Quote, unquote: The national Magawards aren't
What’s the solution? There isn’t one. It would be nice if the English-language judges weren’t overwhelmingly from Toronto (which, despite the claims of the organizers, they are). In the case of the French-language and bilingual juries, however, it’s inevitable that they’ll be drawn almost entirely from central Canada. No, the only possible solution is to stop calling them the National Magazine Awards. Pick some deserving Toronto magazine icon — Pierre Berton, Doris Anderson — and name them after him/her. That would be fitting. But they have never been national magazine awards, and never will be. So why keep pretending they are?-- Frank Moher, the editor of backofthebook.ca (based in Gabriola Island, B.C.), commenting on the announcement of the nominations for the National Magazine Awards. His thesis is that Toronto-based "alpa-magazines"dominate the event and process.
Labels: quote
posted by D. B. Scott at
11:31 am
15 Comments:
Yawn!
Same old complaint.
Pierre Berton Award is already taken - by Canada's History society to honour excellence in popular writing about Canadian history. It's the Winnipeg-based organization that also publishes a national magazine under the same title...
Has Frank Moher ever judged, offered to judge or otherwise volunteered for the mag awards?
You have to be a judge to be nominated?
The magwads (as I like to call them) favour a small group of Toronto mags run by the friends of committee members each year. I like going to the event when my company is paying the dime, but honestly, it's same-old, same-old each year.
The awards "favour a small group of Toronto mags run by the friends of committee members each year"? You may as well have said you have no idea how the whole process works. How ignorant and small-minded. And how insulting to the program's countless judges and volunteers, not to mention winners. I see a group of dedicated people celebrating a great industry, constantly dodging sniping from the bushes from anonymous malcontents who clearly don't know what they're talking about. Really. Shut the hell up, roll up your sleeves, offer to help and learn how the program really works.
A great industry? ROTFL.
As a longtime veteran, I've got to say that you're clearly the one who has no clue. So perhaps it is you who should "shut the hell up," at least until you acquire the vaguest clue as to what you're talking about.
But please do have fun at the NMA, an evening that requires that we swallow hard and put our collective heads in the sand.
You don't have a clue, guaranteed. Ask anyone who has ever sat on the board, or judged, for that matter. If you're a longtime veteran, and you've never earned a nomination or an award, maybe you should find a new line of work. You sound like a sore loser, and an ignorant one at that. Answer back, but I'm done with this thread. You're obviously not worth reasoning with.
I've been an NMA finalist several times. That said, despite your profound ignorance, you actually got something correct: I probably should find another line of work, one in which the contributors are valued more than they are in "ours."
And if you think that a writer's worth is accurately assayed by how many NMAs they have, you are completely beyond hope -- and emblematic of much of what is wrong with this industry.
To Shut the Hell Up,
I've been on The Board of NMAF, and you are right about much. But gettting angry, insulting, abusive and vulger works against you.
I just returned from the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Awards. Border Crossings, Canada's History, Cottage, CV2 and many others churning out exceptional work.
Yet only CV2 manages 1 NMAF nomination from the Praries?
Perhaps the NMAF should actively recruit some Prarie Publishers? They are too polite to crash the party.
I'ts a bit hypocritical to "snipe from the bushes" at your antagonists with vulger language.
Do the honorable thing and stand behind your convictions openly.
Scott Bullock
The magazine of the year award last year went to Alberta Views. Look at the data and the information about entries and awards and it pretty much puts to rest the arguments about the diversity and reach of the magazine awards.
If you go back over the archive [http://www.magazine-awards.com/index.cfm/ci_id/1397/la_id/1] you can see how many and varied have been gold, silver and honourable mentions by title.
For instance (and not an exhaustive list), among Prairie and western magazines over the years: Avenue (8), Alberta Views (14), Alberta Venture (2), Border Crossings (53), British Columbia (5), Georgia Straight (43), Grain (18), Prairie Fire (34), Small Farm Canada (2), sub-Terrain (1), The Capilano Review (1), Unlimited (3), Up Here (3), Vancouver magazine (95), Western Living (57).
The problem is that you can't win, if you're not in; the magazine awards can only select winners and finalists if people enter. Publications, particularly smaller ones, only have so much money and time they can devote to the pursuit of awards recognition.
Plus (and I realize this is a chicken-egg argument) the existence of regional awards may militate against more nominations in the national awards. The western awards might say that they exist precisely because the national awards have been monopolized by central Canadian titles and don't give western titles enough recognition. Similarly, the Quebec and Atlantic Journalism awards may tend to draw off participation from the national program.
It's also unfair to criticize the number of central Canadian entries when significantly more than half of all Canadian magazines are based in Ontario and Quebec.
Since the Manitoba Magazine Awards were mentioned, I feel the need to say something more on this matter. (Sorry for not leaving you with the last word on your own blog DB!)
First, our rationale for establishing the awards had everything to do with raising the profile of the magazine industry inside the province, and little to do with competing or replacing other awards programs.
Our judges are drawn mostly from people who have experience with, but work outside of, the publishing industry, representing "readers" and the intended benefit of this is reflected in the comments we've received from them both years "Thank you for the opportunity - I had no idea there were so many great magazines published here in the province."
Over the past couple of weeks I have seen the challenge of representation via awards from both sides, as an entrant and as an organizer.
One of the things that makes this industry great (which it is!)is that each title affirms there are many definitions of success. Here in Manitoba we tried to diversify the awards to broaden the awards to better reflect that; recognizing all aspects of magazine publishing operations, as well as genres of magazines. We also make the entry fee accessible to all. Like the NMAs, the problem persists that some feel they just will never fit the categories, that it's often too difficult to compare some magazines with others.
Maybe part of the answer for NMA's is to reevalute its role in relation to all the other excellent awards programs that exist or have been introduced since they first started. Perhaps there are opportunities for partnerships to evolve that together address some of these representational concerns. I also think maintaing a clear focus to identifying opportunities to use the awards to promote magazine publishing outside of the industry is key.
When I was attempting to explain to my American husband what it meant to be a Canadian, I cribbed from Will Ferguson and explained that it was a rolling wave of geographical resentment (culminating in the fact that everyone resents Toronto).
It was the same deal with the New York magazine epicentre and everyone else. That's just the way epicentres roll.
My role models were Texas Monthly, Grand Royal, Might, Wired and Dwell, and whether they won their fair share of American NMAs or not, they were breaths of fresh air. Being outsiders helped them do their own thing.
That's the upside of working in the west (or in the east or up north) and not smack dab in the centre of it all.
Cheers.
Shelley Youngblut, Swerve, Calgary
Scott, Deb and Shelley: thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the calm, intelligent level of discourse the magazine medium needs. I've been on the board of the National Magazine Awards since 2000. I step down after the gala. If anyone would like to have a pint with me at the gala and share her/his ideas on how to improve the entire awards program, I love Rickard's Red. Failing that, whatever's cold. I hope to see everyone on June 4.
I'm speaking up for the many who think that the NMA has an even bigger bias: gender. Why are women's interest mags never runners-up for the big prizes (mag of the year and more)? Why are the masculine-style mags the ones that seem to be most worthy of credit?
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