Steven Levitt is probably a Very Good Economist, but he has proven again and again and again that this Using Economics To Explain The World thing is utter bullshit. And he and Dubner invented this pop-econ trend that is the most annoying application of make-believe science since pop-psychology. At least pop-psychology gave us Hitchcock movies! All we can hope for from these two is a shitty Soderbergh movie in which the twist is that becoming a gay serial killer was a rational consumer choice.

So. The first book, in its attempt to be interesting, was a series of Slate-y unexpected conclusions that seemed to have been reached before they went to the trouble of misapplying a bunch of research. Conventional wisdom wrong! Abortion good!

Their baby name chapter was not refuting "conventional wisdom" unless your idea of mainstream consensus is a racist talk radio joke—and their list of names that should be skyrocketing in popularity is about 50% correct, which is how well you'd do if you took a "throwing darts at the most popular baby names" list approach to predictions. The abortion chapter completely misrepresented research on the Romanian abortion ban. The bit on the KKK was based on the exaggerated, unscientific tall tales of beloved old activist Stetson Kennedy.

In other words, like most pop science, it was not very scientific. And furthermore, neoclassical microeconomics is just as flawed a method of examining individual behavior as Freudian psychology.

In the sequel book, they've taken the "conventional wisdom is wrong!!!!" thing too far. Drunk driving good! Curtailing carbon emissions bad!

Now, primarily because of the stupid climate change chapter, a bunch of people who formerly would've defended Levitt and Dubner are calling them irresponsible morons. Which is great! But the book will still sell a zillion copies and now a bunch of idiots will have all these completely wrong but controversial things to say about global warming at parties, which will be annoying.

There is always a level of excitement when a new president is coming to town — new aides to profile, new policies to dissect, new family members to follow. But can anyone imagine this kind of media frenzy if John McCain had managed to win?

Uh... good point? No, wait; bad point. "The audience cheered when the hero won. But would they have cheered as much if they villain had one?" No Howie. No they wouldn't. And have you considered, Howie, what Rupert Murdoch said the other day about your industry?

"The complacency [in newsrooms] stems from having enjoyed a monopoly—and now finding they have to compete for an audience they once took for granted. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product. Newspapers are no exception."

The funny thing is that Howie does have the ghost of a point here! He's just two weeks late in realizing it (beaten by the internet). He's also decrying the media giving its audience what it wants. He's like Rupert Murdoch's quote come to life! And useless as always, terrified of being accused of "liberal bias" as he is. It's a good thing none of this "mythmaking" business went on with George W. Bush, 9/11 Hero. [WP]

I'm developing a purely anecdotal theory about Republican drunkenness: that it's related to ideology. The less ideological arrive back at the headquarters earlier in the evening, between midnight and 1 a.m. These are, in chronological order, the Romney and the Giuliani supporters. Both are East Coast, urban college grad, corporate types. They like to drink and reminisce about the Harvard-Yale game, but they also like to wake up early, shave and not smell like booze at committee meetings. The Giuliani people are secular and more openly lecherous. So they tend to drink a bit harder and stay out closer to 1 a.m. The Ron Paul people party past 1 a.m., but not much. And they shave but they don't showboat.

The ones who stay out the latest and come back the drunkest, I notice, are the Huckabee folks, the party's rural conservatives. They believe in Jesus, in the hard-bitten way of the true alcoholic. If they ever sober up, it'll be by the grace of the Lord; and if they intend to stay on the sauce and continue living, then they'll really need His loving kindness. If you intend to be drinking heavily until closing time — 4 a.m. in the Twin Cities during the RNC — you had better walk home with Jesus. I can't place true McCainites on the alcohol-ideology matrix. I think they were all asleep by 9:30 p.m.

Now, sure, this passage is so cliche-rife and unsubstantiated Curtis Sittenfeld might have written it over an oolong latte at Teany, but the fact remains that it was one of the few produced by last week's Convention coverage that really bothers to draw distinctions among the Republican convention goers at all. The guy didn't need to go through paramilitary training or whatever to make these observations, but generally that's the type of stunt it takes for freelancers to get assignments writing anything interesting anymore, and getting dumb jobs is a good way to remind journalists how disconnected the other journalists they normally drink with are from the drinking public.

The thing is, there are all sorts of rules and forms and time constraints in immersion journalism, and the writers willing to sacrifice the time and the "objectivity" to immerse themselves in that sort of persona are usually young, naive and apt to find boring, cliched observations actually interesting. But until more news organizations take a cue from Tyra and start sending their more experienced commentators out into the field in capacities where they are not recognized as representatives of the media elite, "Confessions of an RNC Security Guard" may be the best we got.

Related: From 2004 Hot Girls, Frisky Delegates: Diary of a strip club waitress [Village Voice]
Submersion Journalism: Reporting in the Radical First Person

And just for Mr. Dismal here is the speech in its (admittedly more contradictory!) entirety.

The crew crested a hill. There, they came upon a hipster marching band. Mr. Jenkins flipped on his microphone. “Who are you guys?” said Mr. Jenkins. “What are you protesting?” A tuba player looked at the Fox News microphone and shook her head. A snare drummer for the Rude Mechanical Orchestra sidled up to Mr. Jenkins and drowned out his questions. The band’s standard-bearer draped a flag in front of the camera. Mr. Jenkins walked away. “Those antics show that they’re not serious,” he said.

Actually Griff spent most of his time at the convention getting cussed out by protesters. And occasionally connecting with them on a personal level!

A couple of post-collegiate kids approached and apologized on behalf of the knuckle-draggers in the crowd. One of the guys was wearing a surf shirt. Mr. Jenkins pulled out his BlackBerry and showed the kid a photograph of a man surfing mid-wave. “That’s me in Costa Rica,” said Mr. Jenkins. Everyone looked baffled.

At least he seemed to put up well with being followed around by the Observer and CJR on the same day while was trying to report. You'll have a Facebook fan club before you know it Griff, you cornball.

[NYO]

We don't really get what's worth covering your face with a ridiculous pink feather boa here. (Ha ha, but that's about :49 in.) Were they supposed to throw out perfectly good boas? It's clear they only went because the band playing was called Hookers & Blow, which is about as great a name for a cover band as one could ask, and to that end, shouldn't we commend the GOP here for, as long as their impulsive nominee just passed up dozens of relatively sober possible running mates for a wholly unvetted animal-skinning secessionist, for at least putting on a party that looks kind of almost fun? The Democrats had to suffer Kanye for Chrissakes.

Tonight, I think, was one of the best speeches he has ever given. It was a direct, personal and powerful endorsement of Obama. But much, much more than that: it was a statesman-like assessment of where this country is and how desperately it needs a real change toward reform and retrenchment at home and restoration of diplomacy, wisdom and prudence abroad.

Way to go Bill, for lowering the expectations so much (just the other day he was giving more terrible ill-advised quotes) that the sudden reappearance of President Clinton the Master Speaker was an amazing flashback. Remember when our President spoke like this? Christ.

Even Peggy Noonan—who's been hating Bill and Hillary for years!—was impressed:

This was Deft Political Pro Bill doing what no one had been able to do up to this point at the convention, and that is make the case for Barack Obama. He lambasted the foe, asserted Obama's growth on the trail, argued that he was the right man for the job and did that as a man who once held that job and is remembered, at least in terms of domestic policy and at least by half the country, as having done it pretty darn well. He gave his full imprimatur to a crowd that believes he has an imprimatur to give. As Clinton spoke a friend IM'd, "What is this, the Clinton convention?" The fact is, until both Clintons spoke, it was. Now oddly enough it isn't. Now eyes turn, and finally, to Obama. This was one of the great tee-ups.

And, you know, the speech was generous and good and amazingly well-delivered. But two nights of Clintons? It is the Clinton convention, bookmarked by the Obamas only on the first and last days. Which can go either way—if it makes audiences fondly remember the happy 1990s, when Democrats ran things fairly well and we all bought things from Pets.com while listening to that "Da da da" song in our VWs, than yes, brilliant work, Obama's a sure thing.

But if it just reminds people of the Clintons, with all their strengths and baggage, then that does absolutely nothing to help Obama get elected. Bill did good. Really good. And now it will be like three days until he says something insane and undermining about Obama again.

(Which is maybe another positive for Obama! Angry red-faced Bill just makes Barack Obama look fresh and good in comparison. Who knows, it's all just pissing in the winds of public opinion.)

Here's the speech!

That quote is from John Koblin's piece in today's Observer. It's got more gems: Adam Nagourney couldn't find a seat at his own paper's workspace, then bitched about having to cover the convention with so many other, lesser reporters. Fox's Greta Van Susteren, though, was more than happy to be there.

Greta Van Susteren, the Fox News anchor, spent Aug. 25 blogging—“I like the blogging!” she said—and produced 10 blog posts, including an online poll: “What do you think Michelle Obama thinks about Hillary Clinton?”

But there are hardships!

“I don’t like it,” said the Bloomberg News editor Al Hunt, who is covering his 17th convention. “It’s chilly and you can’t hear anything. Have you been to the porta-potties here? Because don’t go.”

Elsewhere in the Observer, Felix Gillette reports that he thought he knocked over Bill O'Reilley's laptop! But no, it was Karl Rove's laptop.

At HuffPo, media critic Rachel Sklar asks Anderson Cooper about the altitude, and Cooper reveals that he wishes he'd had a Bar Mitzvah. If, somehow, Cooper had added that he also wished to be on Saturday Night Live, in a Broadway musical, and Canadian, Sklar probably would've fainted. (After filing 1,500 words.)

And hey, did you know that there are bloggers at the Democratic National Convention? It's true, according to the Chicago Tribune's Washington Bureau. "The political bloggers are here because this week Denver is the center of the Democratic Party's political universe," we're told. Good to know! Even Katie Couric stopped by the blogger area to figure out what bloggers did all day, exactly.

And lovable David Carr, America's Favorite Recovered Crack-Addict-Turned-Times Reporter, hauls his Carpetbagger vlogging suit out of the closet to bug "members of the media" in Denver! Watching this video, we were struck by how these were exactly the same parties that are thrown in DC every week except in Denver. They still look terrible.

FINDINGS:

1. Michelle Obama's hair is newly "swingy" and thus patriotic.
2. Wolf Blitzer is Batman.
3. Michelle Obama's brother "looks like a basketball."
4. Caroline Kennedy's appearance qualifies her a cabinet position if not the vice presidency.
5. The Obama daughters' appearance qualifies them for residency the White House.**
6. The Brady Bunch is for white people.

* Now it is up to someone who is really bored to try and count the number of times they say "like" and "you know" and "totally" because I tried and it was just too fucking exhausting.
**Barring some mostly-not-articulated rumblings of dissent with regards to the dress worn by one of them.

"The best speech of her career," New York's Daily Intel says.

Great political speeches blow away petty questions about ambition (like “What does Hillary really want?”) by fusing the personal and the political, by making you believe in the speaker as the vessel of your hopes. On Tuesday night, even watching on TV, you could feel the familiar rhythms of Hillary amping up her supporters give way to the generosity (however rooted in self-interest) of her transferring their hopes to Obama.

Radar, suffering 18 million cracks in their cynicism ceiling due to Alex Balk's break from editing duties, also enjoyed it.

Slate's John Dickerson says Clinton's speech was mostly there, with the "were you in it just for me" line being the most important pivot point. But, you know, she never said anything about Obama, just that if the nation can't have Hillary it will have to settle for him. Because the alternative is scary!

The front page of the New York Post makes this astute point as well while also representing the Democratic Party with the cartoon jack-ass from Hee-Haw.

Tim Noah just weighs in with this, which seems apt. And, you know, our antipathy toward the Clintons and their army wavered last night as we enjoyed her speech, but in the cold light of mid-morning, we're not convinced anymore. It was just about her, her fantastic campaign, her great promise. But that guy in Iraq with adopted austic children who needs health care was not what her campaign was ever about. She ran a shitty, mismanaged campaign that went negative first and loudest, acted as if the nomination was her birthright, and represented dynastic politics that should make every student of American Democracy fucking sick. The "experience" she trumped was entirely imagined and exaggerated, she was wrong about the war and never adequately explained why, and, you know, she lost the primaries. Whatever. We don't hate her—she's smart as hell and capable and has actually been pretty gracious compared to her miserable husband—but no one owes her shit for coming in second in a fair fight.

Oh, and Josh Green just says it was boring. Which also seems apt.

Something called "Joint Juice" seems to be the highlight. But there's also hand sanitizer and a free ringtone card! Seriously, why do people go to this? Are journalists so bored and nerdy that the prospect of a hotel party in Denver excites them? It is like the School Band Trip of the National Press Corps, isn't it? We got a better schwag bag at some weird Time Out party we went to this month. It had condoms and Stuff White People Like. We have no use for either of those things but it's still better than Post-It notes!

The Democratic convention is such a news-bereft wasteland that Stewart was apparently giving a press conference, consisting of him riffing to a roomful of eager reporters. During the course of this, he said that Fox News' "Fair and Balanced" slogan is "the biggest 'fuck you' to people with brains that I've ever seen in my life" and that Chris Wallace is the network's only legit anchor, and that Fox is biased against Obama.

Stop the fucking presses, right? But Howie Kurtz, trooper that he is, put in a call to Fox, and came back with this paragraph for his story:

A Fox News spokesman replied that "Jon's clearly out of touch," citing a Pew study showing the network has the most balanced audience in cable news, 39 percent Repubicans and 33 percent Democrats. "But being out of touch with mainstream America is nothing new to Jon as evidenced by the crash and burn ratings of this year's Oscars telecast."

And we must say, this is completely fair play by Fox! Stewart attacked them professionally; they responded by attacking him professionally; both parties get their say, and the affair doesn't get too dirty. Stewart is perfectly willing and able to respond to Fox's slams, unlike the beat reporters they've gone after in the past. And for connoisseurs of Fox PR's historic public attacks on various media characters, the statement is a beauty—it follows the trademark Fox formula, sliding in an attack on the messenger with a smile.

The asshole here is Kurtz himself, who, as Romenesko pointed out, ran an anonymous attack quote from Fox, in direct violation of the Post's own rules on anonymous quotes.

Funny, though: Stewart actually complimented Fox. Perhaps when they responded, they didn't get this full quote?

"I think Fox does the best job because probably because they have an idea what they're doing. Because they have an editorial perspective, they're able to focus it more. So it's more cohesive and it makes more sense you understand what they're doing. They're putting it through a filter."

Everyone is fighting with each other! The idea that the media is able to stand apart from a larger group called the "audience" and do its job is collapsing. Fox is a media outlet, Stewart is a media guy, and both are sniping at each other—becoming the story themselves—rather than speaking to their own audiences directly (not that we mind, in this case). Even worse, the audience of regular people who are supposed to be the media's consumers have now decided that they are the media itself. As David Carr writes from the convention:

Each time there was a reporting stop — at a small McCain counterdemonstration, a Hillary counterdemonstration, or in the bloggers’ tent — the people formerly known as the audience refused to behave like one. They brandished video cams, iPhones and recorders, doing their own documentation of what was under way.

Somebody has to be the audience. Soon, like slam poetry night at a cafe full of nothing but slam poets, we'll all stop listening because we're too busy waiting our turn to talk.

GENERAL EXCELLENCE
This category recognizes overall excellence in magazines in six circulation categories. It honors the effectiveness with which writing, reporting, editing and design all come together to command readers’ attention and fulfill the magazine’s unique editorial mission.

Under 100,000 circulation
Aperture: Melissa Harris, editor-in-chief, for Summer, Fall, Winter issues.
The Georgia Review: Stephen Corey, editor, for Spring, Fall, Winter issues.
Metropolis: Susan S. Szenasy, editor-in-chief, for May, June, November issues.
Print: Joyce Rutter Kaye, editor-in-chief, for March/April, July/August, September/October issues.
The Virginia Quarterly Review: Ted Genoways, editor, for Spring, Summer issues, Daniel Alarcón and Ted Genoways, co-editors, for Fall issue.

100,000 to 250,000 circulation
Foreign Policy: Moisés Naím, editor-in-chief, for March/April, July/August, September/October issues.
Mother Jones: Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery, editors-in-chief, for March/April, May/June, September/October issues.
Paste: Josh Jackson, editor-in-chief, for April, July, August issues.
Philadelphia: Larry Platt, editor-in-chief, for September, October, December issues.
Radar: Maer Roshan, editor-in-chief, for March/April, June/July, November issues.

250,000 to 500,000 circulation
Backpacker: Jonathan Dorn, editor-in-chief, for April, May, September issues.
Cookie: Pilar Guzmán, editor-in-chief, for July/August, September, December/January issues.
New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief, for February 12, July 16, November 19 issues.
W: Patrick McCarthy, chairman and editorial director, for March, October, December issues.
Wondertime: Lisa Stiepock, editor, for February/March, September/October, November issues.

500,000 to 1,000,000 circulation
Budget Travel: Erik Torkells, editor, for July/August, September, November issues.
The Economist: John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief, for August 25-31, November 3-9, December 22-January 4 issues.
GQ: Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief, for March, September, October issues.
National Geographic Adventure: John Rasmus, editor-in-chief, for June/July, November, December/
January issues.
Wired: Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief, for February, October, November issues.

1,000,000 to 2,000,000 circulation
Men’s Health: David Zinczenko, senior vice president and editor-in-chief, for September, October, December issues.
The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for February 19 & 26, August 13, October 8 issues.
Play: The New York Times Sports Magazine: Mark Bryant, editor, for March, June, November issues.
Popular Mechanics: James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief, for May, August, September issues.
Vanity Fair: Graydon Carter, editor, for March, August, December issues.

Over 2,000,000 circulation
Glamour: Cynthia Leive, editor-in-chief, for June, September, December issues.
Martha Stewart Living: Martha Stewart, founder; Margaret Roach, editorial director, for March, October, December issues; Michael Boodro, editor-in-chief, for October, December issues.
National Geographic: Chris Johns, editor-in-chief, for June, August, December issues.
People: Larry Hackett, managing editor, for February 5, March 12, May 7 issues.
TIME: Richard Stengel, managing editor, for April 9, June 18, July 9 issues.


PERSONAL SERVICE
This category recognizes excellence in service journalism. The advice or instruction presented should help readers improve the quality of their personal lives.

Field & Stream: Sid Evans, editor-in-chief, for a two-part package, F&S Survival Guide: Survivor and F&S Survival Guide: Never Get Lost Again, by Keith McCafferty, February.

Good Housekeeping: Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief, for Passport to Cheaper Health Care?, by Jennifer Wolff, October.

O, The Oprah Magazine: Oprah Winfrey, founder and editorial director; Amy Gross, editor-in-chief, for O’s Be-Prepared, You’re-Tougher-Than-You-Thought, We’ve-Got-You-Covered Guide to Saving Yourself from Every Imaginable Disaster. And Then Some, April.

Popular Mechanics: James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief, for Facing Down Disaster, by Logan Ward, August.

Popular Mechanics: James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief, for a three-part series by Alex Hutchinson, Know Your Footprint: Energy, June; Know Your Footprint: Water, September; Know Your Footprint: Waste, December.


LEISURE INTERESTS
This category recognizes excellent service journalism about leisure-time pursuits. The practical advice or instruction presented should help readers enjoy hobbies or other recreational interests.

Domino: Deborah Needleman, editor-in-chief, for a three part series, domino’s Big Black Book: Decorating, August; Renovating, October; Entertaining, November.

Field & Stream: Sid Evans, editor-in-chief, for a two-part package, The Rut Calendar ’07, by Gerald Almy; Huge Successes, as told to Bill Heavey, November.

Men’s Health: David Zinczenko, senior vice president and editor-in-chief, for Women, Money, and Friends Come and Go, But Dogs are Forever, by Jim Thornton, October.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief, for Cartography: The Complete Road Map to New York City Street Food, by Michael Idov, Rob Patronite, Robin Raisfeld, and Emma Rosenblum, June 25.

Time Out Chicago: Joel Reese, editor, for Dive Bars, July 19-25.


REPORTING
This category recognizes excellence in reporting. It honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation or a problem of contemporary interest and significance.

National Geographic: Chris Johns, editor-in-chief, for China’s Instant Cities, by Peter Hessler, June.

The New York Times Magazine: Gerald Marzorati, editor-in-chief, for Where Boys Grow Up to Be Jihadis, by Andrea Elliott, November 25.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for The Taliban’s Opium War, by Jon Lee Anderson, July 9 & 16.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for The Black Sites, by Jane Mayer, August 13.

Vanity Fair: Graydon Carter, editor, for City of Fear, by William Langewiesche, April.


PUBLIC INTEREST
This category recognizes journalism that sheds new light on an issue of public importance and has the potential to affect national or local debate policy.

5280: Denver’s Mile-High Magazine: Daniel Brogan, editor and publisher, for Out in the Cold, by Mike Kessler, November.

Bloomberg Markets: Ronald Henkoff, editor, for a three-part package, Toxic Debt: The Subprime Sinkhole, by Seth Lubove and Daniel Taub; The Ratings Charade, by Richard Tomlinson and David Evans; The Poison in Your Pension, by David Evans, July; and Unsafe Havens, by David Evans, October.

BusinessWeek: Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief, for a three-part special report, The Poverty Business, by Brian Grow and Keith Epstein, May 21; Prisoners of Debt, by Robert Berner and Brian Grow, November 12; Fresh Pain for the Uninsured, by Brian Grow and Robert Berner, December 3.

The Nation: Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, for a two-part series by Joshua Kors, How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits, April 9; Specialist Town Takes His Case to Washington, October 15.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for Betrayed, by George Packer, March 26.


FEATURE WRITING
This category recognizes excellence in feature writing. It honors the stylishness and originality with which the author treats his or her subject.

Atlanta: Rebecca Burns, editor-in-chief, for You Have Thousands of Angels Around You, by Paige Williams, October.

GQ: Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief, for Underworld, by Jeanne Marie Laskas, May.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief, for Everybody Sucks, by Vanessa Grigoriadis, October 22.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for Swingers, by Ian Parker, July 30.

Vanity Fair: Graydon Carter, editor, for Gone Like The Wind, by Buzz Bissinger, August.


PROFILE WRITING
This category recognizes excellence in profile writing. It honors the vividness and perceptiveness with which the writer brings his or her subject to life.

The Atlantic: James Bennet, editor, for Present at the Creation, by Matthew Scully, September.

Los Angeles: Kit Rachlis, editor-in-chief, for Casualties of War, by Steve Oney, June.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for Azzam the American, by Raffi Khatchadourian, January 22.

The New York Times Magazine: Gerald Marzorati, editor-in-chief, for The Huckabee Factor, by Zev Chafets, December 16.

Vanity Fair: Graydon Carter, editor, for Pat Dollard’s War on Hollywood, by Evan Wright, March.


ESSAYS
This category recognizes excellence in essay writing on topics ranging from the personal to the political. Whatever the subject, emphasis should be placed on the author’s eloquence, perspective, fresh thinking and unique voice.

The Atlantic: James Bennet, editor, for The Autumn of the Multitaskers, by Walter Kirn, November.

ELLE: Roberta Myers, vice president and editor-in-chief, for My Year of Living Dangerously, by Katrina Onstad, August.

Entertainment Weekly: Rick Tetzeli, managing editor, for J.K. Rowling’s Ministry of Magic, by Stephen King, August 17.

Harper’s Magazine: Roger D. Hodge, editor, for Chemo World, by Sallie Tisdale, June.

New Letters: Robert Stewart, editor-in-chief, for I Am Joe’s Prostate, by Thomas E. Kennedy, Volume 73 Number 4, Summer 2007.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for Parallel Play, by Tim Page, August 20.


COLUMNS and COMMENTARY
This category recognizes excellence in short-form political, social, economic or humorous commentary. It honors the eloquence, force of argument and succinctness with which the writer presents his or her views.

Inc.: Jane Berentson, editor, for three columns by Norm Brodsky, The Offer, Part Three: But Then Who Will I
Be?, January; The Offer, Part Eight: You Have Got to Be Kidding Me, June; The Offer, Part Nine: What I
Learned From My Fiasco, July.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief, for three columns by Kurt Andersen, American Roulette, January 8; Greed Is Good and Ugly, July 30-August 6; The Age of Apoplexy, October 15.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for three columns by Hendrik Hertzberg, Desolation Rows, January 15; Offenses, September 17; Brouhahaha, October 15.

Rolling Stone: Jann S. Wenner, editor and publisher; Will Dana, managing editor, for three columns by Matt Taibbi, Worse Than Bush, June 14; My Favorite Nut Job, November 29; Obama’s Moment, December 27.

Slate: Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief, for three columns by Christopher Hitchens, Lynching the Dictator, January 2; Suck It Up, April 24; So Many Men’s Rooms, So Little Time, September 3.


REVIEWS and CRITICISM
This category recognizes excellence in criticism of art, books, movies, television, theater, music, dance, food, dining, fashion, products and the like. It honors the knowledge, persuasiveness and original voice that the critic brings to his or her reviews.

The Atlantic: James Bennet, editor, for three columns by Caitlin Flanagan, The Sanguine Sex, May; Babes in the Woods, July/August; No Girlfriend of Mine, November.

GQ: Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief, for three columns by Tom Carson, You Actin’ Like Me?, February; Don’t Cry For Me, Iwo Jima, September; Strong, Silent, Ultraviolent, December.

The Nation: Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, for three reviews by William Deresiewicz, Cafe Society, May 14; The Imaginary Jew, May 28; Fukú Americanus, November 26.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief, for three columns by David Edelstein, See Sickness, August 13; Coen Heads, October 1; Savage Grace, December 3.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for three columns by Louis Menand, Notable Quotables, February 19 & 26; Drive, He Wrote, October 1; Woke Up This Morning, December 10.


MAGAZINE SECTION
This category recognizes excellence of a regular, cohesive section of a magazine, either front- or back-of-book and composed of a variety of elements, both text and visual. Finalists are selected based on the section’s voice, originality, and unified design and packaging.

Condé Nast Portfolio: Joanne Lipman, editor-in-chief, for its Brief section, September, November, December.

Esquire: David Granger, editor-in-chief, for its Man at His Best section, April, September, December.

Good: Zach Frechette, editor-in-chief, for its Transparency section, January/February, July/August, September/October.

O, The Oprah Magazine: Oprah Winfrey, founder and editorial director; Amy Gross, editor-in-chief, for its Reading Room section, March, August, October.

Wired: Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief, for its Start section, October, November, December.


SINGLE-TOPIC ISSUE
This category recognizes magazines that have devoted an issue to an in-depth examination of one topic. It honors the ambition, comprehensiveness and imagination with which a magazine treats its subject.

Departures: Richard David Story, editor-in-chief, for Russia Now 2007, October.

Domino: Deborah Needleman, editor-in-chief, for The Green Issue, March.

Gourmet: Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief, for its special Latino American issue, September.

IEEE Spectrum: Susan Hassler, editor-in-chief, for Engineering the Megacity, June.

The Virginia Quarterly Review: Daniel Alarcón and Ted Genoways, co-editors, for South America in the 21st Century, Fall.


DESIGN
This category recognizes excellence in magazine design. It honors the effectiveness of overall design, artwork, graphics and typography in enhancing a magazine’s unique mission and personality.

Good: Zach Frechette, editor-in-chief; Scott Stowell, design director, for July/August, September/October, November/December issues.

GQ: Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief; Fred Woodward, design director; Jim Moore, creative director, for January, September, October issues.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief; Chris Dixon, design director, for March 26, June 25, December 17 issues.

T: The New York Times Style Magazine: Stefano Tonchi, editor; Janet Froelich, creative director; Christopher Martinez, art director, for September 16, August 26, December 2 issues.

Vanity Fair: Graydon Carter, editor; David Harris, design director, for March, September, November issues.

Wired: Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief; Scott Dadich, creative director, for August, October, November issues; Wyatt Mitchell, design director, for November issue.


PHOTOGRAPHY
This category recognizes excellence in magazine photography. It honors the effectiveness of photography, photojournalism and photo illustration in enhancing a magazine’s unique mission and personality.

Gourmet: Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief; Richard Ferretti, creative director; Erika Oliveira, art director; Amy Koblenzer, photo editor, for September, October, December issues.

GQ: Jim Nelson, editor-in-chief; Fred Woodward, design director; Jim Moore, creative director; Anton Ioukhnovets, art director; Dora Somosi, director of photography, for September, October, December issues.

Martha Stewart Living: Martha Stewart, founder; Gael Towey, chief creative officer; Margaret Roach, editorial director; Michael Boodro, editor-in-chief; Eric A. Pike, creative director; James Dunlinson, design director; Heloise Goodman, director of photography and illustration, for May, October, November issues.

National Geographic: Chris Johns, editor-in-chief; David Griffin, director of photography; Susan A. Smith, deputy director, photography, for March, April, June issues.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief; Chris Dixon, design director; Jody Quon, photography director, for January 15, October 29, November 12 issues.

W: Patrick McCarthy, chairman and editorial director; Dennis Freedman, creative director; Edward Leida, group design director; Nathalie Kirsheh, art director; Nadia Vellam, photo editor, for March, September, November issues.


PHOTOJOURNALISM
This category recognizes the informative photographic documentation of an event or subject in real-time. Although photo essays accompanied by text will be eligible, they will be judged primarily on the strength of the photographs.

Aperture: Melissa Harris, editor-in-chief; Yolanda Cuomo, art director, for Mikhael Subotzky: Inside South Africa’s Prisons, by Michael Godby; photographs by Mikhael Subotzky, Fall.

Mother Jones: Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery, editors-in-chief; Susan Scandrett, creative director; Tim J. Luddy, art director; Sarah Kehoe, photo director, for The Hidden Half, by Elizabeth Gettelman; photographs by Lana Šlezić, July/August.

National Geographic: Chris Johns, editor-in-chief; David Griffin, director of photography; Charles Blow, Art Director; Susan A. Smith, photography deputy director, for Bedlam in the Blood: Malaria, by Michael Finkel; photographs by John Stanmeyer, July.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor; Elisabeth Biondi, photo director, for The Interpreter, by John Colapinto; photographs by Martin Schoeller, April 16.

The Virginia Quarterly Review: Ted Genoways, editor, for A Window on Baghdad, photographs and text by Chris Hondros, Summer.


PHOTO PORTFOLIO
This category honors creative photography and photo illustration. Although photo essays accompanied by text will be eligible, they will be judged primarily on the strength of the photographs.

New York: Adam Moss, editor-in-chief; Chris Dixon, design director; Jody Quon, photography director; Kate
Elazegui and Randy Minor, art directors, for Leaps and Bounds, photographs by Rodney Smith; styling by Harriet Mays Powell, August 27.

Newsweek: Jon Meacham, editor; Simon Barnett, director of photography; Amid Capeci, assistant managing editor, design, for Faces of a Fiery Year, photographs by Nigel Parry, November 19.

T, The New York Times Style Magazine: Stefano Tonchi, editor; Janet Froelich, creative director; Christopher Martinez, art director; Kathy Ryan, photography director, for A Cultivated Eye, photographs by Fabrizio Coppi and Lucilla Barbieri, April 15.

T, The New York Times Style Magazine: Stefano Tonchi, editor; Janet Froelich, creative director; Christopher Martinez, art director; Kathy Ryan, photography director, for Snow Bound, by Jeffries Blackerby; photographs by Raymond Meier, November 18.

Vanity Fair: Graydon Carter, editor; David Harris, design director; Susan White, photography director, for Killers Kill, Dead Men Die: A 2007 Hollywood Portfolio, Michael Roberts, fashion and style director; photographs by Annie Leibovitz, in collaboration with Vilmos Zsigmond, cinematographer, March.


FICTION
This category recognizes excellence in magazine fiction writing. It honors the quality of a publication’s literary selections.

Harper’s Magazine: Roger D. Hodge, editor, for Death of the Pugilist, by Daniel Mason, July; Fiction, by Alice Munro, August; A Report on Our Recent Troubles, by Steven Millhauser, November.

McSweeney’s: Dave Eggers, editor and founder, for Retreat, by Wells Tower, May; How To Sell, by Clancy Martin, May; How to Make Millions in the Oil Market, by Christopher R. Howard, September.

The New Yorker: David Remnick, editor, for Good People, by David Foster Wallace, February 5; The Insufferable Gaucho, by Roberto Balaño, October 1; Or Else, by Antonya Nelson, November 19.

The Paris Review: Philip Gourevitch, editor, for Monsieur Kalashnikov, by André Aciman, Summer; Speak No Evil, by Uzodinma Iweala, Summer; Icebergs, by Alistair Morgan, Winter.

Zoetrope: All-Story: Adrienne Brodeur, Francis Ford Coppola, founding editors; Michael Ray, editor, for The Burning of Lawrence, by Andrew Malan Milward, Fall; Those Americans Falling from the Sky, by Fiona McFarlane, Winter; Methane and Politic, by Anya Ulinich, Winter.


GENERAL EXCELLENCE ONLINE
This category recognizes outstanding magazine websites, as well as online-only magazines that feature original content. The site must convey a distinct editorial identity and create a unique magazine environment on the web.

Babble.com (www.babble.com): Ada Calhoun, editor-in-chief

Chow.com (www.chow.com): Jane Goldman, editor-in-chief

NewYorker.com (www.newyorker.com): Blake Eskin, editor

RunnersWorld.com (www.runnersworld.com): David Willey, editor-in-chief; Mark Remy, executive editor; George Viahogiannis, executive producer

Slate.com (www.slate.com): Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief


PERSONAL SERVICE ONLINE
This category recognizes an outstanding service feature on the web. The practical advice or instruction presented should help readers either improve the quality of their personal lives or enjoy recreational interests. The category honors a site’s creative use of multimedia technology, user involvement and community tools, and/or exceptional work in the blog form.

BusinessWeek.com - B-Schools (www.businessweek.com/bschools): Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief

NYMag.com - Grub Street (http://nymag.com/daily/food): Adam Moss, editor-in-chief; Kelly Maloni and Ben Williams, co-editors

People.com - StyleWatch (www.people.com/stylewatch): Mark Golin, editor

Self.com - The Self Challenge (www.self.com/challenge): Lucy Danziger, editor-in-chief

SI.com - mySI (www.si.com/mysi): Paul Fichtenbaum, managing editor


INTERACTIVE FEATURE
This category recognizes an outstanding interactive section of the website, featuring news, entertainment and other subjects that do not offer practical instruction or advice. The category honors a site’s creative use of multimedia technology, user involvement and community tools, and/or exceptional work in the blog form.

Bicycling.com - GPS Rides Tool (http://bicycling.allsportgps.com): David L’Heureux, web editor

Economist.com - Debate Series (www.economist.com): John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief

ESPN.com - NBA Section (www.sports.espn.go.com/nba/index): Rob King, vice president, editor-in-chief; Patrick Stiegman, vice president, executive editor and producer; John Kosner, senior vice president, ESPN Digital Media; John Zehr, senior vice president, digital media production, ESPN Digital

Essence.com - Will You Marry Me? (www.essence.com/essence/30datesin30days): Angela Burt Murray, editor-in-chief; Lynya Floyd, senior editor; Jen M.R. Doman, multimedia development director; Nazenet Habtezghi, assistant editor; Shelly Jones, senior web developer

National Geographic Online (www.ngm.com): Chris Johns, editor-in-chief