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Best-Selling People Magazine Celebrity Baby Cover

Last week Sandra Bullock's People magazine cover featuring the actress and her secretly-adopted newborn son took everyone--fans and Hollywood--by surprise. But as celebrity news blog Popeater reports, though the Sandra Bullock baby cover has been a huge seller, it hasn't yet topped sales of the exclusive photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's newborn twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne from 2008, the celebrity magazine's highest-selling baby cover of all time.

But it's close. The Sandra Bullock People magazine baby cover has sold more than 2.7 million copies, only 100,000 copies shy of the Jolie-Pitt record of 2.8 million.

Magazine News Round-Up

It seems, at least for now, that magazine ad pages are turning around and heading in the right direction. While ad pages fell in the first quarter of 2010, things look brighter for the second quarter, according to a survey by Mediaweek of magazine publishers including Hearst, Conde Nast and Time Inc. report that ad page gains are coming from a variety of categories including beauty products, packaged goods and automotive.

Rodale, publisher of Men's Health, Women's Health and Prevention magazine (among others) announced last week that Liz Vaccariello, the senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Prevention magazine, resigned. Liz Vaccariello is best known in the magazine industry for redesigning the health magazine and raising its profile among readers through her popular books Flat Belly Diet! and 400 Calorie Fix.

Last, but not least, the conversation between magazine publishers and digital vendors continues. Both publishers and vendors are still trying to figure out how magazines will be read and sold in the digital age. Thankfully Folio magazine takes a closer look at the options and breaks them down for everyone who is overwhelmed (like us) by the different approaches.

Time Magazine Picks 'Most Influential People'

People magazine isn't the only magazine putting out an annual list this week. Time magazine's 2010 edition of its "100 Most Influential People" was published yesterday.

Among the predictable picks, which are divided into leaders, thinkers, artists and heroes, President Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey. This is Oprah Winfrey's seventh consecutive appearance on the list.

While pop star Lady Gaga, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were among the record 31 women on this year's list, Hillary Clinton, was not.

Time magazine's picks are based on staff suggestions and are decided by senior Time magazine editors.This year's list also includes a record 47 international figures from 23 countries.

Interestingly, Time magazine also separately ranked the 100 most influential people based on the number of followers and connections they have on Twitter and Facebook. At the top of the list, President Obama, followed by Lady Gaga and Ashton Kutcher.

People Magazine Names 'World's Most Beautiful People'

People magazine's 21st annual special double issue that features the celebrity magazine's picks for 'World's Most Beautiful People' list is out tomorrow. The issue also includes exclusive coverage of actress Sandra Bullock's divorce and adoption announcement.

At the top of the list--and deemed the 'Most Beautiful Person'--is actress Julia Roberts, who stars in the upcoming movie Eat Pray Love, based on the wildly popular memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. This is Julia Roberts' 12th time to be featured in the special double issue. She is joined by fellow "Most Beautiful" regulars actress Halle Berry (14 times),  pop star Jennifer Lopez (nine times) and actress Angelina Jolie (eight times.) Actress Ashley Greene, who starred in the movie Twilight, is a newcomer to the iconic list.

Special categories in the 'Most Beautiful People' issue include women with ties to New Jersey, celebrity daughters, women named Jessica, a hot list and guys including Adam Lambert, who shares tips on wearing eyeliner.

Fine Cooking Magazine Asks Readers to Cook its Issues

After last year's success with its "Cook the Issue" program, Fine Cooking magazine recently launched the program, which encourages readers to try recipes and share their experiences, again. This time the program isn't for just one Fine Cooking issue, but every issue from April/May to February/March 2011.

Magazine Makeover: BusinessWeek

Last week BusinessWeek magazine relaunched with a new name, a new design and a new editorial vision. The magazine makeover comes four months after financial information giant Bloomberg LP bought the struggling 80-year-old business magazine. Under the new ownership, the magazine's title is now Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Along with increasing its readers and making the Bloomberg brand a household to people outside the financial world, Fortune magazine recently reported that Bloomberg LP's ambition for the revamped BusinessWeek magazine is to make it "the American version of the Economist."

To accomplish this, Bloomberg LP has added 20% more editorial content including five new magazine sections: economics, companies, politics and policy, technology and markets written with on-the-go readers in mind. The sections are color-coded and many articles include summaries.

So how is the Bloomberg/BusinessWeek integration going internally? According to a recent New York Times article titled "An Uneasy Marriage of the Cultish and the Rumpled," the merger is at best challenging for magazine journalists, who have to adapt to the metrics-driven expectations of Bloomberg LP.

Magazine News Round-Up

Here's a few things of interest that happened last week while we took a break from magazine news to cover the National Magazine Awards.

Mediaweek reported magazines like The Economist were unable to deliver magazines to subscribers in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa due to the grounding of flights from the Icelandic volcanic eruption. The interruption was also bad news for newsstand sales.

Body image and self esteem champion Jillian Michaels--a trainer on TV's "The Biggest Loser," is getting flack for her comments she made on adoption/pregnancy in the latest issue of Women's Health magazine. The comments that have sparked the buzz include, "I'm going to adopt. I can't handle doing that to my body. This isn't the first time Jillian Michaels' comments sparked outrage; last year she angered Oprah Winfrey fans when she called the talk-show hostess' health awareness "utterly misguided" in Health magazine.

New York magazine's popular back-page column "Approval Matrix," is going to be a TV series. Michael Hirschorn, a former executive editor at New York magazine and now a TV producer, sold the show to Bravo.  Like the magazine column, a rotating panel of pop culture pundits will decide whether the week's most buzz-worthy items are "Highbrow Brilliant," "Highbrow Despicable," "Lowbrow Brilliant" or "Lowbrow Despicable."

JONES magazine, a 5-year-old regional fashion and style magazine launched last week. The magazine is written for African-American and multicultural women; Supermodel Veronica Webb is featured on the first nationally-distributed issue.

And lastly, a new magazine for parents on the go called Traveling with Babies & Kids magazines will launch in the fall.

Magazine of the Year: Glamour

Much like the Oscars, last night's American Society of Magazine Editors National Magazine awards presentation offered both surprising and predictable wins.

Most surprising, Condé Nast’s Glamour magazine took home the top honor of Magazine of the Year. This is the first year the Magazine of the Year award was given; the award is designed to recognize the magazine that best fulfilled its edtiorial mission through the use print and digital media.

Glamour magazine was the only women's magazine nominated for the award. The nomination is somewhat a victory for women’s magazines because historically women's magazines have been overlooked among the winners of the National Magazine awards. Still, we don't quite understand the win.

We didn't even think Glamour was really in the race up against The Atlantic, Fast Company, Men’s Health and New York. Aside from Fast Company magazine, all of Glamour's competitors were nominated for other awards in both digital and print categories. Glamour was not. In fact, New York magazine took the General Excellence prize for its circulation level and the General Excellence, Digital Media (a separate event.)

One theory suggests Glamour magazine won because it beat the competition in ad revenue ($55.6 million in 2009.)

As for the rest of the awards,National Geographic and The New Yorker each won three. Wired magazine won two.For a complete list of winners, visit here.

What Magazine Will Be Named Magazine of the Year?

Finally, tonight the National Magazine Awards will be presented. Today we take a quick look at the biggest prize handed out—the Magazine of the Year award. This category “honors publications that successfully use both print and digital media in fulfilling the editorial mission of the magazine.”

Like the races for the General Excellence Awards—the competition is intense.

The Finalists: The Atlantic; Fast Company; Glamour; Men’s Health; New York magazine

We think this race is really between The Atlantic, New York and Men’s Health magazine. The industry buzz pegs The Atlantic to win. And then there’s New York magazine, which won the award the General Excellence Award in the digital round of the National Magazine Awards in March.  Men’s Health magazine is no slouch in this race either—it took home a Digital Ellie for Best Interactive Tool.

Prediction: Men’s Health
Why: Men’s Health magazine has done an excellent job of producing spin-offs, New York Times bestsellers, iPhone apps, digital content and even events that people are willing to pay for. As Mediaweek reported when it named Men’s Health magazine to its “Magazine Hot List 2010” earlier this year, the magazine’s content may be formulaic  but it’s relevant to readers—even in print.

A Closer Look: Finalists for the General Excellence Awards

Today we look at the contenders for the second most prestigious award handed out at the National Magazine Awards: General Excellence. This category recognizes overall editorial achievement through reporting, writing, editing, photography and design. In other words, did the staff accomplish the magazine's editorial mission?

The General Excellence Awards are presented in six circulation levels and the competition for each is fierce. Below we've taken a closer look at each finalist's National Magazine Award history and predicted this years winners. Our predictions for this year’s winners are not scientific. Instead, they are just our opinions.

Under 100,000 Circulation
The finalists: Aperture; Architect: Military History; The Paris Review; San Francisco

Awards history: Aperture won this award in 2004; Architect and Military History are first-time finalists; The Paris Review has been a finalist more than 10 times in various categories, with one win in 2007 for photojournalism. San Francisco is a two-time finalist for the public interest category.

Last year’s winner: Print magazine

Our prediction: The Paris Review

Why: With so many past nominations and only one win, we think it’s about time The Paris Review took this one home.

100,000 to 250,000 Circulation

The finalists: Foreign Policy; Garden & Gun; Martha Stewart Weddings; Mother Jones; Paste

Awards history: Foreign Policy is 3-time winner in this category. Garden & Gun magazine is a first-time nominee. Martha Stewart Weddings won the General Excellence award in 2005 for the 250,000-500,000 circulation. Mother Jones won this award in 2008. Paste magazine has been a finalist in this category the last two years.

Last year’s winner: Foreign Policy
Our prediction: Paste

Why: Last year Paste magazine turned to its readers for funds so that it could continue to exist--and its readers responded to the tune of $250,000. If this doesn't prove editorial effectiveness, then we don't know what does.

250,000 to 500,000 Circulation
The finalists: The Atlantic; Audubon; New York; Texas Monthly; W

Awards history: The Atlantic boasts more than 20 awards across categories through the years. Audubon magazine also has multiple nominations throughout the years, including a win for General Excellence in 1981. Including last year’s win in this category, Texas Monthly boasts several wins across categories. Though W magazine has several wins for photography and a finalist for General Excellence, it has never won this award.

Last year’s winner: Texas Monthly
Our prediction: W magazine

Why: With no wins yet W magazine is the underdog and we love it when the underdog wins.

500,000 to 1 Million Circulation
The finalists: The Economist; Esquire; Food Network Magazine; GQ; Wired

Awards history: Surprisingly, The Economist has only been a General Excellence finalist three times; we expected a lot more. Not surprisingly, Esquire won this award in 2006. Food Network Magazine, which launched 2008, is a first-time nominee. GQ magazine won this award in 2008. And finally, Wired magazine boasts a handful of wins in this category.

Last year’s winner: Wired

Our prediction: Food Network Magazine

Why: Simple, magazine readers love Food Network Magazine.

1 million to 2 Million Circulation
The Finalists: Field & Stream; Men’s Health; The New Yorker; Teen Vogue; More

Awards History: Field & Stream magazine won this award last year. Men’s Health boasts 1 win for personal service in 2004. The New Yorker won this award in 2008, and is one of the most-nominated magazines across categories. Teen Vogue was a General Excellence finalist in 2004, but did not win. More magazine was a finalist for this award in 2007.

Last year’s winner: Field & Stream
Our prediction: Men’s Health

Why: Because as MediaWeek noted, this magazine's content may be formulaic, but it's relevant to readers.

Over 2 Million Circulation
The Finalists: ESPN The Magazine; National Geographic; Real Simple; Sports Illustrated; Time

Awards History: ESPN The Magazine is a 3-time winner of this award. National Geographic won this award in 2008. Real Simple is a 4-time finalist for this award including last year. Sports Illustrated had back to back wins for this award in 1989-1990. Time magazine is a 2-time General Excellence winner.

Last year’s winner: Reader’s Digest
Our prediction: Real Simple
Why:  Honestly, we're not sure about this one. We keep going back and forth. In the end we picked Real Simple because we hope it wins--it's a consistent favorite for us and Magazines.com customers.