Judging Process
The following is the National
Magazines Awards Foundation's guidelines for judging. Entries and corresponding awards are divided
into four divisions:
1.Written
categories
2.Visual categories
3.Digital categories
4.Special and Integrated
categories
Generally, all categories will
be judged on five equally weighted areas: style, content, creativity, ability to engage intended reader,
and overall impact. Each category has its own criteria, and each category group has its own judging
process.
1. Written Category Judging
Process
Most written entries are judged in a two-tier judging
process.
The first judging tier, which is responsible for the
selection of finalists, consists of two unilingual juries of three people for each category. The judges,
working individually, are instructed to score entries from 0 to 100, using the criteria of style, content,
fairness, originality and how well the article engages the reader for whom it was intended. The
Foundation aggregates the scores to determine the English and French finalists in each category. The
only stipulations are that all finalists have an average score of 80 or more, and that the number of
finalists in each language be proportionate to the number of entries received in that
category.
The finalists, up to a maximum of 10 in each category,
then proceed to the second tier of adjudication, the bilingual jury. At the second level, a common
bilingual panel will judge both French and English finalists from each category. Three bilingual judges
score each finalist. The goal of the bilingual panels is to integrate the French and English language
finalists judged to be at the top of their language groups by the tier one judges.
The bilingual panel’s task is to determine where the
English and French entries sit in a combined list. Because these entries have already been determined
to be finalists, bilingual judges must make their minimum score for an entry at this level no less than 80%
(the minimum score for a finalist). The scores of these three judges are added to the original scores of the
French or English judges, to determine the final scores.
Final scores are an aggregate of first tier scores and
second tier scores. The first tier of judging carries more influence on the final outcome of the
judging. This acknowledges the specific expertise and knowledge of the judges in the field for which
they are judging. The weighing split is 50/50.
2. Visual Category Judging Process
A panel of three to four people with diverse backgrounds
judge each of the visual categories. Depending on the category, panel members may include an
illustrator, a photographer, a magazine art director and/or an editor. The moderator is always
bilingual. Judges are requested to review and score each entry in their category, then the panel meets
via a moderated conference call to deliberate and to determine finalists, silver and gold winners.
Their decision is final.
As with text categories there may be up to 10 finalists
per category, with gold and silver winners.
While aesthetic considerations will be the main criterion
for visual categories, winning entries should also be appropriate to the text they accompany, to the magazine
medium and to the intended audience.
Visual Category
Criteria
The entries are to be evaluated against each other in
representing the 'best of the year participating publications.' Gold and Silver winners must be awarded
in each category, with additional honourable mentions (to a maximum of eight).
While aesthetic considerations will always be the main
focus of awards for the visual categories, every winner must also satisfy other criteria:
- Appropriateness of the visual material to the text that
it accompanies
- Appropriateness of the material for the magazine
medium
- Functionality—does the treatment make you want to read
the article or the magazine as the case may be
Conformity to the latest trends in visual style is not a
criterion. The jury is instructed to consciously avoid a faddish sensibility. Aesthetic
concerns must be balanced with the practical. Any commentary that is provided by the magazines may be
helpful in this regard. For example, magazines with high newsstand sales will be governed by very
different considerations in their cover treatments as compared with low-circulation subscription
publications.
The work is not intended to be judged against
international standards or work that might find in other ‘markets’.
Assessing the Visual Entries
The judging panel will have at least two weeks to review
and score al the entries in their assigned category. During the conference call, there will be
discussion to ensure consensus on the decision of finalists and winner.
Jurors are reminded that judging is for material
submitted by the participating Canadian publications for work published during the calendar year. Of
the entries submitted, they are asked to select Gold, Silver and Honourable Mentions in each
category.
3.
Digital Categories
A panel of three to five
judges will meet in person to review, deliberate and determine finalists and winners. The panel will
consist of a digital publishing editor, designer, writer and/or publisher. There may be up
to 10 finalists per category, with gold and silver winners. Their decision is final.
4. Special and Integrated
Categories
Best Single Issue, Words & Pictures, Magazines
Covers, Editorial Packaging for a Single Service Article, Best New Magazine Talent and Magazine of the Year
are judge by a single jury of three people, at least one of whom is bilingual. These juries meet via
conference call to determine finalists and winners.
Words & Pictures and Editorial Packaging for a Single
Service Article–the jury is advised that these two categories are not art direction categories. For
Words & Pictures art direction is, of course, important but the primary focus here is the integration of
the writing and the photography/illustration. The jurors for these two categories do not have to assign marks
to the individual pieces but should nominate up to 10 and must select a gold and silver
winner.
Magazines Covers—the jurors for Covers should grade each
piece out of 100, nominate up to 10 finalists and select a gold and silver winner.
Best New Magazine Talent—This award will go to a creator whose early work (written or visual) in print or digital
publications shows the highest degree of craft and promise. The award is open to students and contributors
with a maximum of three years’ experience. The intent of this award is to recognize talent new to the
publishing industry. The jurors
for the BNMT do not have to assign marks to the individual pieces but select only one
winner.
Magazine of the Year—the jurors for Magazine of the Year
are responsible for identifying the magazine which
exemplifies overall editorial excellence. The award should go to a magazine, which has, over the past 12
months, demonstrated consistently high standards issue after issue in all aspects of editorial contents; it
should have exhibited freshness and innovation and provided service to its intended readers.
Jurors do not have to assign marks to the
individual pieces but should nominate up to three finalists and select only one
winner.
Outstanding Achievement
In 1990, The National Magazine
Awards Foundation introduced the first annual Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement, an award that
recognizes an individual's innovation and creativity through contributions to the magazine
industry.
The award is open to
circulation experts, editors, marketing, sales and promotion professionals, publishers, designers, production
managers - in short, to everyone in the industry. It cannot be given posthumously.
Nominations for this award are
welcome from everyone in the industry. The nomination consists of a letter from the nominator indicating the
candidate’s name, title and career achievements, with supporting letters from at least two (2) other
individuals.
The deadline for nominations
for this award is March 1. No entry fee is required.
The Judging Committee of the
National Magazine Awards Foundation will consider the nominations, along with nominations from members of the
Committee itself. The Board of the National Magazine Awards Foundation will select the
winner.
The winner is
announced at the end of April along with the nominations of the Awards. The winner is asked to
attend the event with a guest, select a photographer and have a portrait taken and
framed.
Supporting
Judges
Judges in all categories
receive a “survival guide” which is a written explanation of how the judging process works.
All judges are requested to
participate in a conveniently scheduled conference call with other judges on their panel. Each member of the
NMAF Board is asked to facilitate one call, to ensure that they understand and are engaged in the process.
The rest of the calls are contracted out to someone with appropriate professional
credentials.
In addition, a moderator is
contracted to oversee the visual judging process and someone from the Judging Committee also
attends.
Conflict of
Interest
A person shall be considered
ineligible to judge in a category in which that person is entered as a writer, handling editor or other
contributor. A person who appears on the masthead of a magazine entered in a particular category may not
serve as a judge for that category. If a person is the subject of an article, has a close association with
the writer, is a regular contributor to one of the entering publications, or has any other conflict, that
person may still be eligible to judge that category but may be asked to abstain from judging the entry for
which a conflict of interest exists.
Category
Review
Honouring our commitment to
reflect evolving methods of presentation and publication of content, the NMAF will review its categories on
an annual basis.
Stakeholders from the
industry are asked to provide feedback on the clarity of category description, the relevancy of the
current roster of awards and to note any areas of content and creation that are not
included.
The bottom 20 per cent of
categories, in terms of the number of applicants, will be reviewed annually to ensure their ongoing viability
to the Foundation and relevance to the industry.
For more information or
clarification please contact our office at staff@magazine-awards.com or 416-422-1358
