Newhouse professor, alumni contribute to award winning Self magazine issue

Newhouse professor, alumni contribute to award winning Self magazine issueMay 12, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

A professor and alumni from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications contributed work that helped Self magazine win one of The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism’s 2006 National Magazine Awards. Called the “Ellies,” the awards are the magazine industry’s most prestigious editorial honor.

Melissa Chessher, associate professor of magazine; Allison Glock G’91; and Kristin Kane ’01 contributed work to Self’s breast cancer handbook “Keep Your Breasts Healthy for Life” (Oct. 2005), which won the Ellie for personal service. The personal service category recognizes excellence in service journalism–advice or instruction presented in the magazine that helps readers improve the quality of their personal lives.

Chessher and Glock both penned pieces for the handbook. Kane contributed research for a piece in the package. Self’s award comes one year after Newhouse alumna Joyce Rutter Kaye ’85 won the Ellie for general excellence for Print magazine. Kaye is editor-in-chief of the publication.

“The Ellies are a big deal,” says Bill Glavin, professor of magazine. “To have awards go to magazines that include former students’ contributions two years in a row makes me very proud of our alumni, and Melissa Chessher’s contribution clearly helped make the Self section as powerful as it was.”

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Ellies. The awards are named after the Alexander Calder stabile “Elephant,” ASME’s symbol for the awards. Ellies recognize magazines that consistently demonstrate superior execution in their editorial objectives, innovative editorial techniques, noteworthy journalistic enterprise and imagination and vigor in layout and design. This year, 14 print and online magazines across 22 categories were honored for their work.