backpacker.com) brings the outdoors to readers'
doorsteps, inspiring and empowering them to get out and enjoy nature more
often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first
GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the
hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's
Editors' Choice Awards -- an industry honor recognizing design, feature, and
product innovation -- have become the gold standard against which all other
outdoor-industry awards are measured.
Backpacker is published by Active Interest Media
(http://www.aimmedia.com), has a circulation of 340,000, and is published nine
times per year. Backpacker's award-winning website, http://www.backpacker.com,
is updated daily and features more than 3,000 hikes, a searchable and
comprehensive database of outdoor gear (http://www.gearfinder.com), special
sections for beginners and female hikers, the most active community forums in
the outdoor space, and a wealth of trail tips, videos, and GPS know-how.
About the ASME Awards: The National Magazine Awards have been presented
annually for 42 years. They honor magazines, whether in print or online, that
consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives,
innovative editorial techniques, noteworthy journalistic enterprise and
imaginative design.
The Awards were established by the American Society of Magazine Editors
(ASME) in 1966. The program is sponsored by ASME in association with the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
For a full list of winners go to:
http://www.magazine.org/editorial/National_Magazine_Awards/Winners_and_Finalis
ts/
SOURCE Backpacker
Dayna Macy, +1-415-591-0555, ext. 304, dmacy@aimmedia.com, for Backpacker
