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ESPN THE MAGAZINE WINS TEMPLE UNIVERSITY'S 1999 "ACRES OF DIAMONDS" AWARD FOR BEST NEW MAGAZINE
ESPN The Magazine--the magazine that extended its brand recognition to reach the young, active sports enthusiast with its bold, forward-looking approach- has been named the industry's best new consumer magazine by Temple University.
At an awards luncheon in the Pegasus Suite of the Rainbow Room in New York today (Thursday, Oct. 7), Dr. Robert Greenberg, acting dean of Temple's School of Communications and Theater, announced ESPN The Magazine as the 1999 recipient of its annual Acres of Diamonds Award.
Since its launch in March 1998, the magazine has capitalized on the success of the ESPN network and its spinoffs and filled a void in the market--sports coverage for the MTV generation that would attract 18- to 34-year-old readers already familiar with ESPN from watching television. It has already doubled its rate base to 700,000.
"ESPN The Magazine particularly impressed the judges with its visual presentation and its ability to capture the feel of live sports," noted Dr. Patricia Bradley, chair of Temple's department of journalism, public relations and advertising.
A distinguished panel of judges for this year's award included editors, industry leaders and corporate media officers. They were: W. Randall Jones, CEO, WorthMedia; David Verklin, CEO, Carat North America; Lynn Povich, managing editor, MSNBC on the Internet; Valerie Salembier, publisher, Esquire; Jeanne Tassar, senior vice president and director of Print, The Media Edge; John Mack Carter of Hearst, Inc.
Criteria for selection of the Acres of Diamonds Award include creativity in identifying new consumer interests, innovativeness, contribution in expanding useful knowledge, and success in meeting circulation and financial goals.
Keynote speaker at the awards event was Cathleen P. Black, president of Hearst Magazines.
"In the entire history of ink on paper, there have never been times quite like these," noted Black, the first woman to be named president of Hearst Magazines, a division of The Hearst Corp. To realize the potential, and recognize the risk, she says, "we need to take a hard clear look at what magazines are really all about and where they fit into a media mix."
Black, who helped launch Ms. magazine as its first advertising manager in 1972 and later as associate publisher, made publishing history herself in 1979 when she became the first woman publisher of the weekly consumer magazine New York.
Also recognized at the luncheon were the nine other magazines--of the nearly 1,000 new magazines introduced in the past five years--that competed for this year's Acres of Diamonds Award. They are (with publisher and year introduced):
Angels on Earth (Guideposts, 1995); Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel (Group XXVII Communications, 1998); Biography (A&E Television Network, 1997); Brill's Content (Brill Media Ventures, 1998); Fast Company (U.S. News & World Report, Inc., 1995) Latina (Latina Publications, 1996); More (Meredith Corp., 1998); Teen People (Time, Inc., 1998), and Yahoo! Internet Life (Ziff-Davis, 1995).
Magazines remain eligible for five years from their launch date.
The award, established in 1992 by the department of Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising in Temple's School of Communications and Theater, recognizes and celebrates the success of the best new consumer magazine. Support for the award program benefits the magazine studies scholarship fund in Temple's department of journalism, public relations and advertising.
Previous winners of the Acres of Diamonds Award are Sports Illustrated for Kids, Smart Money, Family Fun, Martha Stewart Living, Cigar Aficionado, and InStyle.
hkg-200 *** October 7, 1999
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