Special Constituency Magazines

Research Magazines

Gold Medal

University of Missouri - Illumination

Although the number of entries was small, several were strong. However, the one award we were entitled to make was easy to decide. Illumination is both beautiful and eminently readable. As one of our judges commented, "Illumination's formula still works after all these years: huge real estate and gloss!"

Illumination's extravagant use of space is almost always engaging, even mesmerizing. There are times, however, when it just about crosses the line, and the reader is left feeling just a little bit uncomfortable. Still, as long as they can afford it, we'll take it.

Design is generally where the other few contenders fall down. Either the design is overdone, its cleverness trying to outdo the editorial; it is required to contain too much; or it simply does not reflect the quality of the editorial content.

Special Interest Magazines

One judge commented that the magazines that rose to the top as he reviewed this category made him feel better about our culture. He referred to the thought, insight, and creativity represented here, as well as the will to do good. (Would that our healthcare system were as good as its colleges' magazines.) Many of the magazines we reviewed were excellent. A good nine or 10 were contenders. They are well-produced, well-targeted, and thoughtfully edited, written and designed. Several are beautiful and captivating and will hold their own on the coffee-table or bedside-stand against any commercial magazine. Had we not been constrained by the number of entries, we would have given more awards.

There were no surprises this year, except for Comtalk, from the Boston University College of Communication. Its landscape format is catchy and fresh, as is its writing, though some in our group wished for a little more heft to the reporting. Particularly appealing is its cost, with a per unit cost a fraction of its competitors. Also demanding mention is Medicine at Michigan. A feature on chronic pain is absolutely absorbing.

Not that we didn't have criticisms. There were plenty of entries that were uninspired and not well thought through. They often seemed planned and edited by an administrative committee rather than editors and modeled after annual reports rather than magazines, meant to be filed rather than read. They would do well to study the winners closely.

Gold Medal

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Public Health

• Topical, interesting and thoughtful. The two issues submitted were dedicated to sex and guns. Both were captivating and imaginative. The magazine's design and editorial are well-balanced and complementary. Stanford Medicine, our Silver winner, is excellent in both editorial and design, though it's very innovative design would benefit from a little more variation and discretion.

Silver Medal

Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Medicine

Bronze Medal

Harvard Law School, Harvard Law Bulletin

• Might well have done better had both issues submitted been as alluring as the one on environmental law. That issue was stunning.

(Note to readers: judges are instructed to only give awards to up to 10 percent of the entries.)