Ellies 2007: Handicapping The Races

New York's Adam Moss [left] and the New Yorker's David Remnick [right] flank Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner at the 2006 National Magazine Awards Counting down the hours to tonight's National Magazine Awards in New York (FishbowlNY will be there, liveblogging). It's about time to reveal our bracket-busting picks for the 2007 Ellies which oughta fare better than last year's debacle. Our picks: GENERAL EXCELLENCE: Recognizes overall excellence in magazines in six circulation categories. The award honors the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing and design all come together to command readers' attention and fulfill the magazine's unique editorial mission. Circulation under 100,000: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, I.D., Metropolis, Print, The Virginia Quarterly Review FISHBOWLNY PICK: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists WHY THEY'LL WIN: VQR was a reverlation last year; we expect, er, hope Bulletin is this year's VQR. Circulation of 100,000 to 250,000: Foreign Policy, Mother Jones, Philadelphia Magazine, Salt Water Sportsman, Seed FISHBOWLNY PICK: Foreign Policy WHY THEY'LL WIN: Mother Jones would be the sexier pick, but Foreign Policy is consistently great, even if it managed a Rupert Murdoch profile without speaking to Rupert Murdoch. Circulation of 250,000 to 500,000: The Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, Cookie Magazine, New York Magazine, Texas Monthly FISHBOWLNY PICK: New York WHY THEY'LL WIN: Gotta root for the hometown favorite. Eat it, Texas Monthly. Circulation of 500,000 to 1,000,000: Condé Nast Traveler, The Economist, Esquire, Gourmet, GQ, Wired FISHBOWLNY PICK: Wired WHY THEY'LL WIN: Despite a heavy Long Tail promotional schedule, editor Chris Anderson managed to guide the magazine through a redesign and Web overhaul. Circulation of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000: Entertainment Weekly, Field & Stream, More, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone FISHBOWLNY PICK: The New Yorker WHY THEY'LL WIN: A safe pick, Field & Stream fans. Circulation over 2,000,000: Glamour; Martha Stewart Living; National Geographic; O, The Oprah Magazine; Time FISHBOWLNY PICK: Time WHY THEY'LL WIN: With such hype surrounding the magazine's Person Of The Year issue ("You") and redesign (for "you"), it would be fitting for ... Oprah to win. But we're picking Richard Stengel and co. anyway. PERSONAL SERVICE: This category recognizes excellence in service journalism. The advice or instruction presented should help readers improve the quality of their personal lives. Bicycling, Field & Stream, Glamour, Redbook, Wondertime FISHBOWLNY PICK: Field & Stream WHY THEY'LL WIN: New Yorker isn't nominated here. LEISURE INTERESTS: This category recognizes excellent service journalism about leisure-time pursuits. The practical advice or instruction presented should help readers enjoy hobbies or other recreational interests. Esquire; Golf Digest; Men's Health; O, The Oprah Magazine; Wired FISHBOWLNY PICK: Esquire WHY THEY'LL WIN: Editor David Granger's leisure interests include deciding which ScarJo cover shot to use. REPORTING: This category recognizes excellence in reporting. It honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation or a problem of contemporary interest and significance. Esquire, Fortune, IEEE Spectrum, Rolling Stone, Time FISHBOWLNY PICK: Rolling Stone WHY THEY'LL WIN: Those 40th anniversary issues/parties deserve some kinda return on investment. Maybe an Ellie is it. PUBLIC INTEREST: This category recognizes journalism that sheds new light on an issue of public importance and has the potential to affect national or local debate or policy. The Atlantic Monthly, Best Life, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair FISHBOWLNY PICK: New York WHY THEY'LL WIN: Moss over Remnick. Publicly. FEATURE WRITING: This category recognizes excellence in feature writing. The award honors the stylishness, flair, and originality with which the author treats his or her subject. Esquire (2 nominations), GQ, The New Yorker, The Paris Review FISHBOWLNY PICK: Esquire WHY THEY'LL WIN: Strictly a numbers game. PROFILE WRITING: This category recognizes excellence in profile writing. The award honors the vividness and perceptiveness with which the writer brings his or her subject to life. Cincinnati Magazine, National Geographic, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair FISHBOWLNY PICK: New Yorker WHY THEY'LL WIN: The magazine's profile of Christopher Hitchens has been talked about in magazine circles with considerable reverence. ESSAYS: This category recognizes excellence in essay writing on topics ranging from the personal to the political. Whatever the subject, the award honors the author's eloquence, perspective, fresh thinking and unique voice. Foreign Policy, The Georgia Review, New Letters, The New Yorker, Smithsonian FISHBOWLNY PICK: Foreign Policy WHY THEY'LL WIN: An upset. COLUMNS and COMMENTARY: This category recognizes excellence in short-form political, social, economic or humorous commentary. The award honors the eloquence, force of argument and succinctness with which the writer presents his or her views. Discover, Field & Stream, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair FISHBOWLNY PICK: Vanity Fair WHY THEY'LL WIN: Graydon Carter fits the category description perfectly. REVIEWS and CRITICISM: This category recognizes excellence in criticism of art, books, movies, television, theater, music, dance, food, dining, fashion, products and the like. The award honors the knowledge, persuasiveness and original voice that the critic brings to his or her reviews. The Atlantic Monthly, GQ, Harper's Magazine, The Nation, The New Yorker FISHBOWLNY PICK: Harper's WHY THEY'LL WIN: The rest of the nominees eat Lewis Lapham's table scraps. MAGAZINE SECTION: This category recognizes the excellence of a regular department or editorial section of a magazine, either front- or back-of-book and composed of a variety of elements, both text and visual. The award honors the section's voice, originality, design and packaging. Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire (2 nominations), Field & Stream, New York Magazine FISHBOWLNY PICK: Esquire WHY THEY'LL WIN: again, going with the odds. SINGLE-TOPIC ISSUE: This category recognizes magazines that have devoted an issue to an in-depth examination of one topic. The award honors the ambition, comprehensiveness and imagination with which a magazine treats its subject. Backpacker, The Believer, Columbia Journalism Review, Departures, Newsweek FISHBOWLNY PICK: The Believer WHY THEY'LL WIN: Dave Eggers would love nothing more than to beat the Columbia Journalism Review. DESIGN: This category recognizes excellence in magazine design. The award honors the effectiveness of overall design, artwork, graphics and typography in enhancing a magazine's unique mission and personality. The Believer, Gourmet, GQ, New York Magazine, Outside, Seed FISHBOWLNY PICK: The Believer WHY THEY'LL WIN: Believer's gonna win one of these. We'll pick both. PHOTOGRAPHY: This category recognizes excellence in magazine photography. The award honors the effectiveness of photography, photojournalism and photo illustration in enhancing a magazine's unique mission and personality. Country Home, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, National Geographic, W FISHBOWLNY PICK: National Geographic WHY THEY'LL WIN: Losing in this category would be terrible for morale for Nat. Geo. PHOTOJOURNALISM: This category recognizes the informative photographic documentation of an event or subject in real-time. Aperture, National Geographic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Vanity Fair FISHBOWLNY PICK: National Geographic WHY THEY'LL WIN: Does the New Yorker even run photos? PHOTO PORTFOLIO: This category honors creative photography and photo illustration (including portraiture or specially produced layouts on fashion, food, decorating, travel, design, the arts, etc.). City (2 nominations), Details, Vogue, W FISHBOWLNY PICK: City WHY THEY'LL WIN: See above. FICTION: This category recognizes excellence in magazine fiction writing. The award honors the quality of a publication's literary selections. McSweeney's, The New Yorker, Playboy, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Zoetrope: All-Story FISHBOWLNY PICK: VQR WHY THEY'LL WIN: No idea why. GENERAL EXCELLENCE ONLINE: This category recognizes outstanding magazine Internet sites, as well as online-only magazines that have a significant amount of original content. The award honors sites that convey a distinct editorial identity and create a unique magazine environment on the web. Beliefnet, BusinessWeek.com, ESPN.com, People.com, Slate FISHBOWLNY PICK: ESPN.com WHY THEY'LL WIN: A win by ESPN would certainly piss off the bloggers who've purportedly been blacklisted. INTERACTIVE SERVICE: A new category this year, it recognizes service features on the web. The category honors a site's creative use of multimedia technology, user involvement, personalization and/or community tools. BusinessWeek.com, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Epicurious.com, nymag.com, Slate FISHBOWLNY PICK: Slate WHY THEY'LL WIN: Jacob Weisberg looks good in a tuxedo. INTERACTIVE FEATURE: Also a new category this year, it honors multi-media editorial web features focusing on news, entertainment, etc. Mother Jones, National Geographic, Nerve.com, nymag.com, Newsweek.com FISHBOWLNY PICK: Nerve.com WHY THEY'LL WIN: Sex! Interactively! Awesome.

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Ellies 2007: Handicapping The Races

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