Judging Process
The following is the National Magazines Awards
Foundation's guidelines for judging. Entries and corresponding awards are divided into three
divisions:
- Written categories
- Visual categories
- 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 five to seven people with diverse backgrounds
currently judge the visual categories. Panel members usually include an illustrator, a photographer,
two magazine art directors and an editor, at least one of whom is bilingual. They meet for one whole
day to review all entries and vote to determine finalists. This panel select winners through a secret
ballot vote and face-to-face deliberations. 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
At the visual judging day meeting, judging will proceed
by a “bean” system of voting. In the initial phase, judges will signify which entries they regard
as being worthy finalists. Once these have been selected, judges will then vote for gold and silver
winners in each category. Depending on the number of entries received in the category, judges may
select up to eight additional honourable mentions. In each case there will be discussion to ensure
consensus on the decision.
If the judge finds himself with a conflict -- an entry
from their spouse, an item that brought him/her personal gain or embarrassment or if they were on the
masthead of the publication – they are instructed to not to participate in the assessment of the entry in
which the conflict arises.
Jurors should be 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. Special and
Integrated Categories
Words & Pictures, Magazines Covers, Editorial
Packaging for a Single Service Article, Best New Magazine Writer, Best Student Writer, 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 Writer—this award will go to an
individual whose early work in magazine shows the highest degree of craft and promise. It is open to
first-time or new magazine writers, who published their first feature-length magazine-work in a non-student
publication within the last two years. This award is intended to recognize people new to professional
journalism. The jurors for the BNW do not have to assign marks to the individual pieces but select only one
winner.
Best Student Writer—this award will go to a full-time
student whose non-fiction work in a consumer magazine or university/college publication shows the highest
degree of craft and promise. The jurors for the BSW do not have to assign marks to the individual pieces but
should nominate up to three finalists and 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
