MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (January 2, 2007) -- Utne Reader, the nation’s leading digest of new ideas and groundbreaking journalism, announces the winners of the 18th annual Utne Independent Press Awards in the January/February issue. The 15 winners in the hard-fought competition include Wilson Quarterly (General Excellence), the Ecologist (Environmental Coverage), Tikkun (Spiritual Coverage), and New Mobility (Lifestyle Coverage)
Utne Reader celebrates the best of the independent press each issue by scanning more than 1,200 magazines, newsletters, and journals for the most forward-thinking writing, reporting, and opinion. In the November/December issue, 107 of these titles were selected as nominees for the 2006 Utne Reader Independent Press Awards.
“This was one of the deepest, most diverse group of nominees in recent memory,” says David Schimke, editor in Chief of Utne Reader. “The strength and importance of the independent press is growing at the same time as we’ve chosen to return to our roots and reemphasize our magazine’s mission: promoting and celebrating the best and most essential stories in print and online.”
Rather than requiring entry forms or fees, Utne Reader’s editors select nominees based on their day-to-day interaction with the material. There are two general guidelines in the selection process, which begins in July: Each publication is considered in terms of one year of its life in the Utne library; and only independently published periodicals are nominated, which excludes the publications of large media conglomerates. In this way, Utne Reader honors the efforts of small, sometimes unnoticed publications that provide innovative, thought-provoking perspectives often ignored or overlooked by mass media.
The winners of the 2006 Utne Independent Press Awards are:
- General Excellence – Magazines: Wilson Quarterly
- General Excellence – Newsletters: GeneWatch
- General Excellence – Zines: 28 Pages Lovingly Bound with Twine
- Best New Publication: New England Watershed
- Best Design: Bidoun
- Best Writing: N+1
- Arts Coverage: Raw Vision
- Environmental Coverage: Ecologist
- Lifestyle Coverage: New Mobility
- Political Coverage: In These Times
- Social/Cultural Coverage: Bidoun
- International Coverage: NACLA Report On The Americas
- Local/Regional Coverage: High Country News
- Science/Tech Coverage: Seed
- Spiritual Coverage: Tikkun
Link to information about the winners online: http://www.utne.com/uipa
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Since 1984, Utne Reader has been a leading voice for independent thinkers, bringing readers an informed point-of-view on issues ranging from the environment to the economy and from politics to pop culture—the kind of stories you’ll find in the mainstream media months or years from now. Reaching a total audience of nearly 600,000, Utne Reader taps into the pulse of what’s emerging in the culture by engaging with the most visionary thinkers and doers of our time and by presenting the best articles and ideas from thousands of indie publications, websites, blogs, newly published books, films, and other off-the-beaten-path sources. Utne Reader is owned by Ogden Publications Inc. In addition to Utne Reader, Ogden publishes several titles relating to sustainable and conscientious living. Those titles include Natural Home, Mother Earth News, Herbs for Health and The Herb Companion